The Passing of People and Seasons

It was a big deal when Ted Kennedy died last week. The whole Kennedy family means a lot to New Englanders, but Ted in particular has made a great impact in Massachusetts. After 9/11, Ted Kennedy called the families of all the victims from Massachusetts, and sent them cards on the anniversary every year after. After John and Bobby were assassinated, Ted took their children as his own, giving away the daughters at their weddings, and visiting every ER and ICU in any family emergency. Because he was a senator for 46 years (elected 9 times), many people felt a personal connection with him; he was very much engaged in the lives of everyone around him. The work he did for civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and the work he did on behalf of the poor and the disabled will not soon be forgotten. The passing of the Lion of the Senate leaves a gaping hole. In listening to NPR this past week, it's clear that people are concerned that they no longer have someone to speak for them. There are many hardworking, selfless, good people in the Senate, but none as passionate, powerful, and involved as Ted Kennedy was. Ted was Uncle Teddy to his family, who adored him and felt his presence in their lives all the time, and also to his constituency, many of whom also felt his direct, positive presence. Before I moved to Boston, my impression of Ted Kennedy was what I had gleaned quickly from wikipedia, mostly centering on the Chappaquiddick incident. When I moved here, it soon became apparent that there was so much more to the story, and that Ted Kennedy had grown into a revered, beloved man of the people, one who will be dearly missed by many.
In the winter, you can walk beneath branches that you can't walk under (as comfortably) in the summer and fall. The leaves weigh the branches down, and they hang lower.
I couldn't resist taking this picture. These folks are health care workers of some sort, on their cigarette break. There were more out of the shot - about 30 people in all. Geniuses.
The highways out here often have rest stops with gas stations and fast food. (I get laughed at when I call them freeways; no one here does that, I guess because most of them have tolls - more on that later. You also can't call it "the 1." It's "Route 1," thank you very much.) California has such amenities as well, but here, the rest stops aren't at an exit to the road, that leads off in some direction. Usually, the rest stop is the only thing there, like a little island surrounded by trees. You can't continue to the local roads - there aren't any. It's just a little pocket along the highway. The exits are fewer and farther apart here, and often an exit will take you off the highway a ways before you are given the chance to get back.
This is a toll plaza on the Massachusetts Turnpike ("Mass Pike" or "The Pike"). If you go through them with any regularity, you really should get an EZ Pass transponder for your car. You can add more money to it online and/or automatically, and a reader at the toll plaza makes your passage much quicker.
Cambridge (across the Charles River from Boston) gives pedestrians plenty of notice when crossing the street.
It's moving week. Not for me, but for many of my neighbors. September 1 is the standard moving day in Boston, because of all of the college kids. Just like last year at this time, when I was moving out of my summer sublet and into my current apartment, the streets are full of moving vans, and folks who are obviously parents are helping lug stuff upstairs. There is furniture on the sidewalks and the stores are extra full of young people stocking up.

Hurricane Bill (no relation) postponed my whale watching trip and Hurricane Danny postponed my camping trip (some of the supplies I packed are above - excluding the feline, of course). I would be mad at Mama Nature if not for the fact that I've just recently been able to feel Autumn. It hasn't been hot and muggy, but it's more than that. I can feel it in the breeze, though I haven't been able to smell it yet. Autumn in New England is magical. I can't wait.