Living by the Manual

It is 2 a.m. which means:

1. It is officially Labor Day
2. I am once again up too late
and
3. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I start class as an official second-year graduate student.

Hot damn.

There really isn’t much to do but wait. Well, that and study a book on Castle Island and Fort Independence and attempt to learn multiple tidbits of history to fulfill the length of a 45-minute tour by tomorrow (or today?).

Yea, not going to happen.

Since it is technically Monday, that means yesterday was my first day volunteering at the fort. I have my official badge and lanyard, my jacket, and my water bottle, sans the knowledge fit for giving tours. All I can tell you so far is limited to the order of the flags that line the top of the fort (the fifty states in order of their entrance into the union), the fact that the cannons are made of fiberglass, the names of about seven senior citizens, and the quality of the ice cream in Sullivan’s down the hill (which is fantastic). I spent my entire first day as a backup or semi-enforcer to three tours hosted by three different people. Instead of gaining a consistent knowledge of fort-ish things, what I got were three completely different guides to the island and its contents. But because of this I learned what people don’t like: People don’t like boring.

People want cannons and intrigue. They want to touch things. Go down dark tunnels. Take photographs and say cheese.

But gods help me, that fort has a view and I get a chance to see it every weekend. Whether I read that book or not, thank you Castle Island for making me feel like a Bostonian.

A view from one of the bastions.

1 thought on “Living by the Manual

  1. Amanda says:

    Hmm, maybe I will have to come up to Boston to hear one of your guide-ly presentations 🙂

    Reply

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