“The Inner Light”
Written by George Harrison it would be his first song released on a single – as the B-side to “Lady Madonna” in 1968. Poor George. Tell Me Why describes George as using “delicate imagery” while using session musicians re record the music in India while the others were in England working on other tracks. BeatleSongs mentions the lyrics are directly taken from or inspired by a translation of the Tao Te Ching. I’m not going to research this myself.
Day 3 in Boston was filled with exactly three things: baseball, art and music.
After waking up and showering I checked Google Maps to figure out exactly where the Cy Young statue was located. Cy Young was a pitcher for the Boston Americans, the team that would later change their name to the Red Sox in 1908. In 1903 Cy Young pitched for Boston in the first World Series. There are many more accolades for him, but it’s enough to know he’s an important figure in baseball.
Finding his statue would probably have been impossible had it not been for Google Maps. Located on the pitcher’s mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds you would think the statue would be easy to locate, but that’s not the case since the area has been taken over by Northeastern University. Buildings and paths are all over and if you don’t know exactly where it is you’ll miss the statue. If you’re into baseball at all, however, it is worth the effort to seek it out.
Whatever I had planned for the rest of the day changed after that. On the way to the Cy Young statue I passed by the Boston Museum of Fine Art. I decided to go. It had been a while since I’ve been to a world class museum (because Seattle doesn’t have one, no matter what people want to believe) and I grew up with a healthy appreciation for art and have always enjoyed spending time in museums.
Opening at 10am I was something like the 30th person in line or whatever. I had to be ushered out at closing time just before 5. Alright, a lot of people had to be ushered out too. Still, that should give you an idea of how I spent my day.
Detail of a sarchophagos lid
The sarcophagus lid
An exhibit of John Singer Sergeant’s watercolors was the special exhibition and that’s where I started. I rather enjoyed that despite not being a big fan of watercolors or American painters.
Then I decided to go through the Art Of The Americas collection. This took quite a while. My thought was to get through the collection I would enjoy the least and save time for those collections I really wanted to see.
Next I went through the Art Of The Ancient World, a collection I was particularly interested in. So many great items from Egypt alone is worth the visit, but to many other fascinating items are on display that I simply can’t do them justice. I was particularly taken with some of the stuff from ancient Persia.
Europe was my next focus. I really enjoyed turning down a hallway and stumbling across a Botticelli inches away from my nose. Some of my favorite artists were on display (Braque, Rodin, Picasso, etc.) and I really enjoyed seeing their works. Then there were the other artists I am not as familiar with that I enjoyed seeing, such as Rubens.
It was when I moved on to Asia, Oceana And The Pacific (at least I think that’s what that collection is called) the museum began to shut down. There was another collection entirely I didn’t make it to, let alone missing out on about 90% of the one I was already in.
Such is life.
Dinner then it was on to night 3 of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Hometown Throwdown. And a different set of clothes for the band again this night. When I saw them two years ago they had the same “uniform” both nights I saw them, plaid suits.
So many great songs and a different set from the previous two nights. Maybe a third to half the set list was comprised of songs played the previous nights, and this is what makes attending the Hometown Throwdown special. The band will bring out oldies from deep in their catalog they don’t normally play, as evidenced by the first night’s “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love”.
What was surprising was how the band limited themselves to one encore this final night. After a solid two hour set the final good-byes were said and the band left the stage. This left singer Dicky Barrett in the same position he was the previous two nights after the show – out front with the audience signing autographs and thanking fans.
A couple of hours sleep then it was off to the airport for an early flight back home and back to reality.
This day, and this whole trip really, touched my own inner light. There were things I was able to enjoy and fully immerse myself into without distractions. And for this I have to thank my wife for allowing me to go in the first place.