The Castaway Hotel - 6 - 32. Chapter 32 - Recognition

The flight to Boston went smoothly and we checked into our hotel room. I had reserved a room with two double beds, so the boys could have one to themselves, in case they felt a little frisky. I’m not sure if they would, with me in the room with them, but who knows what they might try, once they thought I was asleep. Besides, it was going to be a weekend of celebration.

Friday night, after we stopped for dinner, we took a walk around part of downtown Boston, just to pass the time. It was nice and relaxing, but we actually didn’t get to see very much. By the time we returned to our room, it was late, so we just decided to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow we would see more of this wonderful city, but this time in the daylight.

The boys were actually very subdued tonight and there were probably a couple of different factors to account for it. First, it was probably due to the fact we’d had a very long day, since we’d gone to school first, before catching our flight. Then there was the time we’d spent wandering around Boston, but it was most likely also due to the fact that we were in the same room.

In addition to those reasons, they also knew we had a big day ahead of us. Part of it would be fun, as we saw the sights, and the other part strictly business, but we wanted to be fresh for both halves of the day. We might have time for a brief rest in between, but understood it would be better if we were completely rested when the day began, so we wouldn’t have to worry about running out of energy.

Saturday morning we got up early, went out and had a decent breakfast, and then I took the boys for a walk along the 2.5-mile long Freedom Trail. There are sixteen historic sites on the trail, places straight from the period around the birth of our nation, and things I thought the boys should see. Some of these places are now publicly funded, while others are privately owned, but either way they had been preserved for generations.

Visitors were welcome at most of these places and many people took the opportunity to stop by, so they could appreciate some of our country’s past. The publicly funded places included Boston’s Old State House, Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s House, Old North Church, Bunker Hill Monument, the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Dorchester Heights Monument, which is now located in a residential neighborhood. It would take some time to see all of this and it would require some physical exertion on our part, but I felt we could handle it and still be in good shape for the banquet later.

I think we all had a strange feeling as we started this tour and it wasn’t just because we were going to take a route that many of our country’s forefathers had traveled. The trail we were about to follow was marked by a line, in some places it was painted red, while in others it was just a brick line on the pavement. It was almost as if we were in the Wizard of Oz and following the yellow-brick road.

Our journey began at The Boston Common, the oldest public park in the country, which was established in 1634. It is almost 50 acres in size, and was a focal point of the community from its inception. From there we went to the Massachusetts’ State House, modeled after Somerset House, which was considered to be England’s leading 18th century civic building. Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere set the keystone for the building on July 4, 1795, and in 1802, Revere was commissioned to cap the wooden dome in rolled copper. It opened in May of 1796, becoming the first state house in the new union.

Next in line was the Park Street Church, which was built on the site of the old town granary, where grain was kept before the Revolution. It is an Evangelical Church, dating back to 1809, and has celebrated many firsts. It had the first Sunday school, in 1818, and the first prison aid, in 1824. “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” was sung at the church for the very first time, by the church’s children’s choir. The location for the granary was established in 1660 and now contains the third oldest burial ground in Boston. Among the notable people buried there are former governors, clergymen, mayors and three signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Next, we walked up the street to King’s Chapel, which was actually the replacement for the original wooden chapel, built in 1688 on Puritan burial land. This chapel now sits next to the oldest burial ground in Boston, and boasts the remains of Massachusetts’ first governor, John Winthrop. From there we went to see the Ben Franklin Statue, one of Boston’s most famous sons, and it sits next to the oldest public school in America. The Boston Latin School was built by Puritan settlers on School Street, in 1635 and was an important fixture in Boston’s past.

From there we walked to the Old Corner Bookstore, which had been the launching pad for publishing in America. The building was converted, so it could house seven presses, and the owners began to print and sell books from this location. The titles included were by many of the most important writers of the day.

After seeing that building, we crossed the street to look at the Old South Meeting House. The more modern buildings that surround it now dwarf this building, but at one time its steeples established part of the city’s skyline and rose above the masts of the ships in the harbor. This building has seen its share of historic moments and was the rally point for the Boston Tea Party. It was also the place where the community commemorated the Boston Massacre.

Now, we walked up the street to the location where the Boston Massacre took place. Believe it or not, this started out over a supposed unpaid barber’s bill. On Monday, March 5, 1770, at about 8 p.m., a young wigmaker’s apprentice began to pester a British sentry about owing the bill, although the officer had a receipt showing it had been paid. Eventually one of the soldiers became annoyed with the young man and butted him with his rifle, although it wasn’t clear whether this deed was done by the same soldier whom the boy was taunting or by one of the others.

At this point, a crowd began to assemble and became increasingly rowdy. Since Boston had been a powder keg for some time, the nervous British soldiers fired their weapons and five men eventually died from wounds inflicted there. Patriot activists used this incident to arouse public support for their cause and distributed copies of Paul Revere’s famous engraving of the ‘massacre.’ Although the engraving was factually inaccurate, it was a propaganda success and helped push the colonies closer to rebellion.

