Natick is pretty cool. Different from anyplace we have ever lived. It was an Indian settlement in the early 1600s... after the indigenous people were subjugated by the Puritans in Boston and driven out of Cambridge. Bunch of sweethearts those Puritans, just looking for religious freedom, right? Actually, brutal thugs. So, in 1675 when another group of Indians attacked the Colonists, they immediately rounded up the Natick tribe, who, by the way, had all converted to Christianity, and shipped them out to an island in Boston harbor... in the winter,,,with no food or shelter,,, for 6 months. Most of them died. And the rest just disappeared in as much as the Colonists stole their land when they were imprisoned. Genocide. No other name for it.
Anyhow, auspicious beginnings notwithstanding, the town we live in is older, well to do, largely white Irish/Italian with a strong Jewish and Indian population. Proximity to Rte 128 Technology Industrial and Research and the top-level University System provides for a highly educated and creative workforce. Crime is low. Spending on police. fire, public works, education, libraries, town government is high. Liberal. Woke. Very privileged.
K&E bought a nice starter home (for half a million $s) in a diverse neighborhood close to the train station and Rte 90, a direct shot, though very highly trafficked main route, to Boston. Lots of kids. Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Ukranian, Russian, German, Irish, Black, Albanian. Isaac came home from school one day and said "Mom, were getting a new boy in class. He's from Pennsylvania. What language do the speak in Pennsylvania?"
I know many of the older neighbors and we lend each other tools, share garden crops, talk about the weather, covid, politics etc. Yesterday I was talking with Bob. Odd, but good natured. Kinda like me. He said "Well, today is my 40th Korean birthday." I'm all ears.
"40 years ago today, I received my 3rd kidney from a 24-year-old Korean woman. Prior to that I had to have dialysis 3 or 4 days a week, for 4 1/2 years. The Doctor says it is doing fine and, if needed I can have another transplant, actually 2 if needed." He said the science is progressing so quickly that it is likely a mechanical implant or genetic manipulation will be the treatment of the future. Or genetically altered pig organs.
That's another thing about Middlesex County Massachusetts. The quality of healthcare is some of the best in the world.
I guess there are a lot of worse places to be.
