Patriots’ Day by Kim D. '09
Rejuvenated by a Reenactment
So, my last few weeks have been no fun. To put it lightly.
My main activities for the past two weeks have been working during the day, working at night, and squeezing in doctor’s appointments wherever they fit. Helpful tip: don’t get sick while at MIT.
So when my friend Roxana ’09 suggested biking to see the Battle of Lexington, I was THRILLED!
We woke at 3:30 on Patriot’s Day Morning and rode off into a quiet, misty land. Massachusetts Avenue, so often clogged with cars, was transformed. It belonged to just we cyclists, and we soared over the pavement, thrilled to use muscles which had begun to rust in place…
We arrived at Lexington just before 6 am, and a huge crowd had already gathered. There were three tiers of people: those standing in front, those perching on ladders/ladder constructions, and those in the trees.
Niki ’09 and I grabbed a bench. She stood on the bench and I stood on the bench’s back, using her shoulder to steady myself. We traded off for the better vantage point a couple of times.
The Redcoats and the Patriots met and exchanged harsh words. Both sides postured a bit. A shot was fired, and battle broke out.
When it was all over, women and children tended the fallen.
The British marched off, to loud boos from the present-day audience.
And then we fraternized with the enemy.
This guy turned out to be an MIT alum. He also told us about the first time he was part of the reenactment, in 2001. He had never watched the reenactment before being in it, and didn’t know the guys planing patriots. So, he was really unsure how the battle would unfold, if he could trust them not to really stab him, etc. He also told us an amusing story about how he was scared out of course 12 and into course 22.
We grabbed some hot sustenance from a Dunkin’ Donuts and biked back to Boston as the sun rose.
And we all lived happily ever after (at least, until the next set of deadlines arrives).
@Piper Yeah, so he went to a class, I think it was 12.001, on the first day his freshman year, and they spent the whole first lecture on a lot of complicated eqns. He was scared away. 3 years later, with more math under his belt, he went back and tried the class again. First day was same as before. Second day, 2/3 of the people had been scared away, the prof says, “well, you can forget most of yesterday, it was to scare away the people who wanted an easy ride.” And the class proceeds to be manageable.
I did it.
it is sometimes fvn to cut fingers deeper than hair.
clay slate on my desk near my laptop. this is my ovvn Cake
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cviolet/sets/72157617081399078/
Seems it was a real cool days.
EPIC blue photo
first! f yeah!
I just love this post. I like happy endings
)
He was scared out of 12 into 22? I’d probably go the other way around
Hmmm…..I think that you should explain what Patriots Day is, being how it is only a celebrated holiday in Massachusetts and Maine.
Kim likes caffeine and ART.
not much first one, she Actually loves the fiRsT one
i’m working on my fifth clay slate. these hairs are growing, should re-put my hands into layering scissors later.
Whoa, when I heard you talking about going to this in the basement of Random, after pants pants revolution, I didn’t realize that you were a blogger and a celebrity! I’ll never wash my hands again!
What, you didn’t know that Kim is a blogger from Random along with Yan? XD