A Jaunt to Boston

Our good friends, Jim and Lynn, invited us to join them on a excursion to Boston one day this past week.

The occasion was Jim's birthday; he'd decided he'd like to visit the JFK Library on that day.

Ken and I never pass up an invitation for an adventure, so off the four of us went last Tuesday morning, bright and early.

 The JFK Library overlooks Boston Harbor. As you can see, we had a bright, sunny day, although a cold one, for the adventure.

One of the first displays is this: items from the early '60's. I was a senior in high school the day President Kennedy was shot and killed, so these items are from my late teen years. The hair dryer gave me a chuckle because, for some reason even I don't understand, I still have mine, almost identical to this. It's stored in an upstairs closet and never gets used, but for some reason, I can't part with it.

 Jackie is terribly grief-stricken in this photo. She must have been in shock for many days, even weeks, after the tragic events in Dallas. The whole country was in shock right along with her.

And what a tragedy it is that John, Jr., was himself killed while still a young man.

This photo interested me because that's Pearl Buck chatting with the President, and Robert Frost chatting with Jackie. They're two of my favorite writers.









The Kennedy Library is very well done: not overcrowded with memorabilia but with just enough displays to take us back to that time in our country's history. I didn't realize what an excellent extemporaneous speaker JFK was until I watched and listened to him on several videos.

I remember the awfulness of the event, of having our country's president assassinated. I remember hearing my father cry softly as we watched the President's funeral on t.v. But I think I'd let time erase a lot of the impact of the event, so a visit to the Library was a good reminder.

We capped off the day with a trip to the top of the Prudential Building, where we got an excellent 360° view of the city and the harbor. Here you see many brownstones and also the Charles River, nearly completely frozen over.

It was a good day in Boston. And it was good to get back home.