I should have worked at the Historical Commission for the state of Massachusetts. I, so many times, have given tours of Plymouth Plantation, looked down at Plymouth Rock, walked the Freedom Trail in Boston, celebrated Patriot's Day in Lexington and Concord, and have been spooked by the Salem Witches. All to show my large out of state family and group of friends our early American heritage.
One of my favorite destinations on the tours has always been been a lunch or dinner at Longfellow's Wayside Inn, the oldest, still operating inn in this country. The last time I had been there was when Jimmy and I had taken my mother-in-law there for her 85th birthday, she is now 93, and I had almost forgotten about this little gem. Last week, I was again in tour mode. Three of my nieces were visiting and staying near Concord. We decided to meet nearby at the Wayside Inn for dinner before they headed home. We stepped back into history, having our own historic dining room with paneling, a fireplace and even flickering candles. I recalled that some of 'Grandpop's' often quoted poems were written by Henry Wadworth Longfellow and were compiled in a book titled 'Tales of a Wayside Inn'. We could almost hear him reciting, "Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere".
This led me to thinking about the day I had taken my father to see
the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow home in Cambridge. As we exited and walked down the street, he recited "Under the spreading chestnut tree....". Little did we know at that time, I would soon move into the historic home of Nathaniel Longfellow, a cousin of Henry's,
and have a beautiful spreading chestnut tree in my front yard.
Just think, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could have been writing about that tree.
