#28 Boston - Winter Wonderland - Dec 16, 2007

http://www.mybostonyear4.blogspot.com/

Well, this second snow storm was supposed to pass right by Boston, and hang out a bit more north - so the meteorologists said yesterday - and when I woke up this morning my first thought was “ Hmmh, I wonder if and when it was going to snow today.” A second later, I heard the sound of a shovel on asphalt, and I carefully peeled back the blinds to take a peek. “Holy Sh…..” was the next thing I not only thought but also loudly proclaimed into the cold morning air. This is the second snow storm in three days, just right after Thursday when Mother Nature provided an impressive display of speed-snowing. I was having a business lunch with some visiting scientists from Denmark at the Longwood Grille in Boston, and when we went in to start out lunch, things looked a little gloomy outside but no snow flake was in sight. 45 minutes later as we emerged from the lunch place, and I am not kidding you, it looked as if the mighty God of Snow had emptied a giant bucket of White over the poor city of Boston. The snow fell so hard and so quickly, that commuters did not have enough time to get out of town, and as a result the streets were chockfull of cars, the snow plows could not get anywhere, intersections were completely jammed, and horror stories of 8-hour commutes were heard the next day at water coolers all over town. Now mind you, it did not snow that much, and for cryin’ out loud, this is New England, we should be used to this kind of weather, but somehow the whole system collapsed and there were quite a few unhappy people out there, stranded, cold and grumpy.

Today’s weather calls for some more indoor time, finishing up some home-made Christmas presents, watching another video or two, right after we do some shoveling outside. Thursday night’s shoveling extravaganza took about three hours – mostly because I helped out my 84-year old neighbor Irene and her grandson, who have the driveway adjacent to my house. Irene is unbelievable and is out there armed with a shovel and tons of determination every time the snow hits.

Needless to say the snow had thwarted some of the social plans this week, and a proposed dinner this Thursday evening with Darrell and Susan at the Beacon Hill Bistro had to be moved to Monday. Good thing the Bistro is not going anywhere. This past weekend, sans snow, had afforded a bit more flexibility, and Saturday I headed off to my ushering gig at the Lyric Stage Company, where Mr One Man Show, Nick Casey, performed “This Wonderful Life”, a superb take on the Jimmy Stewart holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. This was absolutely swell – Casey plays pretty much all characters in the story and at the same time narrates it. For my non-US friends who may not know this popular Christmas flick – directed by the famed Frank Capra, it depicts the story of George Bailey, a small town banker who gets himself a bit into a pickle. Things are not going so well, and George contemplates suicide, wishing he was never born. Clarence, a down-on-his-luck bumbling angel-in-training is assigned the project of saving George Bailey showing him what life would be like in Bedford Falls if he would have never existed. If Clarence succeeds, he will get his wings, and since this is Hollywood, you bet he does. The movie is a pretty solid tearjerker, and the King of Sappy, Mr James Stewart elevates this to formerly unknown heights, but I have always liked the message displayed here – we create our own communities and we all touch the lives of others in so many positive ways, and just like George Bailey, we do make a difference. If you are in Boston, take the time and visit the Lyric Stage Company (http://lyricstage.com/) and see the show – 70 minutes of great and heartwarming fun. If you own snow shoes you could even go today.

Sunday was spent lazily and only interrupted for a brief get-together with Ellen and Pauline for the most gigantic cup of hot cocoa I have ever had. Pandera Bread at the Arsenal Mall in Watertown does quite a number on the hot cocoa, and supplemented by their pastries that I am increasingly fond of, this was a worthwhile excursion.

Monday night I became one of Santa’s aides, as my running group, Community Running (www.communityrunning.org ), sponsored 20 gifts for Christmas in the City (www.christmasinthecity.com) , an organization that provides homeless children and families with a memorable holiday experience, gifts and all. Many of my club members pitched in and here I was with a car full of fabulous gifts for all the kids on our wish list.

Tuesday night I met up with my second dinner group which consists of my former landlady Marsha and her newest tenant and fellow German Dagmar, and for the first time in my almost four years in Boston, I went to Legal Seafoods (I know I can’t believe it myself that it took me that long). Highly recommended, Boston’s premier seafood place did not disappoint a bit, and my herb-encrusted tuna on a bed of mushroom ravioli and bacon-infused collard greens was just absolutely fabulous (http://www.legalseafoods.com/) and is to be praised.

Last night dinner group( #1) met for our Christmas get-together at the Litman’s house in Malden for a fabulous evening, which included absolutely wonderful food, ornament-guessing contests (I won, I won, I won, I won a candle, I won, I won, I won….), an impressive reenactment of Michael Jackson’s video “Thriller” by the very foxy Waleed, spirited discussions (during which at least one of the husbands was socked in the stomach for a comment regarding a wife’s subservient behavior), a Secret Santa exchange with some very lovely gifts (mine included hot chocolate and marshmallows, which happen to be two of my four food groups during winter season) and of course, quality time with The Peanut, Amy and Dana’s charming Chihuahua, who has us all wrapped around his paws.

Alrighty, time to go snow shoveling for a bit, and then retreat to the couch for some R&R, maybe accompanied by the above mentioned hot cocoa.

Talk to you next week - right before I am about to embark on a two-week trip to Germany to spend time with the family and put my feet up big time.

Stay warm!

PetJ

A couple of things for you to look at:

Yesterday, as every year was the time for the annual Santa Speedo Run (http://www.santaspeedorun.com/ ), a Boston tradition, where men and women clad only in speedos and bathing suits, run through downtown Boston in icy freezing weather. I am not kidding you, and just to put it in perspective – it was 12 degrees out there (minus 10 Celsius) - http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/specials/holidays/gallery/santa_speedo_run_2007/ . Only in Boston!

Picture on the Boston.com website from Thursday’s storm - http://www.boston.com/news/weather/gallery/131207snowgallery/ - I’ll send some from today’s storm separately later!