 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
What are
FAVORITES?
Bookmark any page of our site conveniently in this one area.
Sign In or Register so you can take advantage of all of the features of After Fifty Living
ACTIVE LIVING IN BOSTON: I LOVE THIS CITY
GLORIA LABOUNTY/AFTER FIFTY LIVING
From his expansive office view of famed Faneuil Hall, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino readily speaks of roots. His own are embedded in the city that starred in the nation’s birth and in Menino’s life.
“I grew up here. I love it here,” said the four-term mayor who has never resided anywhere else.
He dubs it a lively, friendly place, a conglomerate of neighborhoods that make Boston a big city yet a small one.
“It has changed a lot but has stayed the same in a lot of ways,” he said. Menino illustrates this through his own Hyde Park neighborhood that was once an amalgam of Irish, Italian and Polish families and that is now a haven to a new wave of Haitian and Latino immigrants. The evolution highlights the emergence of the city into an international community where Menino says some 140 different languages are spoken and where one of six residents was born elsewhere. The U.S. Census Bureau says that nearly 35 percent of Bostonians speak languages other than English in their homes, and those described as “white” make up 57 percent of the population, much less than the national figure.
One contributor to that variety is the city’s network of colleges and universities that attract students from around the globe. Menino said 45 percent of them remain after graduation to pursue careers in a city that excels in fields like health care, finance, education and tourism.
Yet the city is a magnet not only for the 20-34-year-olds who make up a third of the population, but also to the empty-nesters who Menino said are increasingly leaving suburbia behind for the rewards of Boston’s culture, history and vibrancy, and the convenience of its bus and railway systems.
It’s a richness that Menino has known for all of his 65 years, starting with his school years in Hyde Park, continuing through his college years that led to a degree from UMass, and through his foray into city politics that led to his election as mayor in 1993 with 63 percent of the vote. It was quite an accomplishment in a city that Menino describes as a very competitive place. “Politics is in our veins,” he said, but the zest has dwindled in recent years as fewer people choose to run for public office.
“There aren’t the colorful characters as in the past,” Menino said while minimizing his possible stature as one of them.
Color him red instead, as in Red Sox. “I love baseball, and I go as much as I can,” says Menino, the son of a semi-pro baseball player who traveled all over New England with his team. The younger Menino was not meant for the same path. “The curve balls got me,” he said. “I never could hit a curve ball.”
But he became mesmerized by the game, and gloried in the World Series victories that he said energized Bostonians. “It was great for the spirit of the city,” he said. “When the Red Sox win, the city feels different.”
Boston gets a great economic and emotional boost from all its college and professional sports teams, he said, which have provided a level of success that few cities have enjoyed.
But it’s hardly all the mayor savors about his hometown. He likes the theater but admits to not attending nearly enough, enjoys Shakespeare in the Park and the Boston Pops, and supports the burgeoning artist communities.
Summer in Boston is spirited, he said, with its abundance of urban gardeners, the color of its concerts and plays, the flavors of places like the waterfront and the spirited Quincy Market - whose most famous feature is Faneuil Hall, a building that dates back to the mid-1700s and that served as the site for Samuel Adams to rally citizens in support of independence.
The city is stocked with that kind of legacy and is what makes Boston so unique. Menino, who holds a degree in community planning and serves as an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said the city evolved from cow paths and historic sites and could never have been designed by a city planner.
He’s just lucky enough to have an office overlooking one of those sites, what he deems is “the best view in the city.”
He also has his sights on the future through the city’s playgrounds, basketball courts and ballfields that Menino said he strives to keep in excellent shape. His theory, he said, is that kids in the city should have facilities that are as good as, or even better than, the kids of suburbia. For Menino, summer renews a spark from his own childhood in events like St. Anthony’s Feast in the North End, a celebration begun by Italian immigrants nearly a century ago and one that remains a highlight of the season. Then at Christmas he relishes the traditional Italian feast of the Seven Fishes. “I go out with the guys I grew up with,” he said, visiting the fish markets for the flavorful dishes that will follow.
And the season just wouldn’t be the same without Christmas with the Pops, he said, and for him over the holidays, “there’s no better place to be.” The same applies to the First Night celebration that he believes may be the best in the nation and that others try to replicate without success.
Yet leisure for him is often low-key, and dinner out usually means a stop at a small local restaurant to support what he calls “the little guys.”
But Menino is well-acquainted with the well-known, not only through his political connections – he just attended the Democratic National Convention - but also through long-time friendships. One of them is represented by a striking guitar that rests against a wall of his office. It’s from the rock band Aerosmith, which got its start in Boston around 1970 with musicians like Tom Hamilton, who has long known Menino and who brought the guitar to him during a hospitalization a few years ago.
Yet for all his public exposure, this famous Bostonian is happy just being home in Hyde Park, a place he said is like having “an old glove on.” It’s there he likes to read a book, watch a ballgame, or ride his bicycle, sometimes at 5 a.m. when he starts his day. It’s all part of what makes Menino a lot like his city – diverse, unique, spirited and grounded. “It’s all right here,” he said. “All my roots are here.”
Previous Article: Home Improvement Calculators
Next Article: Garage Storage Solutions - Eliminate Your Excuses
Share
Mon Aug 17, 2009, 6:53:51 PM EDT
Leave a Comment -
Guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, but for the sake of all visitors to AfterFiftyLiving.com, please refrain from the use of obscenities, personal attacks or slurs. All comments are subject to our terms of use and may be removed. Repeat offenders may lose commenting privileges.
You must sign in below to add a comment, or register here if you're new.
These calculators help you figure out just how much of that product you'll need! more
- Compare a home equity loan vs. a line of credit?
- Is there a tax advantage with a home equity loan?
- Payoff a line of credit? more
It's easy....
Just follow 3 simple steps!
Go ahead! Get that project finished! more
Jo-Anne's Blog
Member Blogs
Shared Stories