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Note to shellshocked downtown workers: Nothing sinister about the gunfire and explosions you heard

Cannon on the Common. Photo by Stevi

It was just our very own Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, firing rounds and shooting off things to celebrate their election of new officers like they do on the first Monday of every June, even Junes coming a couple months after Marathon explosions.

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Comments

Heard it and was a little bit rattled. Seems strange to shoot guns in the middle of a city for no good reason, to me at least.

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Apparently they've been doing this for 375 years. Do YOU want to be the one to tell the guys with the canons to knock it off?

Kidding aside - I posted a half dozen pictures of the event here.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/universalhub

Other than canons - a lot of guys (and a few women) dressed up in uniforms of present day and days past, plus some good military bands, fife and drum and bagpipes.

History is always a cool part of living in Boston.

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Did I say I thought it should be stopped? No. Not sure why you chose 'YOU' when referring to me as I have absolutely no authority to do anything about it, just an ordinary citizen calmly expressing my opinion. It would have been nice to have been warned about the gunfire. I live about 4 blocks from where the bombs went off, so hearing the booms this afternoon followed by helicopters was alarming. Not freaked out alarming, just what the hell is that alarmed. You would think one of our local tv stations might have let people know about this annual tradition given the marathon attack or perhaps a tweet from City Hall, but nothing. Thankfully Adam reports local in a timely manner.

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At least WHDH mentioned it in their morning newscast today. Also it has, as previously mentioned, been going on annually for a very long time. P.S., about July 4th...

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Okay, got it -- missed that broadcast. Lived in the city for about 8 years now and was unaware of this tradition till now. Well aware of July 4th...

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Note that I had my sarcasm firmly in the "on" position - thus the comment "kidding aside". I woke up to WBZ radio repeating over and over an interview with a spokesman for the group describing the event and telling the reporter about how they were reaching out to the press so as not to alarm the populace.

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Impatient fingers, sorry!

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Unlike the rest of us, the Sudbury Minutemen still celebrate Patriots Day on April 19, right down to a pre-dawn march to Old North Bridge. They still did their march this past April 19, but rather than alarming people, they did not fire their muskets along the way this year.

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