Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?<\/p>\n
By Kate Chamberlin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they\u2019re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
#33. The Wedding<\/p>\n
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, located on a triangle block instead of a square block, created a puzzle for Crackers. Ken and Grace visited a small ice cream shoppe each afternoon, which was easy for her to find. From there, though, she\u2019d confuse the side door with the main door, but, once in the building, she could get Grace to the bank of elevators.<\/p>\n
During breakfast one morning, Ken said, \u201cLet\u2019s take the Freedom Trail this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to walk, but what is the Freedom Trail?\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen, holding a brochure from the hotel\u2019s desk, read, \u201c\u2019\u2026It is a walking tour of special historic sights\u2026\u2019 It looks like we can start anywhere, but we\u2019re near the Boston Commons, so, Let\u2019s start there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, they stood on a wide, red line painted on the sidewalk. They were to follow it to each site.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrackers, forward,\u201d Grace told her guide dog.<\/p>\n
It took Crackers about 5 minutes to figure out all she had to do was “walk the red line”!\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no way we\u2019re going to be able to visit all 17 of these sites,\u201d Ken said perusing the brochure. \u201cHow about starting with Old North Church?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t that the church known for \u2019one if by land, two if by sea\u2019 in Longfellow\u2019s poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere?\u201d Grace asked. \u201cI wonder if they\u2019ll let us climb the steeple.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not,\u201d Ken said. Still reading from the brochure, \u201c\u2019\u2026Christ Church in the City of Boston, also known as Old North Church, is the oldest standing church building in Boston, having first opened its doors \u2026in 1723. Its 191 foot steeple is the tallest in Boston \u2026\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace, we\u2019d have to climb a lot of stairs and then a ladder to get up there. The thing has been blown over twice by hurricanes. I doubt we\u2019ll be climbing the steeple today, my Love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once in the quiet wooden pew-box, they sat thinking of the famous and not-so-famous Episcopalians who had Blessed this venerable old church through the American Revolution up to today.<\/p>\n
Grace took in the smell of spent insence, melted candle wax, dusty and dried wood. She could imagine how the wet woolen clothing would reak during the winter months, not to mention stuff brought in on their boots from the dirt roadway and horses. She knew Crackers would love it!<\/p>\n
As Grace reached for the latch on the small gate at the end of the pew-box, Ken whispered, \u201cRemember, there\u2019s a step down after you get the gate opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCrackers, forward,\u201d Grace said when they were back on the red line.\u00a0 \u201cWe were in the old church quite a while. It was so peaceful and cool. What\u2019s next, Mr. Tour Guide?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUSS Constitution,\u201d Ken announced and read:\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018\u2026Launched in Boston in 1797, the oldest commissioned warship afloat earned her nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812 when she fought the British frigate HMS Guerriere\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says here that the copper fastenings were made by Paul Revere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ship wasn\u2019t open for tours by the time they\u2019d walked there, but the interactive USS Constitution Museum was open. They Swung in a hammock, join a mess\u00a0 (meal), and furl a sail, as they learned what it was like to be a crew member of a war ship over 200 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife was hard back in the day,\u201d Grace said lining Crackers up on the red Freedom Trail again. \u201cI suppose they had a cat or two on board, but a dog would never make it through the noise and rough waters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you tired or shall we do one more site?\u201d Ken asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have time and energy for one more piece of history,\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, onward to Bunker Hill,\u201d Ken said. \u201cIt\u2019s on our way back to the hotel anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d Grace agreed. \u201cWasn\u2019t it in\u00a0 the battle of Bunker Hill that, “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” was said by Colonel William Prescott?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Ken said. \u201c\u2019\u2026It came to immortalize the determination of the ill-equipped Colonists. While technically a British victory, the Battle of Bunker Hill proved that Colonial forces could fight effectively against the British\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re reading that!\u201d Grace laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019\u2026The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775,\u201d Ken continued reading, \u201c was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War and predicted the character and outcome of the rest of the war\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
At the top of the hill, the 221 foot granite obelisk stood across from the BUNKER HILL MUSEUM.<\/p>\n
Ken was describing the dioramas and murals in the museum to Grace, when a guard came up to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to feel a few of the artifacts from the battle itself?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
One by one, objects were put into Grace\u2019s hands, as the guard described what each was: a pockmarked cannonball; a snare drum; a sword; a stiff masonic apron belonging to revolutionary leader Dr. Joseph Warren, who perished in the fight; and a rusty trowel used by the Marquis de Lafayette in the groundbreaking for the monument in 1875, on the 50th anniversary of the battle.<\/p>\n
Grace and Ken thanked her for her kindness and strolled out into the sunshine, hand in hand.<\/p>\n
The hotel had a fitness room and spa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve had enough of a fitness workout today, but I sure could use a soak in a hot tub,\u201d Grace commented.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight this way, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Ken said, leading her into the sunken tub in their suite\u2019s spacious bathroom. \u201cIt looks like this tub even has jets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrapped in the thick, plush hotel robes, Ken said, \u201cI\u2019m famished. Let\u2019s order from room service.\u201d So, they did.<\/p>\n
After eating their meal and putting the tray out in the hallway, the newlyweds thankfully sank onto the fresh sheets on their soft, king-sized bed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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