The One With The Boston Marathon

 

It is April vacation, and we have decided to do some fun things each day. On Patriot's Day, we decided to see the Boston Marathon. While I have seen it dozens of times in person, Emmie, Bri, and Kiff have never seen it in person. 

 

We drove down to Natick, where we went to the end of Boden Lane - the historic spot that I used to watch it with my Dad, my Mom, Mark, and Debbie - as well as my friends. It brought back lots of memories.

Kiff and Bri had a good time. We got down just in time to see the women's elite leaders go through. We saw some of the wheelchair athletes as well as some of the men's runners, too.

 

It was interesting to see how security has changed over time along the route. There were tons of police motorcycles and intermittent state police cars going by.

 

Although we only stayed for 30 minutes or so because it was rainy...but it was fun to see. When we got home, we actually saw the women's runners that we watched in Natick pass through the finish line.

 

Definitely a great memory.

The One with Knives Out

We just came home from seeing Knives Out. What a fun movie.

What made it most fun is that some of the scenes were filmed in my hometown of Natick....and I could clearly see some landmarks.

1. West Central Street

2. St. Patrick's Church

3. The area opposite Middlesex Savings Bank

4. The backside of the business opposite the police station that have a parking lot.


Perhaps my favorite was the are just past Elm Bank where the exterior of the mansion was filmed. Online, it gives little information because it is a private residence and they are trying to keep it from being visited by movie goers. Understandable!  But I totally recognize it as the mansion on that spooky road between Wellesley and Natick. As soon as I saw it in the movie, I said, "I've seen that building before."

Definitely a fun movie to watch.

The One With Coaching Basketball

It was hard to believe but it returned.

After stopping 12 years ago. I once again coached a kid's basketball team. I had done it for so many years in Natick when I was much younger.

And today, I returned to the courts, coaching Bri's team.

It was a blast. I forgot how much fun it was. We had a good game....with a lot to build on.

But it was great to be back!

The One where A Local Legend is Corroborated

Earlier this week, I had one of the local legends that I heard several times growing up officially corroborated and verified to be true.

I grew up in a town called Natick. It is an awesome town with many of its own legends. One of the most famous - told even by my parents who had just moved into the area at the time it happened - was the story of our town's famous brush with greatness (it has had many more since).

It happened around 1960. A family from California moved to town. The family had children who were friends with Jerry Mathers...the famous character in Leave it to Beaver. According to legend, he visited and stayed with a family in town and it caused quite a stir. It was even in the papers, I was told.

While I typically believe such stories, I had always wondered if it really was actually in our town or did he just visit our town. I also wondered if it was in our town, where it might have occurred.

Flash forward about thirty years later. I was chatting with woman who actually grew up in our neighborhood at the time...on Curtis Rd. Although she did not live there long, she mentioned that she lived across the street from a family that moved in from California. And - she said - one of her greatest memories in that neighborhood was when the family hosted Jerry Mathers at their house. Although kids tried desperately to see him and say hi, they never quite caught a glimpse of him.

Wow....little did I know a famous celebrity not only stayed in our town for sure...but he stayed a couple of streets over from where I grew up.

I love it when local legends turnout to be true. Sometimes, the way you find out is just as amazing.