A Big Day for Massachusetts

Posted on April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was a big day for Massachusetts. It was Patriots’ Day. It’s not named for the New England Patriots football team, but the other way around. It’s named for those men who fathered our nation, the minute men, the rag-tag revolutionaries that won the nation’s freedom. Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts commemorated the “shot heard ’round the world”. The Battles of Lexington and Concord which marked the start of the revolution.

A trip to the Concord Green at dawn is a trip back in history as the battle is reenacted with muskets and Red Coats. It doesn’t last long but as the smoke from the muskets roll over the watching visitors it’s easy to be transported back to that day in 1775.

Two more modern events also take place on Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts.

Since 1959 the Boston Red Sox have been scheduled to play at Fenway Park on Patriots’ Day.

But the other big event is the Boston Marathon. This is so big that some people call the day Marathon Monday. Yesterday was especially meaningful because it was the first anniversary of the Marathon Bombings. For many people it was a matter of pride to make sure this year’s running was successful, safe , special.

I was going to meet my friends and co-workers at Mile 13 in Wellesley to cheer on the runners. One of my co workers was running. What makes her run so amazing is that she has been struggling back from an injury that only a couple of months ago had her bed-ridden. I can’t quite wrap my head around what an accomplishment this is!

I ended up missing it. I had to get my business cell phone fixed so I was stuck at the T-Mobile store all afternoon. 🙁 Sadly I had to pull the plug on my phone. It had been struggling on life support for several months and it was just time. It was so far gone that it took forever to get the contents moved from my old phone to the new phone but finally I was back in action. Unfortunately by then most of the runners had crossed the finish line.

The news reports state that The Marathon was a success and the Red Sox lost against the Orioles.

Life in the Hub goes on, the sun was shining and life is good!

Happy Chinese New Year (A Wordless Wednesday)

Posted on February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Gong Hey Fat Choy

The Insurance Jungle

Posted on January 25, 2014January 25, 2014 by Dusty Roads

About a week ago we had the 2013 wrap up meeting in Somerville at the main Boston Office. What that means is I get to drive 51 miles each way to hear how we did and hope for some insights on what’s to come in 2014. Being a work from home employee, my attendance is optional but I am a nosy employee. I want to hear from the horses mouth what’s projected for the coming year. I don’t want to hear all the speculation and innuendo when the meeting results gets rehashed over the email water cooler.

So as a dutiful, nosey employee I made my way (1.5 hours) to the Somerville office via the central artery, the expressway, the “distressway” , Route 93, or any and all of the above, They are all names for the same stretch of highway H_ _ L.

Following the meeting and a nice lunch (I really go for the free food)

I headed back to repeat the process. It was about 2:15-2:30 when I left. That’s slightly ahead of rush hour. (in theory) . Traffic wasn’t too bad as I entered the tunnel to the southern side of the artery but it was filling in fast. I’d almost made it to what they call the Braintree Split when it happened.

I have no idea what actually triggered the accident.

There was a large truck to my right with a brown SUV behind it. I was in the next lane, a travel lane with cars in front and in back and the next lane to my left was also filled with cars.

Traffic was moving probably 30-40 miles per hour. A good clip for the volume. A lot of jockeying goes on here as the right hand lanes try to get to the left side for RT 3 and those on the left try to cross to the right for Rt. 128.

Suddenly I heard things flying and then something shook my car. I didn’t know if I had damage or not but plastic stuff was still flying around so I pulled over. The Brown SUV had hit the left rear of the box truck and the force of that hit bounced him into my car. His SUV was a mess. The truck had only slight damage. My car has a superficial scrape and the passenger mirror was knocked off. It will still cost a bundle to be repainted.

I called 911 and the state police responded right away.

My car was drivable so after an exchange of insurance cards I was on my way, “collateral damage” to the main even between the SUV and the truck. Thus entering the INSURANCE JUNGLE.

My first call was to my insurance carrier to put them on notice. My intention was to go through the SUV’s carrier. First I got a call from the “adjuster” from my company. Then I got a call from the “Liability Adjuster” from my insurance carrier. He took a statement and told me they would pay the whole claim and to go ahead and get the ball rolling with the body shop.

The body shop said “Whoa, not so fast. They won’t pay the deductible.” I said yes, the adjuster said they would because it wasn’t my fault. Then I got another call from someone else …again from my company…who confirmed that they would pay the deductible and “subrogate” from the other carrier.

Today I took my car for an estimate. The body shop will send the estimate in to the company and then we’ll wait for approval to go forward. I still haven’t heard from the other insurance company. In the meantime, duct tape fixes anything. 🙂

Lighthouse Lovers..This Post’s for You

Posted on September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Hello Lighthouse lovers. Did you know there was a lighthouse in Boston Harbor for sale? I didn’t either but it sure got everyone’s attention today when a record-breaking sale was announced.

Sold! Graves Island lighthouse breaks record

Graves lighthouse is the one I mentioned in a recent post as being in line with Boston Light. (Graves is the one in back in the photo above)

There are lots of lighthouses that you can rent for a night or two or maybe even a week for vacation but do you really want to live there?

Graves light is 5 stories high with 2 bedrooms. One drawback…no bathrooms but I guess if you can afford to buy a lighthouse you can afford to update the plumbing.

Whoever purchased Graves Light got it for the “paltry” sum of $933,888. Not bad for a working lighthouse especially when you realize it was CASH bid.

The US General Services Administration, which conducted the Graves Island Light Station auction, has not identified the new owner of the lighthouse located on a rocky, wave-battered ledge near the entrance to Boston Harbor. But we can tell you it was bought by a Boston businessman whose roots in New England date to the 1630s and who has a deep interest in maritime history. He said Wednesday he prefers to remain anonymous until the sale is finalized, which will most likely be Thursday or Friday. The GSA has said it received bids from 10 parties initially, but the number dwindled to two as the price rose higher and higher. The winning bid is a record amount paid for a US lighthouse. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1987, the Graves Island lighthouse is one of 163 lighthouses located along the New England coast. It went on the auction block in June.

A Day at the Zoo

Posted on August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I think the saying is “a walk in the park” but for me and my friend and her family it was a “day at the zoo”. Nancy has been working 3 jobs all summer so squeezing in our annual summer jaunt was turning into a challenge. We were down to the wire when a Tuesday opened up in all our schedules at the same time! YAY! I picked up Nancy and her two children, Alex and Dawn, and we made a bee line to the Franklin park Zoo.

I love zoos and it had been a couple of years since I’d been to this one. Nancy said the kids hadn’t ever been to this one. Located in the Dorchester section of Boston, Franklin Park Zoo is truly an urban zoo. You can even get to it by subway.