Beantown, My Favorite City...

"Parents lend children their experience and a vicarious memory; children endow their parents with a vicarious immortality."
-- George Santayana
" May the Man of Galilee his healing send."
-- Anonymous

Today I went to Boston, not for pleasure, but for a doctor's appointment. It made me think about how much I absolutely love the city. I think it may be in the blood. The Dowager Queen and the dearly departed Old Fox were born and bred there and, since I was little, it seemed like a fun, magical place.

As I have discussed before, I was born with some health issues, and Boston also represents salvation and life to me. It is the place where Godlike doctors made it so I didn't end up on a cold slab. My fondest memories, strangely, are those involving going to the hospital with the the Royal Couple. We would get in the car and, since back then we didn't need "no stinkin'" seatbelts, I would fall asleep in the backseat spread out like in my bed during the long travel down the Pike. My father would usually wake me up with excitement in his voice saying, "We are coming up on Star Market!" This meant we were officially in Boston. There is a Star Market on the Pike that was actually built to straddle it like a bridge. I would immediately sit up, wide eyed staring at the impressive John Hancock Building (the new one) and the Prudential building. The Old Fox would then toot the horn, heralding our entrance... it was adventure at its best!

Our hospital trips were always positive and presented to me as not a big deal. Just something that had to be done. Part of life and my quest to be healthy like any normal kid. Not that they treated me differently. As the Old Fox's dad used to say "everybody gets the same, rotten treatment" and our family lived by this credo.

Of course, this didn't make me very sympathetic to the other patients that would be screaming when the parents went back to their hotel rooms. I was like, "cripes, shut the hell up, they'll be back tomorrow" ... of course being 9, it was actually probably, "what a baby, just be quiet, they'll be back tomorrow". I couldn't understand the other kid's reactions. Being in the hospital for treatment was just part of the deal we were born with. Why didn't they get that?

To this day I love going to this hospital. It is like Mecca for me. I don't know if it is because whenever I am there I am the center of attention or if it is just that I know it was a place of healing and continued life. Anyhoo, the parentos always made the appointments and hospital stays seem fun, especially the Old Fox. Man, do I miss him... I remember one time that I was checked in and there was a gift waiting for me. It was a little bird cage that turned on and made a bird tweet sound. He had this idea that he would put the cage out of view and I would "lip-sync" the bird sound when people went by. Our game was to count how many people did double takes or stopped completely staring agog at my fabulous ornithological abilities.

Another time, there was a visiting German doctor who was checking in on me before one of my surgeries and the Old Fox asked in a very serious, sorrowful tone, "Will she be able to play the piano after the surgery?", wherein the doctor said "Certainly!" ... (you know what is coming next) and dear ole' dad said "Well she couldn't before!" We were roaring and the doctor just looked at us mystified, not understanding the joke. Priceless...

It is only as an adult did I come to the realization how scared the parentos must have been. They were the ones who heard the risks ... the doom and gloom that could possibly be ... the times in the waiting room waiting to hear that your kid's heart restarted after being on by pass for six hours ... the waiting must of been nerve racking and fearfully unbearable. Not once did they ever let me know. Pretty cool...

Anyhoo... it just made me think of one of the many reasons that the Dowager Queen and the Old Fox were tops!

Stay coool and safe!