Chill Time

Ahhhh, a night in a high end, downtown Boston hotel – I’m so chilled out right now, I’m practically liquid.

This was Helen’s birthday treat and, by Grabthar's hammer, it’s JUST what I needed. It’s luxurious to be sure but, added to that, there’s just something deeply magical about looking out at a different world

Yes, Valhalla is heaven and I totes wouldn’t trade it BUT gazing out these tall, wide windows at the nearby Custom Tower, I imagined living here – here in this forest of handsome concrete and steel. I truly understand why folks with bucks have both city digs and weekend nature cribs. If we could all afford to live everywhere we liked, wouldn't we?

As I lay reading (Hillerman’s A Thief of Time) in bed, knowing that my only responsibility for today is to hang with Helen and the girls, I thought “yeah, I could get used to this. EASY.”

Back in my twenties, I worked just a couple blocks away. I always thought there was a lot of cool NON touristy things to see and do around here BUT, after eight to nine hours of droning, I was mega eager to leave, to go home to my relatively quiet Brighton neighborhood. Decades after those dreary days I’m getting to experience some of the fun stuff.

Paging Mr. Sharkey, silver
courtesy telephone please.

We went to Mr. Dooley’s last night – a dark, woody very Irish bar just around the corner. The food was awesome. The prices reasonable. The drinks tremendous. There was an Irish trio playing trad and Helen said they were good. Talented. It was cozy.

An aside: it was wildly disconcerting to be staring at these musicians and NOT hear or even feel a vague vibration of their tunes. Yeah, I remember, I’m deaf. Of course I wouldn't hear their transporting melodies! 14 years into No Music Land though, it’s still jarring.

I imagine a lot of tourists stop in at Mr. Dooley’s BUT it didn’t seem like it. More it seemed like a holdover from when downtown was more authentically Irish (Italian too!) and not so bloody posh. I wish I’d known about the place when I worked nearby. Of course, if I did, I’d likely be too embarrassed to show my face now. Back in the day, I was pretty far from moderate and mature.

On tap for today, the girls and I will hit Faneuil Hall where, 275 years on, rallies and protests still happen. Yeah, it's primarily a tourist mall now with tons of cute shops, all kinds of fab, wild food and loads of street performers. It's a fun place with history.