After missing my bus (for which I’d previously purchased a ticket) in Saco, Maine due to the fact that there was no signage and no bus shelter (in the pouring rain) and no indication that I was supposed to wait out by the street instead of at the actual bus station (can you tell I’m irritated with Greyhound?), I called an Uber which took me up to Portland, Maine at my own expense, Greyhound! The Portland bus then took me to Boston.
Okay, I’m over it now.
My cousin, Richard, picked me up at the bus station in Boston. Now, when I say ‘my cousin, Richard,’ I mean my long lost cousin, Richard.
Where do I start? I want to keep this short and sweet, so I’ll just say it’s a long, rather sad family story in which one side of the family lost track of the other for a very long time. I’m writing of my dad’s side. My dad died when I was young and over the years, I lost connection with his side of the family. Oddly enough, when my mom died, I went through a lot of her papers and photos, etc. and happened upon an email address of one of my cousins on my dad’s side. I contacted him immediately and that was the beginning of the (re-) connection.
So, as I said, Richard picked me up at the bus station….

…and drove me around town, showing me some sights. Here’s a bit of Fenway Park….

…and some great old brownstones. Boston! I’ve always wanted to see it – my dad’s birthplace. So happy to have seen so much of it. Richard took me everywhere, describing all sorts of scenery. There were some great gardens and parks in town as well. Such a neat city. I’d love to go back some day and explore it some more.

We went down to Quincy which is a long-time family town, too. Not far from Boston. There were lots of historical sites. Here’s part of Quincy Commons and John Quincy Adams’ home. There was a really nice new walking mall as well. Funny side note – waiting in line for my flight out of Boston, I met the woman who designed this new Quincy town center mall. Quite the coincidence!

All this was in the Quincy town mall.
Anyway, now the most important part.
The cousins! And I remembered to take pictures. Woot!
From left to right – Steven (my dad’s brother’s son), myself and Richard, the greatest host ever and my dad’s older sister’s son.
Again, from left to right: My cousin Janice (yes, the same name as me – it was a popular name back then!) who is my dad’s younger sister’s daughter, me, Richard and Barbara (who is also dad’s younger sister’s daughter).
Finally, here are me and Florence (who is my dad’s older sister’s daughter).
All first cousins. I met all of them for the first time and I’m deliriously happy about it. I had a great time with them all.
I can’t tell you how much this has meant to me. As I said, my dad died when I was pretty young and it really left a void in my life. Meeting all this family (as well as having met my cousin Rick – my dad’s younger sister’s son – in North Carolina a couple years ago) has meant the world to me. I just don’t have words for it. It has been wonderful.
….and I got to see Boston to boot! Can it get any better?!
What a great town.
…..and I’ve gotta admit – pretty much the entire time I was there, I had this song running through my head:

I flippin’ love this song – part of the soundtrack of my life!