Copley Square

I just got back from Copley Square.  It was a cool overcast day on the way there but it is pretty gorgeous now.  It's hard to know how to dress when the weather is so changeable and you don't have a car to leave things in.

I am ambivalent about mass transit - though I know that's not politically correct. I use the Green Line almost every day now.  It is a little bit slow but it's usually well worth it because it goes directly where I am going, I don't need to contribute to the traffic and I don't need to worry about parking.  We'll see how it is in the winter.  Waiting for the T may be a bigger deal then.

But today was an example of when it doesn't work so well.  Driving to Copley Square would take about 15 or 20 minutes, I think.  It took an hour to get there and about 45 minutes to get back.  The T was very crowded and very hot on the way back.  Not a satisfying way to travel.  But it would be terrible, of course, if the T didn't exist and there were that many more cars on the road!

I went to the Boston Public Library to do my homework.  It's an absolutely gorgeous building.  Once several years ago Bill and I had gone in just to hang out and read there.  We found a room with comfy leather armchairs and spent a very nice day.  Now the comfy chairs are all gone and have been replaced with tables and chairs.  It's a fine place to do some work but it does have a little less character than it used to.

When I was tired of doing homework, I went out to Copley Square to hang out.  I took a couple of pictures before the battery in my camera died (aargh).  There was a Farmer's Market on the square so I wandered around.  It was wonderful to smell the fresh produce and see what was for sale.  But I didn't buy anything because I would have had to carry it all back on the T.

I found a comfy bench where I could watch the fountain, the birds and the people.  I was enjoying the moment when a guy on the next bench decided to strike up a conversation with me.  While he enjoyed his beer (one of a long series, apparently), he told me about how he had cheated the insurance companies by claiming disability and scammed someone else by taking care of his grandparents for money. When he started complaining about how Obama had broken his trust by lieing to him I figured it was time for me to move on.