A Turtle Named Chavez

First, the little girl offered me a bright yellow dandelion.

"This is for you!" she mumbled and then ran away.

In the middle of a bite of a free cheeseburger I chomped quickly to say 'Thank you.'

She headed for the grassy hill and swooped up her pet turtle and brought it to my picnic table.

"What a precious pet! What's his name?" I asked.

"It's Chavez." she said meekly.

"Yikes," I thought to myself but anyway. "Good name- he even looks like a Chavez," I tell her.

Little surprises like free Wednesday night grilling at the Candlewood Hotel in Burlington, Massachusetts and cute children offering me pretty flowers are why I love traveling. Exploring Massachusetts this week is not like I'm even working... up and down strange streets in search of parks, playgrounds, hip clubs, rowdy restaurants, great architecture and aerial views of Boston. The people I meet along the way, including the cops who question what I'm doing with a camera in a playground (good point) are the icing on the cake. Twice now I bumped into Officer Kirkland in Quincy; a third time and he might offer me an assignment with the department.

Today I'm off to Salem where ghosts, witches and spooky stuff will no doubt interfere with my videotaping. The frequency or wavelength or signal of spirits always competes with my wireless microphones.... it's a haunting presence but undeniable!