On the Freedom Trail

      Boston is the city of my childhood.  I grew up just a few miles from the center of the American Revolution, went to college across from the Boston Common and still gravitate to my home city whenever I am able to.  A dear friend of mine had claimed the need to explore Boston, so we planned a 2-day getaway to vacation in our back yard.  We packed up our overnight bags, grabbed the commuter rail and headed to Beantown.  The goal: to take a tour of the freedom trail.

     Considering the rich history in Boston, the tour could have been a very long one.  As a child I had taken a long version of the tour, which began at The Boston Common, went down Tremont Street, onto School Street and headed over to Faneuil Hall.  We then crossed over to the North End, visited Paul Revere’s house and ended at the Old North Church.  However, that was the 1970s and part of a middle school field trip.  This tour was considerably shorter.  Since my feet began to hurt and swell a bit, it might have been for the best that the tour we took this past weekend was abbreviated. 

     There is a sense of joy and appreciation that comes from exploring a familiar place.  One can embrace home again and truly enjoy nuances that escape us during the everyday.  It’s also interesting to see how much things have changed.  Stores I loved as a young teen, such as the Jack & Jill Joke Shoppe, are now but a memory.  Downtown crossing lost its iconic Filenes Bargain Basement where I learned how to successfully find a deal.  Other locations I remember such as The Corner Mall still exist even though the shops inside are not the same houses of fashion from the 1980s.  However, that may be for the best.

     My friend was amazed at the beauty of the Boston Public Garden as well as the general cleanliness of the city.  She loved the flowers and decorated storefronts, commenting on how much nicer Boston is compared to the behemoth that is New York City.  While I contend that there is no comparing the two, Boston won my heart at the tender age of three.  My parents relocated our family from Rhode Island to Massachusetts because my father got a new job.  We moved into the town of Winthrop, which was so close to the heart of Boston that I could hear it calling to me.

     My feet and legs are not as young as they once were and even though the Freedom Trail walk was abbreviated my body ached considerably.  After all, we had walked for 7 hours all together!  We managed to walk back to our hotel and relax for a while before crossing the street to go to dinner.  We were unable to go any further than that.

     I’d like to return and continue to explore the city again.  Next time I believe I’ll wear sneakers instead of sandals and map out other locations to visit.  There are so many things to do and see in the city of Boston, one trip simply isn’t enough. And I love that dirty water…

Pandora's Box and Parking Violations

            My office window faces the street with a clear view of all the activity – mostly vehicle activity – on a frequently traveled road.  On this visible stretch there are a half a dozen metered spaces, a fire hydrant and handicap parking spots. Meter maids are on hand dutifully writing out tickets and placing citations made of neon orange paper on window shields.

            The parking meters were increased in number over the past two years and currently plague our city streets.  This has caused those of us who work or live in the area a great deal of trouble, as several of these spaces were once free to park in for a number of hours.  Every day I watch people attempt to park, driving up and down the street with horns blowing at them as they crawl along.  Often, I witness someone park illegally and nod my head knowing that they will be targeted by one of the many meter maids on duty.  More often than not, they get citations placed on their vehicle.

One of the most frequent parking violations I witness occurs in front of the fire hydrant.  I believe some people take a risk parking there because they don’t expect to be in the spot very long and go someplace near by.  Of course, this is just an assumption on my part, for perhaps they don’t care or aren’t aware that it’s illegal.  Just beyond the fire hydrant is a legitimate parking space with a meter.  Many times I witness a driver approach this spot and maneuver outside of the parking area and place their vehicle in front of the fire hydrant with the parking meter behind them.  They then feed the meter believing that it is in the proper place for their vehicle.  This continued pattern has made me question what is taught about U.S. parking rules.  Is it supposed to be common knowledge that a parking meter should be in front of your car?   Obviously, this isn’t the case as I see this error made on a daily basis.  I’ve witnessed people of all ages doing this so it isn’t limited to one group.  I assume that some of these people maybe from out of town or from a foreign country and are visiting.  They may not be aware of the rules.  However, I don’t recall reading anything in particular about city parking or meters when I took drivers education.  Yes, that was a long time ago and times have changed.  I can take a deep look into the Internet and see what answers I can find.

If you Google U.S. parking rules several links come up for various states – mostly California and Minnesota - as well as pages targeting international travelers such as justlanded.com, path2usa.com and a Wikipedia page.  Most of these sites covered parking meters in so much that they advise travelers to carry change with them.  However, they don’t include any information regarding where the car should be placed in relation to the parking meter.  They should include a line that reads, “a parking meter should be next to the front end of your car just above or close to the front left tire.” This would save travelers a great deal of money in tickets.  

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the current drivers instruction manual from the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles.  I was surprised to see that there was no information in it regarding parking meters.  Apparently, this information isn’t being taught by the state.  I looked at the booklet for Massachusetts as well and found that they didn’t address the issue either.  Massachusetts did include a brief paragraph covering parking meters that reads, “Many public parking spaces are operated by coin-fed meters.  Rules and time limits usually apply during posted days and hours.  If you park longer than allowed or fail to pay the meter fee, you may be issued a parking citation.”  However, they don’t address proper location of the meter in relation to a vehicle either.

Apparently, I’ve discovered an oversight in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts drivers manuals.  Can one argue that we were never taught where to place our cars, focus on the fact that the department of motor vehicles doesn’t teach this and fight all the parking tickets?  Perhaps I just unlocked Pandora’s box.  Discuss amongst yourselves.