Course Correction
Anybody can make a mistake.
Sometimes, we even get to fix them.
At some point during the winter, I wanted to walk to Castle Island in South Boston.
To get a view of the harbor.
And the planes taking off from Logan.
I looked briefly at the map, but then thought:
”I don’t need no stinking map. This is my town!”
Pride goeth, as they say.
There was only one little error in my plan:
I followed this.
Instead of this.
I walked for miles. And no harbor.
There was more than an hour of Vietnamese neighborhoods.
And I thought: “Southie must have changed a lot while I was away.”
Finally, I got to Ashmont Station on the Red Line.
At 1900 Dorchester Avenue.
Still no water.
So I decided to ask some of the locals for advice.
Jimbo: “Excuse me, but I’m trying to get to the harbor.”
Homie Number One: “Where you from?”
Jimbo: “Marlborough Street.”
Homie Number One: “Where?”
Jimbo: “The Back Bay.”
Homie Number One: “Huh?”
Jimbo: “Downtown.”
Homie Number One: “What you wearing on your face?
Take that shit off!”
Homie Number Two: (Shakes head).
Jimbo: “I was trying to get to the beach in South Boston. But I’ve been walking for miles and there’s no water.”
Homie Number One: “Man, you WAY off!”
Jimbo: “Are you sure?”
Homie Number Two: (Shakes again).
Homie Number Three: “Man, you better go across the street and ask someone at the station.”
Jimbo: “Thank you, gentlemen! Have a great one!”
For some reason I kept on walking, quite sure of my direction.
Until I left the Boston city limits, and ended up in Milton.
Then I looked at the map at a bus stop, and realized the problem:
I was not walking east. I was walking south.
I would hit water, all right.
Once I got to Cape Cod.
I somehow managed to get to a place called Neponset Circle.
After six hours of walking.
And saw Boston in the distance.
And I thought: “No way can I haul my ass back there!”
So I slinked off to the nearest T station.
Today, I remembered to follow Dorchester Street.
And not Dorchester Avenue.
South Boston is still heavily white. And Irish.
No Juneteenth celebrations on tap.
Plenty of Guinness, though.
I found the water, no problem.
Plenty of pink at the beach today!
The Harborwalk takes you right to the JFK Library.
It is a lovely spot.
The path then curves around and passes the legendary Gas Tank.
The bridge was raised for a boat!
Eventually the Harborwalk hooks up with the Neponset River Trail.
Which I have written about before.
Today, I ended up in the same place as when I made my navigational error.
But my attitude was completely different.
Because I had finally made a course correction.
Now all I need to do is rehydrate.
After that epic trek.
With my brand new cocktail fave: The G&P.
P = Pompelmo (grapefruit).
Cheerio, pip-pip, and all that rot!
SSLLLURRRPPPPAHHHHHHH!
