Let me tell you all the little secrets...
How do we broach a subject which is so heavily frowned upon by the leading politicians of this community? With vigor. If we allow fear to dictate our curiosity, the ability to progress and inspire is stifled. Today I want to discuss The Litany and Field Guide - starting with Boston. My belief is Preiss utilized The Litany to hint at the casque location with The Field Guide providing supporting evidence. I do not think the methodology is exact across all Litany entries but this is consistent with the twelve puzzles not working the same. Let's begin with the pre-edit version:
It's interesting to me that Italy is the only country in The Litany which has an adjective - old. Note the importance of north to the verse and the quote from Longfellow, the famous Fireside Poet's Paul Revere's Ride. Was Byron using this to help solidify the Old North Church connection, which is only a couple blocks from the casque location?
Snow upon seems a neat little nod to Snow Hill St. Check the definition of charter and think about new. Impossible to arrive at if it stood alone but when Charter St. and Snow Hill St. intersect so close to the burial ground, one has to ask questions.
I'm sure like myself, a field of blood not only confirmed the baseball field for you but had many thinking of the tragic murder of Andrew Puopolo.(the field was dedicated to him) However, should we consider something which is a little more common knowledge? JJP noted Byron's obsession over Old Ironsides. Red blood cells dependence on iron is something I've been aware of since a very young age. So let's shift to the version of The Litany which made it into the book:
Old remains, leaving Italy as the only country in the book version of The Litany with a descriptive. It's certainly no stretch to describe the world's oldest ship still afloat as an antique. Did Byron also use a sly nod to another Fireside Poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes with olivine? In 1830 an article in the Boston Daily Advertiser claimed the USS Constitution would be dismantled by the Navy. The following day, as an opposing response, Holmes had his poem Old Ironsides published in the same paper. The poem led to the preservation of the ship and brought Holmes national recognition. At face value, when I consider rich I gravitate to commerce and Commercial Street which runs right in front of the park. But I'd also like you to keep an open mind and consider there may be hints in The Field Guide. If you search The Guide, you'll find instances like iron-rich which may raise an eyebrow but let's focus on the first paragraph of The Ritch Doctor. Holmes was also a physician which got me a bit curious.
Just look at the words in the first paragraph alone. Eighteenth appears in the Boston verse as a Revere tie yet references golf here. Both sketches of The Ritch Doctor even depict him with golf clubs. Irons anyone? But back to the first paragraph: bedside courtside fireside pool-side drink-side portside insides I understand this goes against what we've been told. Sean and Ted knew nothing and there are no clues in The Field Guide. All I am saying is, that's sure a lot of "sides" for a man said to be obsessed with Old Ironsides. Should we not be considering word linking from The Litany and the fact that 150 pages of fair folk is a great place to hide some answers? I promise, you've not been pranked, son! I'm not blowing smoke up the golden, shining ones' skirts! This is no merry joke! Those of you who will be in Langone Park this weekend, have an amazing time! Just remember Byron was wicked smaaahrt and it's not all about winning an argument over which green tower thing you see is correct. Till next time...
Planets are aligned, so if I'm dreaming. Don't open my eye.
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