Thursday, October 12th, 2000:
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus has come to town. Someone at work mentioned that the elephants were about to be unloaded and led to the circus site at the Fleet Center. Since I recently gave my resignation at work, there wasn't any reason not to go see the ponderous pachyderms. So, off I dashed on my bike.
I not only got there in time to see the elephants (and horses and zebras); I also found myself riding alongside the parade of fourteen elephants, four zebras, and about 20 horses of different varieties. I bicycled and walked alongside the animals and their trainers for over 45 minutes, starting in Cambridge near the corner of Mass. Ave. and Vassar St., down Mass Ave., through MIT grounds on Amherst St., along Memorial Drive (including a U-turn), down Cambridge Parkway, past the Museum of Science, across the bridge to Boston, and to the Fleet Center. Much fun.
With such short notice, I didn't have a camera with me, so I don't have any closeup pictures, alas. The best photo I would have taken: several elephants parading in a line towards a Mem Drive underpass, passing directly underneath two signs that clearly state "Cars Only". :-)
Fortunately, Marcia Allen, one of the editors here at work, had a digital camera and took some photos from our building. On three of the photos, you can even see me, in a black jacket and purple helmet on an orange bike. The zebra photo shows me most clearly.
And here is a photo that appeared in the Boston Globe:
Paul A. Estin
estin at intranet dot org