As fun as it was to go back and forth with Boston boys about the inevitable Lakers/Celtics showdown, we ended up driving around the rest of Massachusetts as well, and found some things that were downright…weird.  
First, Walden Pond, site of Thoreau’s famous Walden, a book about the splendors of living alone in the wilderness, isolated from society.  I knew the Pond was a somewhat popular tourist destination, but I pleasantly surprised to find that it’s an even more popular hangout for local residents, many of whom were sunbathing when we arrived, while their kids swam, racing each other across the cool, clear water.  On the other end of the pond, near where Thoreau’s cabin once stood, three men had boats out on the pond, where they were posted in the shade, fishing, as closer to the shore a man in a wetsuit snorkeled, apparently a routine habit of his as he searches for treasure. 

It was a little surprising to see so many people enjoying a site famed for its solitude, but what we found in Salem, site of the famous Witch Trials (which led to the murders of 20 innocent citizens, 19 by hanging and one by stone pressing) was infinitely more strange.  The town itself was indescribably weird and vaguely scary—not in a good way—and it was hard not to feel bad for the people who lived there, including an 85 year old man who stopped my wife and me to explain to us that his town wasn’t always like this, that it was once a bustling community center instead of the rattrap tourist pit it’s since become.  But the people I felt really sorry for, the true victims of the weird kitsch of the city, are the football and soccer players of Salem High School, home of the Salem Witches.

Now granted, my alma mater’s mascot is a Jackrabbit, which is why I never expected to be pitying another team for theirs, but…man, can you imagine the heckling they must have to endure?  The insulting rhymes for Salem Witches, so easy to come up with that even the dumbest opposing fans can get under your skin?