Summer has arrived, which means it’s time for the roundup of May-June posts. I try to publish two posts a week, but this can pose a challenge when the rest of life gets busy—as it has done lately.
Tour Guide Complications
The cruise ships began arriving in June, so I’m back to work as a tour guide for passengers who want to see Boston. My first three tours—going to the Kennedy Library and then around the city—proceeded without problems. The fourth one, however, ran into traffic problems.
New England Aquarium
When my passengers were debarking from a cruise around Boston Harbor, I directed them down Long Wharf to the bus, which should have been there waiting for them. But the driver had moved it further south on Atlantic Avenue and now he was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get back to us.
From where we were gathered near the New England Aquarium, I watched the traffic on Atlantic Avenue sit through one traffic-light cycle after another without moving. What could we do? Nothing. Short of sending a helicopter or one of the ship’s tenders to pick us up, all we could do was wait. But we had places to sit in the shade, and cool harbor breezes.
My guests were very understanding and not impatient. I offered to do a song and dance except that I can’t dance. We finally got back to the pier 45 minutes late but in time for the passengers to make their “all aboard,” so it all worked out fine.
A Summer Lecture
In the summer, my Unitarian-Universalist church has informal services run by members of the congregation. I volunteered to give a lecture on the 19th century Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram and the small stone chapel he built on his property in Sudbury, MA.
This took research on Mr. Cram, his philosophy, and the building. I also visited the chapel multiple times to take photos inside and out. The lecture went just fine but putting it all together did take time. Now, however, I have a ready-made lecture to offer Boston By Foot during the winter off-season and I may write an article on the chapel for Atlas Obscura.
Roundup of May and June Posts
Now I can put some time into recapping posts from the last two months on The Next Phase Blog. Here’s the roundup of May and June posts with links to let you catch up with any you might have missed.
Boston and History
The Bulfinch Column atop the hill
It took three posts to cover the history of a small park on what is now the top of Beacon Hill. Before I could write about the park, I had to cover the hill’s topography and what happened to the top 60 feet. (Hint: Look in a different part of Boston.)
- Beacon Hill and Ashburton Park: – 1
- Ashburton Park and Beacon Hill: Part 2
- Ashburton Park on Beacon Hill: Part 3
- The Red Sculpture in Rolling Bridge Park
- Boston Gets Two New Landmarks
Business and Technology
Having been retired for several years, I found myself writing fewer and fewer posts about business. It just didn’t occupy my thoughts or have the same importance as it did when I was working. Recently, however, business trends have popped up with increased importance due to inflation. That sparked four posts.
- Breaking the Back of Food Inflation
- Red Lobster and Corporate Greed
- Consumer Companies Lower Prices
- South Coast Rail Comes to Fall River
Language and Writing
Lifestyle and Culture
Moving On to Summer
I don’t expect my life to slow down in July and that’s just fine with me. I would rather stay busy and keep moving than sit around in the shade. Life is more interesting when there’s a lot going on. And, as Brad Pitt once said, movement is life.
I love meeting new people when I lead tours. Sometimes, my tour guests are a little shorter than others, like these visitors from Canada. They clearly had dinner on their minds. Me, too. After talking for hours and skipping lunch, I can get pretty hungry. But I don’t eat grass.
