Sometimes you just have to suspend the fantasy that we live in a Utopian democracy, and bow to the king. Even if that king felt passionately that every individual should play a special role in their community.
Yesterday was such a time. Everyone who flocked to Faneuil Hall for the memorial service honoring former Mayor Tom Menino is important to Boston in their own way – the teacher, the baker, the barroom bookmaker. But considering we all froze in a hellish storm to pay respects to one man in particular, we might as well acknowledge the remarkable magnanimity of Hizzoner. While this city loves a lot of people, it’s hard to think of such a dedicated and diverse assembly braving comparable conditions for anyone else, pro athlete, politician, or otherwise.
First came the early risers, groups and gaggles of admirers from near and far. Retired Bostonians who now live in the suburbs, old friends and co-workers of the Meninos – some in rain slickers and appropriate tundra gear, most somewhat unprepared for a disgruntled Mother Nature. For those civilians who arrived at the official starting time of 10am, the average wait to get inside the hall was roughly two hours. Those who slept-in wound up wrapped around Congress Street staring at the Old State House well into the early afternoon.
Few complained out loud. With cameras and reporters in their faces, the boldest overcame the chill and used the last bit of blood left in their frozen lips to send condolences. In one mixed sampling, a woman who worked alongside Angela Menino stood near a decorated BPD official, a public education activist, a sanitation worker, several labor leaders, and a cluster of sopping wet scally caps telling “Tommy stories,” as one gentleman referred to a memorable campaign tale.
Another theme: countless current and former BPS students who say their experience meeting the mayor, even if on only one occasion, hit deep enough to impact their adult lives later on. They shared these feelings as unnerving wind gusts wrestled their umbrellas to the granite, and as the slush seeped through their shoes and froze their socks. Big shots like Secretary of State John Kerry entered though the back door, while Boston Mayor Marty Walsh led more than 100 elected officials past the public queue and into a reflection area beside the casket. Outside, everybody else stood together, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart. Even the “SAVED BY JESUS OR LOST IN HELL” guy was on hand passing out literature. Him being the closest thing the Hub has to a Fred Phelps, it seemed oddly fitting, though most folks just ignored him as usual.
Inside Faneuil Hall, the pomp and circumstance was fittingly formal – men in uniform, bouquets for days – but also relatively modern and minimal considering the venue, with accents that reflected Tom Menino the mayor and his role as patriarch at home as well. As mourners snaked through ropes and toward the coffin for a chance at one last meeting, they smiled at large images on placards of Menino entertaining children like he did on countless school and park visits.
On their way out, in a telling tribute to the neighborhood dynamic that the mayor famously took pride in, visitors were greeted by a bevy of Menino relatives, whether they were lifelong acquaintances or meeting for the first time there in person. It’s hard to imagine the son or daughter of a New York or Chicago mayor playing the name game with a stranger at their father’s wake, but in Boston Sunday morning, such moments were the norm.
Along with thousands more, many of the folks who stuck it out in the slop will line up once again this morning, from City Hall to Hyde Park, for a procession the likes of which this city hasn’t seen in decades. Following a map laid out by close friends, staffers, family, and Menino himself, cars will pass through Beacon Hill, Kenmore Square, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Roslindale before arriving at Most Precious Blood in Cleary Square. We’ve listed some logistics below, and you can find more at tommenino.org.
Cards and letters may be sent to Menino’s office at Boston University, 75 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215.
PROCESSION ROUTE
*Read about the significance of different stops on the route here
Depart Faneuil Hall at 10:45am
• Left on North St.
• Left on Congress St.
Pass by Boston City Hall
• Right on State St.
• State St. becomes Court St.
• Left on Tremont St.
• Right on Park St.
• Left on Beacon St.
Pass by Parkman House
• Beacon St. outbound across Mass. Ave.
Pass through Kenmore Square/Boston Univ.
• Left on Brookline Ave.
Around Fenway Park
• Left on Lansdowne St.
• Right on Ipswich St.
• Right on Van Ness St.
• Right on Yawkey Way
• Left on Brookline Ave.
• Right on Park Drive.
• Around the island.
• Left on The Riverway.
• Cross Brookline Ave. becomes The Fenway.
• The Fenway becomes Louis Prang St.
• Cross Huntington Ave. becomes Ruggles St.
• Left on Tremont.
• Right on Melnea Cass Blvd.
• Right on Washington St.
Pass through Dudley Square
• Left on Dudley St.
• Right on Warren St.
• Right on Blue Hill Ave.
Pass through Grove Hall
• Blue Hill Ave. outbound.
Pass through Franklin Park
• Left on Columbia Rd.
• Right on Geneva Ave.
• Right on Bowdoin St.
Pass through Bowdoin & Geneva
• Bowdoin St. toward Washington St.
• Cross Washington St. becomes Harvard St.
• Left on Blue Hill Ave.
• Blue Hill Ave. outbound toward Mattapan Square.
Pass by the Mattapan Library
• Right on River St.
• Right on Cummins Hwy.
• Cummins Hwy. toward Roslindale Square.
• Right on Washington St.
• Left on South St.
Pass through Roslindale Square
• Left on Poplar St.
• Right on Washington St.
• Washington St. outbound toward Dedham.
• Left on Enneking Pkwy.
• Through four-way intersection becomes Turtle Pond Pkwy.
• Left on River St. toward Cleary Square.
• Right on Hyde Park Ave.
• Left on Pine St.
• Left on Maple St.
Arrival at Most Precious Blood Church.
FOLLOWING NOTE FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON:
“Thank You Mayor Menino” signs will be available [Monday] morning at10:30am at the following locations:
- 1 City Hall Plaza – First Floor Horseshoe
- Suffolk University (73 Tremont Street)
- Cornwall’s (654 Beacon Street)
- Fenway Park (Gate D on Yawkey Way)
- Dudley Square Branch Library (65 Warren Street)
- Grove Hall Branch Library (41 Geneva Ave)
- Four Corners Main Streets (157 Washington Street)
- Holland Community Center (85 Olney Street)
- Bowdoin Health Center (230 Bowdoin Street) and St. Peter’s Center (278 Bowdoin Street)
- Mattapan Branch Library (1350 Blue Hill Ave)
- Roslindale Square (4246 Washington Street)
- Menino Arts Center, 26 Central Avenue
FURTHER READING
PICS AND MOMENTS FROM THE FUNERAL PROCESSION
MAYOR MENINO WE MISS YOU ALREADY
MY TIME WITH TOM: REFLECTIONS ON 14 YEARS COVERING THE MAYOR
