Sunday, July 3, 2011

Summer in Cambridge: Part 2

Strange things happen in Cambridge Commons. I'll be honest, I never paid much attention to it until this summer, when I learned that it's a shortcut between the quad where I'm living and my Annenberg meal plan. It's also the preferred sleeping place of over 20 homeless people, which has lead to some of my morning walks getting a little hairy (I don't actually care until they call out to me). However, that's not say that it's just a sketchy plot of grass; it's actually pretty nice during the day. It's also home to quite a few...strange incidents, but I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with the fact that it's located in Harvard Square. Here's a short list of weird shit in the Commons:


  • Every day after work, I see a massive kickball tournament with 2 games going on at any given time. There must be more than 10 teams and this has been going on for three weeks now.
  • While walking past said kickball tourney, I was asked by a foreign (possible eastern European, based on the accent) couple to explain what was going on, as they were "seeing this game for the first time."
  • There's a homeless man who rakes up the leaves and grass clippings in his space. He has the tidiest plot of grass out of all the camps. It's unclear how/from where he attained a rake.
  • An elderly man got sick of waiting in traffic and decided that the walking paths in the park were just wide enough to...drive through. This is a public park where children should be able to frolic at will; it's not a shortcut, no matter how old and senile you are.
  • A guy on a bike pedaled across the street, through the entrance of the park, and straight into a bush. He looked rather surprised to see it in front of him.
  • A man and woman stood between 2 bushes holding a basketball and looking around nervously. She dived into one of the bushes, dropped her pants and squatted. I quickened my pace.
  • A well dressed man sat on a bench, napping with his chin on his chest. Next to him sat an open, industrial sized bag of Reeses Pieces.
  • I came here with an archaeology class (and professor) to learn to launch wooden spears with a atlatl. The police said we were spear-throwing too close to playground filled with kiddies. We got kicked out.
I don't understand this place. I just don't.

2 comments:

  1. atlatl ftw! uhm and how is driving through the park okay, but spear throwing isn't?

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  2. Just lol'd in the library when I read "how/from where he attained a rake"

    ReplyDelete