We live on one of those out-of-the-way Roslindale streets that almost nobody drives on unless they either live here or on one of the even smaller side streets off of it. And since it's all single and two-family homes with driveways, there aren't any parking problems. The only problem we do have is the road is two way, but isn't really wide enough for that, so people who do park in the street sometimes pull up on the sidewalk to keep their side mirrors from getting clipped (me, I'm grateful I now have a car with a side mirror you can fold flat; the old car had the mirror ripped off three or four times).

We NEVER see meter maids up here. Well, up until about 40 minutes ago, when a BTD van pulled up and parked on the wrong side of the road. Dour meter maid (hmm, are there any other kinds?) got out, promptly dashed out a ticket on her ticket gizmo for one of our neighbors, whose car is partly up on the sidewalk (which still had plenty of room for somebody to walk on). I saw her eying another neighbor's car across the street. Tried to beat her across, get the neighbor out, but either his bell doesn't work or he wasn't home. Another victory for the city coffers!

The meter maid looked around, didn't see any other nefarious evil doers afoot, got into her illegally parked van and zoomed off.

Photos of the damage in western Massachusetts, by a resident who spent some time driving around the other day:

I don't mind saying that I cried. I'm still grieving as I write this, for the beauty which won't be back in my lifetime, for the special places I'll never see again, that no-one will ever see again. Places I was so looking forward to seeing this Autumn are now lost forever, joining their ancestral mountain fathers in the sea, perhaps to rise again in a billion years, In Sh'Allah.

Hosed carThe other day, I ran a photo from Mt. Ida Road in Dorchester showing what can happen when you park in front of a hydrant. Turns out it was for a fire on the second floor of a three decker at 36 Mt. Ida that was declared out about a half hour after firefighters arrived around 1:36 a.m.

Steve MacDonald, spokesman for the Boston Fire Department, explains why firefighters might have run the hose right through the car. He emphasized he was not at the scene and had yet to talk to any firefighters who were, so he had no firsthand knowledge of the specific incident:

When we have a call for a fire, the minimum response will be two ladders, a rescue unit, a chief and three engines. It is the responsibility for each engine to get their own water source/hydrant. This will make sure that we get a supply quickly once the water in the engine tanks run out. They carry 500 or 750 gallons. It is preferable to use the short front suction hose pre-attached to the engine to hook up to the hydrant. This requires the engine to nose in to a hydrant. If no access is available that way, the following happens.

Each engine has an officer and three firefighters. On arrival the officer and one firefighter grab the hose with a nozzle attached (we call it a pipe) and head in. The driver, what we call the pump operator, will break the hose connection once the officer and pipe man are inside and call for water. He will hook it up to the side of the engine to one of several connections, open the valve and give them water. The third firefighter meanwhile has been taking the large 4" feeder hose with a very large valve on it to the hydrant and has been connecting that. In theory, he will get the engine the hydrant water before the firefighters inside go thru the tank. He will then join the other two inside.

When you have fire showing from an occupied home, you do what you have to-to save lives. I know is sounds cliché but keep in mind, the firefighters in those first couple of minutes do not know how many people are inside or what exactly the scale of the inside fire is. A three-decker at 1:30 am tells you people are most likely sleeping and in danger. I cannot speak to what happened on Mt. Ida Rd. as to the thought process involved with the placement of the feeder hose. Ultimately, it was the size up the firefighters made in a split second based on what they saw, what they were told and experience.

A $350,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant will let the Boston Public Library and MIT mount a traveling exhibition of the work of Rafael Guastavino, whose "thoughtful design of public spaces transformed American architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:"

Guastavino and his family invented a colorful tiling that is lightweight, attractive, fireproof, and virtually indestructible. Excellent examples of his work grace buildings in 40 states. Examples include the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, the United Stated Supreme Court Building, and the Nebraska State Capitol. Guastavino used his extraordinary gift to elevate public spaces including transportation centers, government centers, libraries, and churches.

The exhibition will first open at the BPL main branch in Copley Square - which was the site of Guastavino's first major work in the U.S.

UPDATE: Thanks to commenters for noting the photo I posted from the McKim building was not of one of the ones Guastavino designed. See if you can spot his work in this collection of McKim construction photos.