The View From Here . . .

Young Robert and I, along with some friends, spent the Memorial Day weekend in the Boston area.

Since the lad had never seen Boston, he and I visited some of the usual tourist attractions, including the Old North Church, the Granary Cemetery, the South Meeting Hall, the Paul Revere House, the USS Constitution, the Bunker Hill Memorial, the Harvard University campus (across the river in Cambridge) and a number of others. We had canolis in Boston's Little Italy and lobster at Legal Seafood, wandered along the Charles River for a while and saw a game at Fenway Park. I must admit that even though Fenway is the home of the hated Red Sox, it actually is a very good place to see a game, much more intimate and with better sight lines than in larger ball parks.

In a weekend surrounded with history, one does reflect a little more about times gone by.

I have become a strong nonbeliever, with very few exceptions, in the concept of the "good old days" and this trip certainly did not change my opinion.

For example, take conditions on the USS Constitution, the venerable "Old Ironsides" now harbored in Boston that fought in the Barbary Wars and then won two major victories against British ships in the War of 1812.

In our era, we worry whether children wear safety helmets riding a scooter. At the time of the War of 1812, however, boys age 8 to 12 years old paid $8 month had the dangerous duty of carrying powder up and down the ladders of the ship. The boys' small size made them more adept at this dangerous task.

Then there was the issue of medical care, or pretty much the lack of it. Surgical procedures, done without anesthesia, were performed on a lower deck area called the "cockpit", which was painted red because of the constant blood. When the surgeons were unavailable, the ship's cooks, who were familiar with knifework, would be pressed into service in performing medical procedures.

Another reflection is on the level of heroism that was required of past generations. For example, consider the era most reflected in Boston's historical sights - the coming of the American Revolution.

While in hindsight the victory of the patriots may seem inevitable, in the 1760s and 1770s, it was anything but assured. When James Otis declared that "taxation without representation is tyranny" or colonists angered by the continued tax on tea (despite the repeal by the British of taxes on other goods) threw tea into Boston Harbor, these were controversial stands that could well have cost them their fortunes, their liberty or even their lives. Similarly, the attempts by Paul Revere and others to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them were fraught with danger. It is not a new thought, but succeeding generations owe much to people willing to take a stand for liberty.

If you haven't been there lately, Boston is well worth a visit, both for its many attractions and because it does have much to teach about our history and heritage.