MEME: Weekend Assignment #119

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #119: Boston!

Home of baked beans and the Red Sox. Share some of your favorite (or not so favorite) things about this quintessential New England metropolis. From the Big Dig to local Founding Fathers, it's all up for consideration. For the purpose of this Weekend Assignment, you can consider things near Boston as well (in Cambridge or other nearby cities). Extra credit: Did you ever want to go to college at Harvard?

Dear John,

As the largest city in New England, Boston holds a special place in the hearts of most northern new englanders. You truly can't get here without passing through Boston if you're coming by air. Boston's Logan International Airport has that interesting approach over the water where, if there's a sudden downdraft, you end up dead in the water 1500 feet short of the runway.

On land, it's a different kettle of fish. Or scrod. Your choice. There's good, historical reasons for the situation, but you have to change trains in Boston, going from South Station to North Station by either shanks mare, a taxi or by bus, if you know the routes. So, to go from New York City to Portland, Maine on a train, you have a really inconvenient shuffle of baggage and people in the middle of your trip. Same deal if you want to go by bus.

And the drivers in Boston are the worst in the USA, possibly the worst in North America (and I have driven in both Montreal and Mexico City, where drivers have reputations for insanity behind the wheel). Keep that in mind while crossing the street. We play 'kill the pedestrian' games up here. For real. And it really is 5 points extra if you get a pregnant woman in a crosswalk...

But, it's not all bad in Boston. There's Faneuil Hall (Quincy Market), the New England Aquarium with it's IMAX theater, The Computer Museum, The Freedom Trail, Boston Common, The Big Dig (you can even go underground and see the tunnels close up and personal), Old Ironsides, Roxbury and Southie – there's all sorts of places to visit. Walk around, see the sights. Keep in mind that Boston can be a very tough town (remember Spencer For Hire was about a Boston private eye and filmed in and around the city) so do carry protection you know how to use and are unafraid to use if necessary.

The one thing I don't advise you to do while in Boston is to drive. There's plenty of public transportation and real people like you, not just those who can afford no other means or mode of transport, use it every day. Learn how it works and take advantage of the system.

Have a great weekend. Give my best to Krissy and Athena – they've been looking radiant lately. And then get your ass back in your chair and apply your fingers to the keyboard and your nose to the grindstone – you have a book to finish!

wil

P.S. About Harvard and me. The rumor that I failed to get into Harvard Medical School is just that – a rumor. I did get into the library once, though...