Lost in Boston

Several years ago, while on a business trip here in Boston, I overhead a man talking about his driving experiences as he was returning his rental car at the airport. He summed it up thusly: "I could always see where I wanted to go, but I could never get there!"

It hasn't been such a problem for me. Of course by walking, I don't have to worry about one way streets and I'm not going so fast as to get too far off course before I realize it. Trust me on this one. It is, according to MapQuest, 2.39 miles from my hotel to the hospital and I've walked it four times now. And even if I do get a little lost, I'll be OK. There is a Dunkin' Donuts in just about every block. How good is that!?*

You know I came to Boston this time because I know Stellan is here. And now, a lot of other people know it too. Look what showed up at Fenway Park at the end of the seventh inning of Friday night's game:

And how good is that!?* Go Sox (the red ones) - at least until you meet up with the Braves.

The famous Big Run is taking place tomorrow in this city of the infamous Big Dig. And even though their slogan is America Runs on Dunkin', I don't think I've had enough Dunkin' Donuts coffee to make a go of it. Unless... I could ride my bike. That idea came to me today as I watched the Sunday 5K race go by while making my way west along Boylston. There, at the end of the pack, were several cyclists, each wearing yellow jerseys declaring them to be race spotters, herding the runners like border collies. Now THAT's how you do a marathon!

Getting back to today's theme - finding your way in Boston... There were three people in the van I rode in from the airport, each here to run in the marathon. They did not know each other, although they had arrived on the same flight from Seattle, and were discussing how they might meet up on race day. If you think that wouldn't be a problem, consider that there are 25,000 runners registered for the race. However, one of the guys did come up with a method by which the others might locate him. He said, "I'll be behind the Kenyans," thereby narrowing down the group through which they'll need to search to about 24,990. Sounds like a plan to me.

* Answer to today's quiz questions: It's really good! You know, this really isn't such a bad place to be lost in.