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14 may 2000
----- Boston.MA.USA 11.56.PM Charles' friend, Don, here, guest-writing. Wow. Been a while since I did this... Somehow, I got roped into writing tonight's entry, even though this journalling thing doesn't make much sense to me. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be writing about, although I guess I'm supposed to summarize the day's events for Chuck's readers. After finally getting up at about 10:00, we all dragged ourselves out into the first glorious day in Boston this year (well, glorious weatherwise). Chuck was hyper and antsy, wanting to see and do as much of everything in Boston all in one day. I was a bit more sedate, still recovering from the last burst of exams (I just completed my second year of medical school), and could not think past brunch. After making sure that everyone had made their obligatory calls to their respective Mom, we showered and trundled off to a chic-chic South End eatery to have a trendy breakfast. I was pleased to find out that even someone as aesthetically picky as Charles found the "space" I chose to be "awesome", and even decided that his breakfast was one of the best cereals he'd ever had. My orders from Chuck were clear -- I needed to find him something quintessentially Bostonian, and preferably touristy and even a little cheesy. Those who know Boston will realize that this wasn't an easy set of criteria to work with. After thinking and thinking, I finally came up with the perfect solution -- Fanueil Hall. Its a little hard to describe, but the Hall is a little bit shopping mall, a little bit amusement park, and a little bit historical site, and a little bit sports bar. Chuck managed to pick up a lobster plush-toy and a bottle of hot sauce. Hey, whatever makes you happy, right? We went back home for a little bit, mainly because Sarah had been nursing a killer headache all day, and Chuck and I chatted out on the porch, reliving old times, and just enjoying the weather. He and I went down to my school and I showed him around the place that I have spent the last four years of my life suffering/learning. After watching a little TV and chatting some more, Sarah had recovered enough to join us for dinner. For some reason, Chuck had decided that we had to eat dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant...Even though the only one in the entire Boston area was in a Howard Johnson's hotel lobby and had a spotty record at best. We arrived to a scene that can only be described as frightening. The restaurant had all the charm of the worst chain restaurants in airports. And the wait was apparently over an hour and a quarter. Charles was suddenly struck with the inspiration to abandon the teppanyaki place in favor of the Boston branch of Morton's steakhouse. Although the valet service at the hotel managed to lose our car for a good twenty minutes, we were able to get ourselves out of Cambridge and back into town. A short while later, we were enjoying some fantastic food, some good drinks, and some great conversation. I haven't had a steak like this one since leaving New York City, and I certainly haven't been in a steakhouse more comfortable and amenable to conversation. Casual but not run-down, friendly but not smarmy, attentive but not hovering, it was the perfect foil to our reunion and our mood. After dinner, we agreed with Chuck that the best way to end his trip to Boston was to visit the famous "Bull & Finch" bar on Beacon Street -- better known as the facade of the bar "Cheers", from the comedy series of the same name. After making this pilgrimmage, we decided that we'd had enough Boston for one trip, and headed back home. Somehow, we're gonna get up at 5 AM (2 AM PDT) to get Charles on his flight back home. So ends Chuck's visit out here, too short, but worthwhile nonetheless. Over-n-out. 14 may 1999: didn't write : 14 may 1998: it's a shame : We picked up $6 seats in the nosebleed section, drank a lot of beer, and watched Hideo Nomo walk home the winning run in a 4-0 Phillies victory.
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