Boston friendly
I visited the Boston area a few weeks ago and boy was I surprised. Knowing that your city was loaded with Bruins and Red Sox fans lowered my expectations somewhat. Within Canada, there is a perception that we are thought of by outsiders as the polite friendly folk. Well, my four days of experiences with the friendliness of Bostonians has nudged that notion into the back seat. You people have kept the secret of your friendliness and fine hospitality very well.
As I do on so many visits to other communities, I brought my bicycle along. It would require a full page to define all the courteous and respectful interactions I had with so many car drivers as well as the all the smiles, hellos, holding doors and general acknowledgement as a pedestrian. A culture of helpfulness appeared to be omnipresent whether bicycling, walking or on your transit system. At Fenway Park, the ice cream fella built a noticeably larger mound of ice cream into a plastic Red Sox helmet and announced that it was a Blue Jay special as he handed it to me. I still can’t figure what revealed me as a Canadian — do we too have a noticeable accent?
About an hour or so after leaving Fenway we got on the wrong train. It appeared that every passenger on the car was engaged in an effort to get us to our Foxborough hotel. On a bicycle ride along S. Main St. Route 140, Mansfield, after crossing over Interstate 495, I encountered a number of orange pylons erected in preparation for a concert. I wanted to avoid the heavy traffic upon returning so I asked a local traffic policeman for an alternate route to return. Too often in Canada they fire out a bunch of directions and move on. Here, after seeing the blank look on my face following his first effort, he repeated it slowly and carefully a few more times until he saw the light come on and then he followed with a “be safe” as I pedaled away.
I dragged my feet at writing this note until yesterday, when I bumped into a few Canadians who had recently lived the exact same down-home friendly experience in your town. You guys are as ordinary as apple pie and your friendliness stands out. And your secret is now out.
Thanks for the all the real nice experiences.
— Barry Robinson, Napanee,
Ontario, Canada