Well, let me tell you of the story of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA.
Well, did he ever return?
No he never returned and his fate is still unlearned
(What a pity)
He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston
And he's the man who never returned.
Charlie handed in his dime at the Kendall Square station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him, "One more nickel"
Charlie couldn't get off of that train!
Chorus
Now, all night long Charlie rides through the stations
Crying, "What will become of me?
How can I afford to see my sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?"
Chorus
Charlie's wife goes down to the Scollay Square station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window she hands Charlie a sandwich
As the train comes rumbling through!
Chorus
Now, you citizens of Boston
Don't you think it's a scandal
How the people have to pay and pay?
Fight the fare increase, vote for George O'Brian!
Get poor Charlie off the MTA!
First we park the car in the MTA parking lot and get that ticket, then we board the train, pay and get the return ticket and finally we pay for a round-trip on the subway and have to keep our Charlie ticket. My pockets are full now. No room for money.
We’re off to the JFK Library and Museum in southern Boston. But taking the train and subway make it so easy. Soaring white concrete and glass building with a 50-foot wall of glass overlooking the Boston harbor filled with exhibits chronicling the tragically short Presidency of Kennedy.
Can you name these two broadcasters?
Obviously later I understood how close a confrontation between the US and the USSR was during those fateful days. It began with our missiles on Turkey, pretty close to Russia. Russia thought they could have missiles on Cuba, close to the US. Only fair they thought. But it was not something we were going to allow. There were some in Kennedy’s cabinet and his advisors who thought we should bomb not only the launch pads on Cuba but also the Russian naval ships bringing the missiles for those launch pads. But, Kennedy went with a much milder solution and set up a blockade around Cuba so the Russian ships couldn’t get through. Russia turned around. And, in the end, we removed the missiles in Turkey and Russia did not establish missiles in Cuba. Left out - Castro, and was he ever mad.
By the way, did you guess Chet Huntley and David Brinkley?
Of course, I knew Chet and David! I still have JFK and Clinton Libraries to visit! We were in Boston in '94, but I don't know why we didn't visit JFK. I think it must have been finished. However, we did make it to the "Good News Garage" which is the home of the "Car Talk" guys on NPR. Guess John Hancock's birthday (Julian calendar).
ReplyDeleteSherron, I knew you would know this. In fact, when I put it in, I thought of your. We still have the Ford and Bush (2) libraries to see. Ford actually has a library in one city and a museum in the other. Making us work hard. I always wish he hadn't gotten such a bad rap for pardoning Nixon. It was the only thing to do then. And that's a dyed in the wool Democrat speaking. He did well. I remember feeling so relieved when he took office - thinking that this national nightmare was over and sanity was back.
ReplyDeleteWe went to the Ford Museum since the libraries are more for research. Ron and I disagree about the Bush Libraries. Which one have you seen--LBJ? I thought HW was less interesting, but Ron liked it better than "W". Considering, I also think that Hoover also got a bad rap.
ReplyDeleteHi, ya,
ReplyDeleteWe have been to the LBJ library, boyhood home and Pendernales. Enjoyed all. Hoover should have stopped before being President, he had such a great reputation and had done so much for Europe after WWI. He actually took some steps to try to stop the free-fall of the economy in the 1929 and 1930 but, constrained by his ideology, not enough. He needed to think outside the box.