Mother's Day

Welcome to The Walking Place, a series of audio plays commissioned by The Leric Stage. (upbeat music) Mom. (laughs) Mom. (laughs) Mom. Can we go? Oh, I'm coming, I'm coming. Please, just let's. Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna sleep, Evie. You're like making a spectacle of yourself. (laughs) How am I making a spectacle of myself? You see any other middle-aged woman riding on the carousel by themselves? Oh, middle-aged? Riding around the carousel on a giant rabbit. (laughs) Hold up, I'm 43 years old. How's that middle-aged? In every way possible. You could at least ride the hawk, hawks are badass. I wanted to ride the rabbit. And it's a falcon, not a hawk, a paragray falcon. How do you know about all that? My friend Sally, she knows birds. I was here a year ago with her before. Before. Yeah. I bet Antonio would have come on the ride with me. Oh my God, mom. Didn't you say this was going to be my day? Well, let's go in a Boston and you get to do whatever you want. And then I'll take you to the North End for Canoli. That's because I'm the good child. (laughs) Except when I ride on the rabbit. Except when you embarrass me on purpose. It's not on purpose. You can see how that makes it worse, right? Come and go now. You want to go to Mike's pastry, right? I do. So let's go. All right, we're going. Good. You and Dad used to go to bovas, right? We did. You don't want to go there today? I think that'd be. It's strange enough already being here all these people everywhere. It's Mother's Day. We'll go where you want. Let's cross over here. Wait for the light. I know. What's your thing with rabbits anyway? What's your thing with falcons? Hawks. Hawks eat rabbits, Evie. They dive down out of the sky, grab them with their claws, and take them away. So I'd rather be a hawk than a rabbit, but rabbits have places they can go. They've got tunnels they can go down into. They can stay safe down there. Yeah, but they probably get tired of quarantine too. Eveline Marie. What? I did you get to be so smart. I spent a whole year stuck at home with you. And that might have done something. You think that gives you a pass for the middle age to come in? That was my plan. How did it work? I'm just saying. I imagine rabbits don't want to be stuck in a tunnel when they could be out running around. I imagine they enjoy being safe. This doesn't feel strange to you. A little scary? What? Being here, all these people everywhere, being out and about after all this time, out and about, and you say you're not middle aged. Hush. We can cross. Okay. I never understood this part. What part? This big sculpture, it's like a 3D 10 gram. It's a memorial. You know about the Armenian genocide. I do. Joe Biden just talked about that, didn't he? He did. And we read some stuff for school. When I was in school, they didn't teach about that. They didn't teach about a lot of things. You happy being back in person? Yeah, I mean, it's awkward. Everybody being masked. At least remote classes, you could see people's whole face. It's hard to know what people are thinking when you don't see their whole face. But I don't always want you to know what they're thinking. I like to know. Otherwise, I've got to make it up. You happy to have me in Antonia at the house after a year? That's a hard question. Because you don't want me to know what you're thinking? You can just say you miss us. I know. I'm glad you get to see your friends, but the house. The house gets too quiet during the day now. No, no, Louie got his back seen. And Nana and Poppy too. Maybe they can come over sometime. I don't know if No, no, it's ready for that, yeah. It's hard for him. I'm glad Antonia gets to hang and watch baseball with him today. I am too. It's been hard for both of you. I think it's probably hardest on you. You've been stuck in the house holding everything together. Doing what I need to do. You want to walk the labyrinth? Or would you rather go ride a big rabbit around in circles again? Didn't you just say you were the good child? Let's keep going. It's better when the fountain's wrong. It's still too early for that. It's nice today though. It was really cold last May. Last Mother's Day was freezing. Wendy and I remember. I guess it's why we thought Dad just caught a cold or something. I mean, that's what we thought, right? That wasn't just something we were saying, wasn't it? Here's the part I don't understand. They put the highway underground and built this nice green space with carousels and labyrinths. And right here, you've got cars coming up out of the ground ready to knock somebody down. They need to do something about this. We've got a walk light. You don't want to talk about Dad. Evie, what? Is that why you wanted us to come in and do this today? It's just, that was always your thing, right? Mother's Day, you and Dad, dropping us at Nonos, going into the North End, getting pastry at Bovas, and finding someplace to sit and talk. I thought you might want to do that again. And maybe you and me could. We're gonna have to do the same thing up there. Do what? Cross the street up where the cars come out of the tunnel? Mom, can we? Up at North Street. Okay, fine. [BLANK_AUDIO] They were supposed to put a museum on this part. >> What kind of museum? >> I don't know. Maybe the science is. [BLANK_AUDIO] This unfinished portion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway is referred to as Greenway Parcel 12, P12, which contains on and off ramps from the Interstate 93 tunnel beneath your feet, was originally slated to have a museum built over the ramps. Doesn't say what kind. Maybe they couldn't figure out what to put in it. >> So they left us with all this ugly to look at. >> That part's pretty over there. >> That doesn't look like weeds to you. >> They call it a meadow. >> Meadow means weeds. >> I kind of like it. >> What do you like best? >> The weeds, the off ramps, or the chain link fence. >> It's real though. >> Real? >> They didn't cover everything up and put in carousels and trees. >> I like the