Monday, June 12: Boston Day #4

aka: Chris Marshall Day

The Marshalls are from the Boston environs. Our Watertown AirBNB is just around the corner from an apartment building where Chris's dad lived in the 1970s, before he attended seminary. 

Chris wanted to trace a bit of his family history this morning. His dad and Aunt Martha provided him with accurate information. The family town, Needham, is not far away - so off we went. 

Our first stop was the location of his grandparents' home. He recalls visiting them biennially (every two years - a word easily confused with biannual, which means twice a year. Opposite years the family vacationed with his mother's family in Detroit.)

After Grandma Marshall died, Grandpa Marshall sold their Cape Cod home and moved to be near Aunt Martha. The next owner demolished the home and replaced with a larger 1990s Colonial, appropriate for the neighborhood. 

Not far from that house we stopped in front of Grandpa Marshall's parents' home. Built in the 1920s, they were the first residents of the house. The present owner kindly invited Chris and Kaylyn in for a few moments to look around. Chris's great-grandparents died before he was born, he had never seen that house.

We then drove to The Gardens Cemetery of Gethsemane. There we located the tombstone for Chris's grandparents and great-grandparents Marshall. 

Kaylyn and I love to walk around cemeteries - the older, the better. This one had an ethnic area that was Eastern European:

And one that was Chinese, which Kaylyn and I have never seen in a cemetery before:

We were also intrigued by this marker. The deceased, according to the marker, was from County Kerry, Ireland:

After lunch at Chick-fil-a and errands, we were headed home when Greg pointed to the Garmin and said, "Look at this map. These roads are crazy." And they are - it is a really challenge to drive in Boston and its suburbs. 

Part #2 of Chris's perfect day involves his favorite sport - Baseball. On Chris's bucket list was attending a game at Fenway Park. Tonight he, Kaylyn and Greg had tickets to watch the Red Sox play the Colorado Rockies. The team, along with Etta Grace of course, departed for the "T" to Fenway, leaving Lydia, Tobias and I at the house car-less. My plan for the evening was to take Tobias to a playground two blocks away for awhile, feed him dinner, let him play, put him to bed, and have the evening to myself to read or work on my needlework. What a lovely plan....

Chris, Kaylyn and Greg did make it to Fenway Field. The game got rained out at the 10th inning and our band of travelers got soaked both at the field and walking to the "T" for the ride back home. They arrived home at 11:30, drenched, but glad they went. Chris can now boast he attended a game at Fenway. Unfortunately the Red Sox lost, but these Wisconsin attendees came home happy for the experience. And Chris got himself a Red Sox shirt. I asked him if the Red Sox play the Brewers who does he root for? He didn't have an answer. 

Meanwhile, we had our own excitement. Lydia, Tobias and I walked downhill 2 blocks to a modern playground, stopping on the way to watch an excavator at work. Lydia and Tobias played on the climbing apparatus, then rocking toys, and finally the swings. While I was swinging Tobias, Lydia was swinging high, then jumping off. She liked sailing through the air.... until her last landing, which turned her ankle. She couldn't put weight on it. 

Here I am, no car, no stroller, no one around I knew, and no way to get Lydia back up the 2-block hill to the house! What to do? 

I called Kaylyn to check with the homeowner, in case the person lived nearby. Nope. She suggested a 2-block Uber ride. Meanwhile a man and his 4-year-old daughter had arrived at the playground. I introduced myself and told him my dilemma. He immediately offered to help Lydia hobble up to the house. His wife is a pediatrician and wasn't home from work yet with their only car, but he was more than willing to help in whatever way he could. 

We put Tobias in the stroller. Little Emma volunteered to walk, and tried to cover Tobias with an emergency blanket, perceiving this was a crisis situation. The kind man steadied Lydia around the waist, and we started a slow hobble-hop home. 

We got out of the park and across the street, and another man came toward us. "Do you need help? I have a car right here." We outlined the problem and he said, "I will go get my keys." Meanwhile Emma's mom appeared and took over with Emma. Kind man #2 reappeared with his keys and loaded Lydia into his car. Kind man #1 and I, pushing Tobias in Emma's stroller, walked up the hill. I could always see the car Lydia was in, and kind man #1 said the man was a neighbor. 

What a great blessing that these perfect strangers stepped up in a time of need and got Lydia safely home! There is kindness everywhere. And there is plenty in Boston. 

We settled Lydia on the couch with ice on/ice off. I realized all of Tobias's toys were in the truck, so I fed him and gave him a bath. Baths are always my solution when kids need entertainment. Meanwhile I started the laundry, but that was a bit of a challenge. I couldn't leave Tobias unattended on the first floor because Lydia couldn't watch him, and I could not take him to the very dirty cellar typical of these old houses. So laundry went slowly until I got him to bed. It also went slowly because the dryer needs a constant diet of quarters - each giving me all of 4 minutes to drying time - to accomplish its task. I'm also packing up - we leave this comfortable house tomorrow and head north. 

The wet troupe arrived home from Fenway at 11:30. I threw all their wet clothes in the washing machine, and Greg and Kaylyn bundled Lydia off to the ER. The 7 remaining quarters I had got the clothes mostly dry...

To be continued... tomorrow! It's 1:30 am and I'm going to bed. Who knows when Greg, Kaylyn and Lydia (and Etta Grace, of course) will be home from the ER?