The Terrible Catsafterme

Business first. That’s my motto. Although I was ready to indulge in plenty of Laurel and Hardy frolics and frippery with my fellow Sons of the Desert, there was a historical location nearby that I needed to get under my belt. Although Bob and I had driven by the New Hampshire state capitol in Concord the previous Friday, weren’t able to go though it since it was after-hours. I had thus far only compromised going inside a capitol building one time, and visiting this this one would give me six on this trip that were fully toured. So that’s how I started my day on Thursday, July 19, 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

Although Bob and I had been tooling around various part of Massachusetts, mostly just outside of Boston, and even occasionally inside of Boston, I really hadn’t gotten the feeling of experiencing the real heartbeat of Boston. That was rectified on Friday, July 6, 2012. Looking back, it is amazing how full this day actually was. It began when we woke up in Braintree and started as early as possible. The Adams National Historic Site didn’t open until 9am, so that was the best that we could do. Read the rest of this entry »

For 166 years, only John Quincy Adams could claim to be both the son of a president and a president himself. Like George W. Bush, he would also have his father’s first name. And like his father John Adams, he would be a one-term president.  His tenure as Secretary of State was a much bigger success than his Presidency. He negotiated the annexation of Florida, ended the War of 1812, negotiated our northern border with Canada, and was the author of the Monroe Doctrine. But his tenure as the sixth President of the United States from 1825-1829, was sabotaged by a Congress controlled by many of political enemies, including Andrew Jackson, to whom he’d lose the election of 1828. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, July 5, was the second day of the two-weeklong road trip that Bob and I were taking. It was a good day overall, although just a bit grave-heavy, so please have tolerance. Checking out graves of the famous appeals to me for a few reasons. The first and most obvious is to simply pay my respects to someone whose work I like or admire. If rule number one doesn’t apply to someone who has achieved some other fame or notoriety, see rule number two… which is the checklist/scavenger hunt aspect of it. And finally, I legitimately enjoy the detective work sometimes involved in tracking down a headstone based on various clues that we pick up in advance. So although it is easier to just go to the main office of the cemetery and ask for directions, a lot of times I enjoy it more when we have to scour the cemetery to find it. So while I have no objection to the stereotype of the grave-hunter to be somewhat morbid, I wanted to lay out the facts as I see them. Read the rest of this entry »