carousel. >> You like the carousel. I think we both understand that. I'm saying it's not trying to be something it isn't. It's, you know, the actual thing it is. >> And when the actual thing it is is ugly, you need to do something with it. Right now it's just a thing you've got to get past and get where you want to be. >> Mike's pastry. >> Okay. >> Here we are, north street, more SUVs ready to run you over the part that's real. >> Is it scary? You need me to hold your hand while we cross. >> I get to embarrass you on purpose this time. >> Nah. you'll be all right and we cross this is what you like right the flower garden and the big lawn and stuff you don't think it's nice no it is it's pretty is that where you and dad used to sit and talk over there on the swing sometimes yeah eating chocolate chip cannoli your dad would never get chocolate chip he called it an abomination I said it just tasted good but his Italian have couldn't get behind it was going to the north end his thing or your thing um it's just a question I know it was our thing but like who thought of it first he did it reminded him of growing up they used to come in sometimes and go to dinner when your dad was little special occasions he liked it when the highway was here before they doubt the tunnel I mean it was ugly and highway was definitely a thing the city put up to separate where the immigrants lived from downtown but he liked how it used to be nostalgia I suppose but he also said it made the neighborhood feel like it was its own place a safe haven did you like it that way it wasn't much to look at pavement and i-beams I think he liked looking at the actual thing it is I guess you get that from him did it ever feel strange walking around strange how people looking at you like you don't belong here I think folks figure out we're not Italian do you feel that way? Evie? I don't know wait this is this is Hanover Street so we go this way to get to Mike's is down this way yeah let's cross over I want to show you something what you'll see we've got the light this looks exactly like the last part flowers and grass and those what are those things over here pergolas pergolas okay this is what I want to show you this engraving right here the home site of Zapura Potter Atkins 1645 to 1705 the only 17th century woman of African descent to buy land in Boston purchased a house on this site in 1670 born free despite enslavement of Africans and Massachusetts she was a north end resident from 1670 to 1699 when she became the first African woman to sign her initials on a deed in Suffolk County how do they know all this when they did the big day they had archaeologists look at everything as they went along you dig up a place this old you're going to turn up things there's a spot we went past already some other woman white woman they dug up her privy and they found what's a privy it's like a toilet they dug up her toilet they found a lot of things buried in there I hope we're not going to talk about what they found in someone's toilet it was more like a trash pile out in her backyard they found all kinds of things silk seashell ceramics there was a bowling ball in the toilet for lawn bowling doesn't make it better I'm just saying they dug up a lot of things that were buried there for hundreds of years including the place where Zapura Potter Atkins bought a house including that it makes you look at things a little differently and that's going to make it feel less strange to be walking around that's what I'm saying yeah no I get that it's a good thing they dug it all up of course it's a good thing look at how nice it is now no I'm saying maybe keeping stuff buried is what makes it feel strange maybe it's better to dig stuff up so you know what's there I'm sorry I know we're doing this because it's your day and you don't want to talk about Evelyn Marie I think she must have been brave Zapura Atkins she must have been a brave woman buying a house here live in here all those years way back in the day it's good to be doing brave things isn't it what when did you get to be so smart I already answered that question once today can we what I think we should go get pastries and then we should come back and sit over there and talk we could sit on the swings you could get a chocolate chip abomination I know it's probably gonna feel strange it would if you don't want to do that we can just get stuff and go home we can pick up stuff for Nono Louie and Antonio and go have it at Nono's place he'd like that you've been really good to your grandparents you know that through all of this they've all had such a hard time I love them I love you I know I love you too I know let's do both both we'll get something we'll come back and sit over there in the sun okay and get something for when we pick up Antonio oh I'll get a ricotta pie Nono's favorite well that sounds like double dessert for us so I vote yes where do you want to go bova's or mics it's gonna be crowded either way I know you're so smart today you pick all right good so is this going to be our thing from now on you mean Mother's Day coming in and doing this yeah you're gonna ride the carousel with me next time mom so mics we go down Hanover Street bova's we go here where the freedom trail cuts through over the Salem Street you pick okay all right follow me thank you for listening to Mother's Day by John Minigan the piece was commissioned by the lyric stage company of Boston as a part of the walking place an audio series exploring private moments in this city we all share Mother's Day was directed by Rosalind Bevin and Francis was played by Shawnee Farrell and Evie by Zeyanna Andrade the sound design was by Owen Meadows with audio engineering by Katie O'Connor Asia M Jackson was the production manager and narration was provided by Catherine Shaver Matt Chaperon executive director and Courtney O'Connor artistic director would like to thank first Republic Bang and media sponsor WBUR for sponsoring the walking place and our season sponsors Diana and Lee Humphrey and Bank of America