Old State House - Boston, MA

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

SAMUEL ADAMS

On a recent trip to Boston in early June I found myself with a few hours to spare after my flight arrived so I took a shuttle to the airport transit station and jumped on the T which is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority subway and I rode the blue line into Aquarium Station in downtown Boston. The T was clean and easy to use and for $4.00 it made a trip downtown an easy and enjoyable thing. I emerged from the subway across the street from the Custom House which was built in 1837. This magnificent old skyscraper with a giant clock set below the spire of the building was Boston’s first skyscraper when the tower was added back in 1911. I made my way up State Street and between a few buildings and emerged at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. I was starving by this time having flown across the country so I entered Quincy Market and could not believe the incredible amount and different varieties of food that were available. I indecisively made my way down the center aisle fighting through the sea of humanity on this humid day in June as my mouth began to water due to the veritable smorgasbord of food that was on display in shop after shop. I finally settled on a large cup of New England Clam chowder from the Boston Chowda Company with some Cap Cod chips. After I ate my chow, I walked to the north side of Fanueil Hall and stood there looking at the Statue of Samuel Adams and was keenly aware of my insignificance in the shadow of such an incredible patriot. I looked down at the ground and noticed a line of red bricks with a brass disk in the middle of it reading “Boston Freedom Trail”. This red trail is 2 miles long and it connects the most significant historical sites in Boston that deal with the American Revolution. Along this route you will find such sites as the “Old North Church” where it was agreed that the lanterns would be lit “One if by Land – Two if by Sea”. The Old State House that was built in 1713 as the seat of the British Colonial Government many years before the founding of our Nation. The Old South Meeting House where Benjamin Franklin was baptized and Samuel Adams gave the signal that started the Boston Tea Party. As I walked through the streets on the most perfect summer evening I pondered these incredible historical events as I gazed upon the very structures that these great men prayed, worked and debated in. In a square near the Old South Meeting House I learned of the devastation of the AN GORTA MOR (The Great Hunger) or more commonly known as the Irish Potato Famine that decimated over a million Irish and caused many more to flee that Country and emigrate to the United States. Many thousands of those destitute people came to Boston and for many years were looked down upon and discriminated against by the people in the United States. I walked across the street and stood in front of the Old Corner Bookstore where the likes of Stowe, Longfellow, Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau would meet to discuss their various works and issues of the day. I walked past the Old City Hall where an impressive statue of Benjamin Franklin stands complete with bronze plaques on all four sides depicting his life’s achievements. I noticed two bronze shoe prints on the ground with GOP elephants on them facing a life size bronze Donkey……..the mascot of the Democratic Party. An inscription near the shoe prints invited persons to “Stand in Opposition” conveying the message that it is futile to resist the will of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. I walked past the “King’s Chapel” founded in 1686 as the first Church of England in Boston. In it’s graveyard lies one of the pilgrims from the Mayflower. I continued on to the Granary Burial Ground where John Hancock, Paul Revere and Samuel Adams are buried. The creepy old headstones lean this way and that ……some are adorned with archaic looking angel / cherub type things and some with skull and bones. I walked through Boston Common which was established in 1634 past the “Frog Pond” and up the hill to the Massachusetts State House and watched the sun set off of its brilliant golden dome. After that I sat on a bench facing Tremont Street and watch the skyscraper lights flick on behind the tall spire of the Park Street Church. My entire trip downtown only took a couple of hours and a few dollars but a price cannot be assigned to the education I gained by walking through this historic town, pondering all of the great men who built this incredible city, defied the King & Crown and kicked off the Revolution that shaped our great Nation. If you ever find yourself in Boston with a few hours to spare, make your way downtown and walk the freedom trail. Other sites of interest include “Old Ironsides” the USS Constitution which is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy; Bunker Hill National Battlefield; Old North Church, Paul Revere House and the Boston Tea Party replica ships. For more information visit this website http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/tickets/tours.html

Never forget the history of our Nation and the incredible sacrifices that were made for the sake of freedom and liberty.