Patty and I spent last weekend in the Boston area, where we were visiting my last living aunt, Nanette Eckert.
At one time, I had six sets of aunts and uncles — two on my mother’s side and four on my father’s. Back in my 30s and 40s, I couldn’t imagine the day when it would be down to a single aunt or uncle. But, alas, the day arrived.
Nanette, my late father’s sister, is 88 — a healthy and active 88, luckily. Her husband, Jim, died Oct. 27. They are originally from Louisville, where all my family is from. Nanette and Jim moved to the Boston area more than 40 years ago when he was transferred by his career-long employer, General Electric.
We had three days with Nanette, who lives in a retirement complex in Needham, and on Sunday evening we went to another suburb, Acton, to spend a night and part of Monday with a longtime friend, Ellen Oak, who lived and worked in Kansas City decades ago.
The time with Nanette and Ellen was gratifying. While they were the focal points of our visit, we also were able to go to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and twice we made it to Boston’s North End, the city’s oldest residential area and home to numerous, fine Italian restaurants. We had one lunch at a cramped and quirky place called The Daily Catch, which features seafood and pasta. Another day we ate at La Famiglia Giorgio’s, a more spacious and traditional restaurant.
I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked, but I got enough for a decent representation.
I hope you like them…
Nanette and I, next to a beautifully outfitted tree/woman at the Museum of Fine Arts
The MFA lobby
Salem Street — one of two streets, along with Hanover Court, that comprise the heart of the North End
TD Garden, which about 20 years ago replaced the legendary Boston Garden, where such Boston Celtic stars as Bill Russell and Bob Cousy played.
This is a retail operation at Volante Farms in Needham. The “farmstand” features, among, other things, a gourmet deli, a butcher shop, homemade pastries and locally roasted coffee.
Some of the goodies in the bakery
Finally, here’s something that warmed my heart: A full, four-section, daily paper. In 2013, Boston Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry bought the paper for $70 million. As of Sept. 30, The Globe had nearly 100,000 digital subscribers — more than 10 times as many as The Kansas City Star.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Rosanne and I were in Boston in mid October for a wedding. We stayed in Brookline near the wedding venue and a few steps from the T. (I believe it was the middle fork of the green line.) We took the T to the North End for a party. But the rest of the time we were fairly close to our hotel. What a great city! We found a quirky MIT techno museum a short Uber ride away. And we found plenty of great places to eat and shop — all within walking distance, which we noticed a lot of people do in Boston. After breakfast one day, we walked over to a house on an unimposing residential street lined with huge sycamores. It was John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s birthplace. What a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours. Three stories, not including the basement. Restored to the time of the president’s parents, Joe and Rose Kennedy. There’s a fascinating audio guide, which Rose recorded. And there’s a wonderful video with lots of Jack’s speeches. There’s coverage of 1963, too. The whole thing just raises hairs on the back of one’s neck. Boston is such a place of history. We wanted to go to the presidential library, but there just wasn’t time. The Sunday night we were there, the Red Sox were in the playoffs at Fenway. And the Chiefs were playing the Patriots. We easily got a table at a nice seafood restaurant. And the streets were deserted, pretty much.
Good account, Fred.
Since we’ve been back, two different people have told me about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the 1990 theft/armed robbery of 13 art works there valued at a combined total of $500 million.
Wikipedia says…
In the early hours, guards admitted two men posing as police officers responding to a disturbance call. Once inside, the thieves tied up the guards and over the next hour committed the largest-value recorded theft of private property in history. Despite efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and multiple probes around the world, no arrests have been made and no works have been recovered. The museum initially offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the art’s recovery, but in 2017 this was temporarily doubled to $10 million, with an expiration date set to the end of the year.
This was extended into 2018 following helpful tips from the public.
The stolen works had originally been purchased by art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) and intended to be left on permanent display at the museum with the rest of her collection. Since the collection and its layout are permanent, empty frames remain hanging both in homage to the missing works and as placeholders for their potential return. Experts are puzzled by the choice of paintings that were stolen, especially since more valuable artwork was left untouched.
Among the stolen works was The Concert, one of only 34 known works by Vermeer and thought to be the most valuable unrecovered painting, valued at over $200 million. Also missing is The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt’s only known seascape. Other works by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and Flinck were also stolen.
Sounds like the slick robbers in the movie, The Town (set in Boston). Their big coup was Fenway, not for near that much money, tho.
After the death of Whitey Bulger it was said that he had known something about the Gardner Museum theft and that the works are now in Spain.
Great shots Fitz.
Thanks, Larry.
Enjoyed the article, JIm. Great photos. Fun city. You covered a lot of territory! Forwarded to Anne and Nanette.
Thanks, cousin!
Your aunt does not look her age! And the family resemblance is strong.
Yes, the Gardner is a fabulous museum — the three-story courtyard, wow. There’s a movie about the heist.
As for your photos, agree about your hip aunt. And that tree has more balls than you, Fitz…just sayin…
Merry Christmas and thanks for your posts this year. Stay on the Jungerman story! Just lay off your friends, the Coppingers. You don’t need to scold people who entertained you in their home for years…
You may have the comment of the year there, Tracy — about those Christmas balls…