From there, we crossed the street to the Old State House, circa 1657. It was first called the Town House and then City Hall, but in time became known as the State House of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Declaration of Independence was first read from its balcony and it stood on the site of Puritan stockades and Boston’s first trading floor. A little farther down the street we stopped to see Faneuil Hall, built by Peter Faneuil as the city’s first market. It quickly proved to be too small, so by 1805 it had to be expanded.

We were all getting a little weary at this point, and more than a little hungry, so we stopped to grab some lunch before we continued our sightseeing. The boys talked nonstop about some of the places we had visited and confessed they could almost imagine what it must have been like to live here at the start of the American Revolution. Although the areas around these places had changed greatly, once you focused solely upon the historic structures, everything else began to fade and you could almost forget that centuries had passed. After about an hour breather, we resumed our trek, knowing there were only a handful of places left to see.

Our first stop after the break was Paul Revere’s House, which was already 90 years old when the 35 year-old Revere purchased it in 1770. However, over the years the house has been modified several times, to serve as a store and a candle factory, before it was restored to what the restorers hoped was a realistic interpretation of how it might have appeared in colonial times. Little of the original dwelling actually remains, but it provides an idea of what the early residences might have been like.

After walking a few more blocks, we came to the Old North Church, technically called Christ Church. This is the oldest standing church in Boston and the old Georgian styled steeple was the setting for the lantern lightings mentioned in the phrase, ‘one if by land, two if by sea.” In fact, each year, about mid-April, there is a ‘Lighting of the Lanterns’ ceremony held to commemorate Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to Lexington, to warn ‘the Red Coats are coming, the Red Coats are coming.’

We also did a quick walk around Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, first used in 1660 and named for William Copp, a shoemaker who once had a house on the spot. Among the notables buried there are Cotton Mather, a Boston minister who determined witchcraft was the basis for the problems in Salem, and Edward Hartt, who built the USS Constitution. From there, it was quite a long walk to the place where the USS Constitution was on display, but we continued on. The boys soon learned the ship was nicknamed ‘Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812, when shot after shot bounced off her hull.

The final stop of this simple tour was at the Bunker Hill Monument. It opened in 1842 and commemorates the first time a unified colonial army took the field against the British Army. The 221-foot granite obelisk actually sits on Breed’s Hill, where most of the fighting took place, and marks the first major battle of the American Revolution. We climbed to the top of this monument, to take in the amazing view, but this concluded our brief trip through history. We realized it was time to go back to the hotel, so we could get ready for the banquet.

We flagged down a taxi, since we preferred to ride back to the hotel, instead of walking that far again. Once we arrived there, we went up to our room and showered, before taking a brief rest. When we woke up, we put on our suits and did the other things necessary to get ready to attend the banquet.

This affair was very similar to the one we had attended in Pennsylvania, although the setting was more elegant and there was a distinct feeling this was more of an honor than before. This was clearly evident as we wandered around the room to look at the artwork and read the various writing selections. The level of achievement was much higher here and the displays were much more impressive than before. I could only imagine what the national banquet would be like.

Eventually, we sat down to listen to the opening comments and then the food was served. It was delicious. This time I had ordered beef, which turned out to be prime rib, while the boys had ordered chicken again. This time, however, it turned out to be Chicken Cordon Bleu, but the boys loved it.

Following dinner, the winners were announced and the plaques presented. I couldn’t have been more proud of Trey than I was the moment his name was called and he went up to receive his award. He, like all of the other winners, received a very nice ovation from the crowd, but we gave him a special congratulatory response, once he returned to our table.

When it came time for the keynote speaker, we learned tonight’s address was to be given by a very distinguished college professor. He began by going over the benefits of what a good education could do for a person and then congratulated the winners on taking advantage of their opportunities. Finally, he challenged them to continue to build upon the impressive talents they had already displayed and use them to not only improve themselves, but also the world they lived in. Looking around the room, I could tell each of these young persons seemed to be taking his challenge seriously and were making a silent commitment to do as he suggested.

After the banquet ended, we stayed for a while longer, so we could talk to some of the other winners and their parents. We were amazed by the diverse backgrounds they came from, as some attended inner-city schools, while others came from wealthy suburban districts. Their families ran the gamut of the social-economic spectrum too. Although the majority of the students seemed to come from professional homes, I was more impressed by those who had risen above their background and went on to achieve at levels unknown to their families and communities. They were truly the success stories here.

After spending an additional hour talking, we returned to our hotel, but I told the boys I was going to visit the hotel bar for a while. I did this to give them some time to be alone and told them I’d return no sooner than an hour, so they would understand they’d have some time to themselves. I think they appreciated this gesture of recognizing their need for privacy and intimacy, because they both hugged me before they sped up to the room. As they disappeared in the direction of the elevators, I went into the bar and ordered a drink. There was a piano player there and he was quite good, so I sat down on a stool, sipped my drink and enjoyed the soothing songs he was playing.

I actually stayed at the bar a little longer than I told the boys I would, to make sure they had enough time to themselves. Besides, the music was good, the drink prices were reasonable and I actually lost track of time. When I went back, the boys were cuddled up together and sound asleep, so I slipped quietly into my own bed, ready to cut a few z’s of my own.

