The Bostonians

The Bostonians, a novel by Henry James, is perhaps not an up-to-date account of the city and its people, but I only got around to reading The Turn of the Screw (another, more famous, James novel) in college. I've done a lot of research for this trip; I swear, I could sit around and read the dictionary or any travel book with no intention of going there. But I usually do have an intention. I'm full of intentions. I remember the poetry man calling me from a phone booth in Edinburgh; I thought it was so romantic and told him, "I'm going there soon." I did. I love traveling more than anything.

But in studying Boston, I found that the Indianapolis high school, Crispus Attucks, is named after a young, black sailor who died instantly after being shot by British troops in the Boston Massacre. (I'm embarrassed -- I figured he was an athlete.)

This event, as we know, started a revolution.

I'm sure I sped past the Boston Massacre on my way to Vietnam in my history books, but "massacre" seemed tantamount to "genocide" in my mind: many, many victims. In fact, there were only five men killed in the Boston Massacre, and the British soldiers were--wow, shocking--all acquitted.

So I asked Beth how she feels about cemeteries. We're visiting the Granary Burial Ground, the final resting place of the 5 victims, plus other key Bostonians, such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Apparently, I am related to a famous Bostonian too: General John Endecott. In a nutshell, he was a Puritan beyond pure, governor of Massachusetts from 1641-1645, and started a war with the Pequot Indians. I think I'll keep this information to myself while in the area. Being family, I can understand the "starting a war" part, but the conservative, puritan part is a little out of my reach.