Although I grew up in California, I was always proud to
announce that I was born in Boston. Not exactly Boston, of course, but
within an hour’s drive to the Boston Common or Cape Cod. My mother never
lost her Boston accent and our mother said things like “pahty” and “cah”.
We suppered on baked beans every Saturday night and feasted on Boston
Cream pie for special occasions. Growing up on the west coast, our family
loved our semi-exotic flair and reputation.
Of course, in the 50s and 60s, Boston was a long airplane
ride from San Francisco. We talked to our faraway relatives on the
telephone only a few times a year and letter writing was a standard ritual in
our house.
Boston has always been in my blood. I suppose that’s the
case with many others with ties to Boston whether they are born and bred here
or have simply lived here for a time. I’ve returned to Massachusetts from
various points across the globe a half dozen times in my life and settling back
in has been like finding an old, comfortable coat.
For those who have had to leave Boston behind to pursue
school or jobs, feelings for Boston were specifically poignant this past April.
Deep emotions for the Boston left behind were apparent as the world
grieved for the victims of the Marathon bombing.
When I was a child, Boston conjured up images of lobsters
and Provincetown, the Old North Church and the site of the Boston Tea Party. As
a teen, I knew that it was those Bostonians who were on the cutting edge in music
and fashion. We on the west coast used to say that the latest and
greatest phase hit the east coast six months earlier.
Today, Boston is so much more than just a wicked cool place
with ivy-covered colleges and houses that stand the test of time. It’s a
cutting-edge place that includes the 128 and 495 beltways, rich in
pharmaceutical and technology startups. It’s a comfortable community where
suburban towns have unique histories of their own. It’s also a state of mind
that declares the first subway system and first public school system in
the United States. Today, ideas just like it are incubating in schools, labs,
and think tanks. (In 2010, the census revealed that Massachusetts has a higher
percentage of college graduates than any other state in the country.)
Boston isn’t particularly a huge city. Less than
700,000 people live within the city limits (which includes 22 neighborhoods
such as Brighton and Hyde Park). Boston’s actual border melts away as one
square leads to another winding through Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline.
Greater Boston is home to 4.5 million people. At least 7.5 million
people are within commuting distance. This makes Boston the fifth-largest
metropolitan area in the United States.
The brand-new 2013 “Insight City Guide - Boston” by Barbara
Rockwell is a complete travel book that can be a goldmine for travelers, and
for locals, as well. The Best of Boston sections include all the sights that
families need to acquaint themselves with to savor living near such a unique city.
Everyone needs to explore Boston off the beaten track beyond Faneuil Hall and
Beacon Hill and this book and its maps will help do just that.
“Boston Icons: 50 Symbols of Beantown” (2011) by Jonathan
Scheff is perfect for a brush-up course before relatives or friends descend on
you this summer. Boston took much of its character, and still does, from its
immigrant population, whether they were from England in colonial times or from
Italy, Ireland or China. Many of us know that Paul Revere was born in the
North End, but we didn’t realize that the neighborhood takes up only a third of
a square mile. Scheff reacquaints us with some of the facts we grew up with and
introduces us to more. I, for one, did not realize that 5 of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence attended the Boston Latin School.
If it’s a quiet spot in the Greater Boston that you are
looking for, “Peaceful Places, Boston: 120 Tranquil Sites in the City and
Beyond” (2012) by Lynn Schweikart will help you spend the day. Schweikart
includes all sorts of places to sit and relax and enjoy the hidden joys in the
Boston metroplex. She includes church concerts, espresso bars, taverns at
public golf clubs, and benches and vistas in parks and gardens. (Several other
cities around the country are part of this series, so check one of those
versions out if you are traveling elsewhere.)
“Gangsters of Boston” (2013) by George Hassett covers three
centuries of lives of crime that have become legendary across the world.
A rebellious attitude that might have started in the American Revolution
is still detailed in Boston’s news today. (Think Whitey Bulger.) Boston
neighborhoods have been rich with gangster history and journalist Hassett
covers them all.
In 2012, the Boston Athletic Association’s official history
was written by author John Hanc, “The B.A.A. at 125”. This association
(they organize the Boston Marathon each year) just celebrated its 125
anniversary. The Boston Marathon is the third largest marathon in the world.
The year before the Boston Marathon was launched (in 1897), nine members of the
fourteen-men US team at the Olympics held in Athens Greece were B.A.A.
athletes.
My column wouldn’t be complete this week without a
children’s book suggestion about Boston. “Larry Gets Lost in Boston” (2013)
written by Michael Mullin and John Skewes follows Larry (a puppy) and Pete (a
human) in their adventures around Boston. Some of those adventures are a
bit separate when Larry gets lost and spends his day not only exploring but
searching for Pete. Fun illustrations accompany some great facts about
all the sites around Boston.
Would you like to know more about our fair city (as the Car Talk Guys call it)?
Visit the library’s website and the link to the Minuteman Library Network to
put one of these books on hold. You may also call 781-769-0200 and speak to a
librarian who will place the request for you.
