Wouldn’t you Like to Get Away…
Prior to this past weekend, I’d only had three major experiences with the city of Boston: reading Bill Simmons (ESPN’s The Sports Guy), rooting against the New England Patriots, and watching Cheers and Good Will Hunting. So it goes without saying that spending this past long weekend up in old Beantown was an enlightening experience. We went up to visit family, but I wound up falling in love with the city. So, doing this third grade style, here’s what I learned on my vacation:
- Back in the 18th century, molasses from the Caribbean colonies would make its way up to Boston to be used in the production of rum. Any excess molasses (and apparently there were copious amounts) was used to make baked beans. This is where the nickname “Beantown” is derived. I swear I’m not making this up.
- Boston sports fans are ridiculously territorial. The weather was nice on Saturday, so we took a day trip up to Cape Cod. I was wearing my Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap, and some guy actually says to me “Brooklyn Dodgers? Isn’t it a little too far up north for you to be wearing that?” Okay, this is just plain stupid on a multitude of levels. First of all, it’s not like I was wearing a Yankees cap, in which case I could understand the enmity from any and all Red Sox fans. Second, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in the 1960’s, so the hostility this guy was bearing was towards the hat of a nonexistent team. Third, being in the National League, the Dodgers rarely ever play the Red Sox, so there’s no traditional rivalry. So I don’t know what this guy’s deal was. Instead of provoking me, his stupidity actually succeeded only in confusing me.
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Provincetown, on Cape Cod, has to be the homosexual capital of the Northeast United States. I’ve never seen so many same-sex couples in the same place in my life, and I saw almost as many drag queens as I saw in New Orleans. And say what you want about gay people, they definitely know how to party. On our way out of town, I glanced into a few of the nightclubs and saw the dance floors were packed… and the sun hadn’t even gone down yet. So cheers to Provincetown… you go girls.
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The sense of history in Boston is remarkable. A lot of the colonial-era architecture has been preserved, and Bostonians take a lot of pride in their hometown being the city of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, as well as more recently, the Kennedys and John Kerry. But along with that sense of history is a really young, hip vibe from all the college campuses in the area. The fusion of the two is something I hadn’t felt since my days in Philadelphia, and is something I really enjoy. Being with family, however, the one thing we didn’t really get to experience was the nightlife in Boston. I guess that’s just something we’ll have to leave for our next visit.
All in all, it was a great trip. I learned and experienced quite a bit, ate some great seafood, and spent some quality time with the wifey and her uncle, aunt, and their baby. Now the challenge is to return to the quotidian banalities of daily life. Until next time, folks, remember to keep your chowdah wahm and your cah pahked in Hahvard Yahd.
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On a completely different note, much thanks to my brother Sheelpi for linking his blog to mine. Too bad Friendster player hates and doesn’t let you post any links outside the Friendster universe on the margins here. But I’m sure I’ll be linking to his site many times in future posts.
