Boston...

    Hmmm....  I don't know a thing about Boston.  I've never been there, and on those rare occasions when I wandered into my college History class, I don't recall any of those few days discussing that city (I got an A in History, by the way).

 

    Anyway, in order to do John Scalzi's latest Weekend Assignment, I needed to make some calls.  Actually, I just needed to call my friend Julie.  She jets out there several times a month for work; plus, she's Irish, so if there's anyone to ask about Boston, it's her. 

 

    I flipped open my cellphone, paged through my phonebook and dialed her number.

    "Dan," she said.  "Where the hell have you been?"

    "Jules!" I replied, and not being one for small-talk, I got right to the point. "What can you tell me about Boston?"

    "You're in Boston?"  She asked.

    "No.  I'm in Milwaukee."  I said.  "I just need to know something about Boston."

    "Are you going there?"  She asked.

    "Not that I'm planning," I said.  It was clear that this conversation was going to drive me nuts, so I began to search for the right question which could get things moving in the right direction.  "But, if I do go, what's there for me?"

    "Oh," she said.  "You'd like all the bars."

    Why does everyone instantly think that the only thing I want to do when I go anywhere is drink?  I thought. 

    "You know that scar on Mike's forehead?"  She asked.

    "He got that in Boston?"  I asked as I thought about the small, misplaced wrinkle on her husband's noggin.  "Did he piss someone off, again?"

 

    "No."  She replied.  "He hit a car.  The dumb bastard stumbled out of a bar in Boston and dove head-first into a Hyundai on our anniversary." 

    "Nice," I laughed.  "What else is there?"

    "Oh!" She said.  "You'd LOVE the Freedom Trail."

    "Yeah?"  I asked.

    "Definitely."  She said.  "It's like a billion miles of walking, but they've got tons of historic places to check out, and if you get tired, there's more than a few bars along the way to sit down and grab a beer." 

    "Thanks, Jules!" I wrapped up the conversation. 

 

    So, after talking to her, I hopped online and found some information about the Freedom Trail, and it's only about 3 miles.  Of course, being from Wisconsin, any walk of more than one-hundred yards may as well be like walking to Mars.  Fortunately, there are apparently a lot of "rest stops" along the way in which to rehydrate and contemplate the history of this nation.  Boston seems like a town I could enjoy, and hopefully I can make it there before too long.  And, I seriously hope I don't wind up French-kissing a parked Hyundai.  It's simply not high on my list of things to do. 

 

Extra Credit:  Did I ever want to go to Harvard?

 

    Naaaah...  It seemed a little too pricey and intellectually demanding for me and my slacker mentality.  However, my cousin goes to Harvard, and she seems to like it. 

 

Tag: Weekend Assignment