HOM: Framing a Ham

Errr -- Framingham, a suburb of Boston. This was Lyn's home town, and we stayed with her folks while we shopped and scouted. And toured. If you are around Boston and interested in literature, Walden Pond is a required stop, so we visited it. We also made it to Bunker Hill, Old North Church, and the Lexington & Concord battlefields, where America was born. Parks now, but there is still something about the places that made me feel reverent. I felt like I could still hear the shots and cries. I suspect that ghosts walk there. We visited Gloucester (pronounced "Gloster") the old center of Widow's Walks and whaling days, and Salem, though Toasted Witches weren't on any of the menus we saw. I made a special trip to Harvard, so afterward I could tell the inlaws "I pahked my cah in Hahvahd Squah!" Yeah, Bostonians talk funny, and no, they didn't think it was as funny as I did. We visited all the old-line bookstores in Boston, though we didn't buy much at them. I picked up a signed/limited Derrydale copy of Annabel's "Tales Of A Big Game Guide" from Charles Daly Arms Books that went into my library for a few years, only to be sold during the divorce. The smaller stores and the junk shops offered a lot more, though even those were picked over by scouts and dealers. I peeved Dick by rewiring his stereo so I could copy some of his jazz tapes to listen to in the truck. It was hooked up wrong, but worked for what he wanted. I wired it correctly but didn't get thanked. I was also ordered to wash my truck. I guess he was afraid of what the neighbors would think, but after I washed it I touched up some chips in the paint with a spray that didn't quite match so I think it was a net loss for him. When you are brought up eight miles from the nearest paved road, car washing never gets to be a priority. You could have one sparkling like new at the house and it would be crusted in dirt by the time you got to town. Besides, appearances have never been a high priority for me. All in all, it was an interesting visit. TBC (Me) (Blacktail Books)