Some Boston Thoughts That Linger

It's been exactly one week since I returned from Boston, so I thought it would be a good exercise to see just which memories about Boston remain after one week. Which things, big or small, come to mind when I look back? I was there on conference, so I didn't get a tonne of time to check out New England in minute detail, but I did get a chance to stroll around like the common-folk. So here are the first 5 thoughts that spring to mind.

Size

Boston (metropolitan) has a population of 4.5 Million. However, the actual city of Boston only has a population of 590,000. I guess I've been watching too many movies, I was expecting this huge city teeming with mega sky scrapers that would dwarf Calgary's. Though a sense of history and culture in Boston is palpable, it's size was surprisingly "normal".

MIT/Harvard

I had two definite goals: see MIT, see Harvard. Well, okay, a third: bring back gifts for my boys. MIT was like I imagined. It had a huge lawn, pock-marked with well-aged trees. Students were sitting, each leaning up against a tree, reading their textbooks surrounded by freshly fallen auburn-coloured leaves. Surrounding the main yard were massive white stone pillars, each with a name of a prominent scientist: Archimedes, Newton, er... I forget the others, but they were famous. Harvard was a different egg. Harvard Yard was sort of like I pictured it: old buildings full of character, massive trees, students playing a game of ultimate. But Harvard has these major road arteries going around and through it, which was not what I expected. It didn't seem like the usual university with a definable perimeter. But I can't understate the character of the historical buildings. I was snapping off pictures like a wild-man. Beautiful buildings! You could stare at them for hours.

Political Fervor

This is similar to the province of Alberta, but on the flip side. The Boston area is Democrat territory. Make no mistake about this. All the local bookstores I strolled into had prominent displays of books on politics, all Democrat related material. They love their politics, so long as its Democrat related. Funny thing, I found myself in quite a few convenience stores and gift shops. At the counter, they all had either a display of Obama or Clinton buttons, or a display box of Obama or Clinton playing cards. I saw nothing GOP related. Nothing. Bostonians are debating between Obama and Clinton, not GOP and DNC.

New York rivalry

I thought the Calgary / Edmonton, or Calgary / Vancouver rivalries were intense. The day after the Mets were eliminated from the post-season picture, I saw the covers of two local Boston papers. One pictured a boy, about 8 years-old, wearing a Mets hat. This boy had tears streaming down his cheeks, very upset. What did the headline read? "A Cryin' Shame: Mets eliminated from play-offs". Wow. Harsh, eh? The paper right beside it had a Mets fan in the stands standing up with arms outstretched facing the sky with a look of agony, as if his leg was caught in a bear trap. The headline? "From Champs to Chumps". Also, in the hotel bar I overheard this lady say to her friend that the Sox won so they just had to watch tomorrow's game to "make sure the Yanks lose". There is some serious dislike here, folks.

All in all, you will be hard pressed to find a more culture-rich, historic, unique town. I'd be thrilled if I had a chance to go back. But to be honest, I'm really curious to head to New York next, get their side of the story.