i'll say this for christian scientists, they know how to build one hell of a tourist attraction. today i checked out the mapparium in the mary baker eddy library. unfortunately they don't allow photography during the tour, and to be honest, i don't think the pictures i've seen do it justice anyway. these are pretty good though. it's quite impressive and i enjoyed the sense of perspective i got standing in the middle of the bridge and scanning the 30' diameter globe. unalaska (dutch harbor) was even labeled in the aleutian islands. all of the political borders and names are from 1935 which makes for an interesting history lesson as you look at french west africa, the soviet union, british somaliland, etc... they limit your time inside to about 20 minutes, after which i was politely told i needed to leave to let the next group come through. apparently my six dollar ticket wasn't enough for an extended viewing. after the tour i meandered through the rest of the building and learned more about mary baker eddy - an impressive woman and a force to be reckoned with.
as i was leaving i noticed a display of children's artwork. apparently the christian science monitor held an art competition for children ages 17 and under with a world peace theme. i liked this one in particular:
the sun keeps shining here in boston. when i first arrived the snow and ice seemed impervious to the brief moments of sun, and i was told not to expect to see bare sidewalks before i left. what a pleasant surprise it's been. i've had "the sunny side of the street" stuck in my head the past few days. specifically, dizzy gillespie's version on "sonny side up."
good things.
Love the picture!
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