The next morning, we got up, dressed and packed our bags, before we went down for breakfast. After we finished eating, we went back to our room, grabbed our luggage, checked out and then took the shuttle to the airport. A couple of hours later, we were in the air and on our way back to Pennsylvania.

It was a short, uneventful flight, and once we landed, I made a quick call to Jake to let him know we’d be back shortly. After hanging up, we made our way to where we’d parked the Grand Am, loaded our things inside and took off for home.

When we pulled into the driveway, a short time later, it almost looked as if no one was there. The van and the Suburban were parked out front, but we saw no signs of life, which was highly unusual for our place, especially since they knew we’d be there by now. Confused, we grabbed our things, walked up to the door, slowly opened it and went inside. There wasn’t a sound in the house – that is until people jumped out from all directions and screamed, “Surprise!”

The three of us jumped when this happened, and my heart skipped a few beats, but I should have suspected they would do something special for Trey’s triumphant return. Once again the whole extended family was there, including the Shays, the Spences, Aunt Sally and the Beckers.

There was also a pile of congratulatory cards and letters stacked up on the phone stand. Although some were from those in attendance, others were from family members who couldn’t make it and the rest were from friends, including a huge stack from teachers who had had Trey in one of their classes. It was all very nice and meant a great deal to Trey, who couldn’t wait to show everyone his new plaque. After he went around doing that, we sat down and chatted for a while, before enjoying another very nice meal. Everyone had brought a very large dish or two to pass, while Jake and the boys fixed everything else, and there was more than enough to go around. We topped that off with a piece of Trey’s congratulatory cake, which Jake had ordered while we were gone.

We spent another hour or so after we ate just sitting, talking and answering questions about our brief stay in Boston. This seemed to really interest Vinnie, since he had grown up in the Boston area and recalled having visited some of the places we stopped at along the Freedom Trail. He had a few questions to ask and observations to make as we talked about the trip, but I didn’t allow this to go on for very long. I didn’t want to bore the others with this one-sided give and take, so I switched to discuss other topics, mostly current events. When the party broke up and everyone went home, the three of us went up and unpacked our things, so we’d be geared up to return to school.

The next week brought a couple more surprises for us and the first one wasn’t very pleasant. It was a letter from our insurance company that let me know I would have to drop Vinnie from the family auto insurance policy or my coverage would be canceled. I called my agent, as soon as I could, and he explained it was standard practice with a new driver, if the claim was over a certain amount. Seeing the 4Runner had been totaled, it was definitely over the limit.

My agent then informed me I could put Vinnie on his own policy, but warned that option would be expensive, because of Vinnie’s age and driving record. I told him to go ahead and remove Vinnie from the policy for now and I’d get back to him about how I wanted to handle this on a permanent basis. I had other considerations to take into account, before I would make that determination.

What I was actually thinking was that I was going to check with some other insurance companies, to see what they could do for us.
I wasn’t happy that I’ve been paying sizable premiums to this company for many years, and now that we’ve had a claim, they wanted me to remove one of the boys or cancel my policy. What the hell did they think I was paying them all this time for, my health? I wasn’t just donating to their surplus, and now that we have a reason to collect, I don’t see the justification for what they were doing.

I would call around and get some quotes from other insurance companies. I’d explain our situation first, and then inquire if their company would have done the same thing. I’m so mad about this at the moment that I might just dump this company out of spite, as I don’t wish to give them another penny of my money for this type of service. I’m tired of companies that have their hands out, happy to accept your premiums and promise you coverage in return, but the first time you need to collect, they want to drop you faster than you would release a hot dish you’d just taken out of the microwave or oven. That’s not my idea of the type of company I wish to deal with.

Later that week, we also learned that Andrew’s drawings, the ones of Cody and the house, had won ribbons at the art fair. The ribbons were awarded based on age groupings, and Andrew’s entries had won in the pencil drawing and watercolor categories. We were all thrilled for Andrew, especially Cody, who wasn’t hesitant to inform anyone that would listen that Andrew won because he had the best model.

“See, I told you you’d win, because you drew the picture of me,” he told Andrew, tongue in cheek.

“How can that be, cuz I won for the picture of the house too?” Andrew challenged, trying to get the upper hand.

“That’s easy,” Cody replied. “The judges knew I was inside the house too, so they gave you a prize for both.” After he told him that, Cody punched Andrew lightly in the shoulder, to let him know he was only teasing. However, Andrew wasn’t about to take this, without making a retort of his own.

“Then next year I’ll draw a picture of some really old, shriveled up person, and I bet I’ll win a prize for that one too, just to show you my winning had nothing to do with you.”

Andrew was smiling as he said this, and then he punched Cody’s shoulder, to emphasize his point. This good-natured ribbing went on a while longer, before the boys wrapped their arms over each other’s shoulders and went outside, to do what, I don’t know. However, I think they had gotten closer over this experience, even if Andrew had worried about having drawn the picture in the first place.