Finding yourself along The Charles

Also: The politics of war must have a place for love [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  October 22, 2023 Dear Cog reader, It’s an iconic Boston weekend: 11,000 spandex-clad rowers are in town to race in the Head of the Charles, the world’s largest three-day regatta. Cog contributor Fred Hewett has competed in the three-mile race many times before, though he’s not in a boat this year. With any luck, he’ll be spectating with hundreds of others on Eliot Bridge, just upstream from Harvard Square, only a few hundred lung-busting meters from the finish line. For Fred, the real attraction of this weekend isn’t the fierce competition or the generous pours of Night Shift IPAs or the rainbow of racing shells — it’s the Charles River itself. Fred’s lived within a mile of the river for more than 40 years. When he first came to Boston in the early 1970s, the Charles was “noxious” and “latte-colored.” But over time, as the health of the river improved, so did Fred’s relationship to it. The river became[central to his understanding of the city]( and his place in it. I think lots of people who’ve lived in Boston probably have a similar story. I know I do. In my 20s when I lived in Cambridge, I ran hundreds of miles along its banks, all the way from Harvard Square, down the Esplanade and back. For years, my weekday commute gave me a spectacular view of the Charles from the inside of a Red Line train as it bumped across the Longfellow Bridge. On weekends, friends and I would stretch out in the sun on the public docks with books and snacks to watch the sailboats. When I first got pregnant, I still walked to work most days over the Mass. Ave bridge. Then, when our twin girls arrived, my husband and I would pile them into our gigantic double-stroller and amble along the river, usually starting out in Watertown. Years later, when the girls learned how to ride bikes, we took advantage of Memorial Drive being closed to traffic on Sundays. When Fred considers the Charles, he wants us to appreciate the urban river beyond the recreation it offers — for its history, its ecology and how remarkable its transformation has been over the decades: from national punchline (“love that dirty water”) to environmental success story (it’s clean enough to swim in many days a year). But I think he also wants us to consider our personal connection to it, and how this geographic attribute influences our experience of living here. “As you spend more time around Boston, the Charles infuses into your consciousness,” [he writes]( My family and I usually spectate at least one day of the Head of The Charles, rain or shine. I hope to see you out there. P.S.— For an upcoming project, Cog is asking readers and listeners to reflect on what it means to live in Boston and find your place in it. We want to know what your Boston sounds like, smells like, tastes like and looks like. How did this place become home for you? Please [share your reflections with us](. Cloe Axelson Senior Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads ['You belong here': That's what I tell other Black women who row]( Baylor Henry rowed in the first all-Black, all-female eight boat in the Head of the Charles in 2022. She's created an Instagram account, blackgirlsrow, to encourage other young women of color. [Read more.]( ['You belong here': That's what I tell other Black women who row]( Baylor Henry rowed in the first all-Black, all-female eight boat in the Head of the Charles in 2022. She's created an Instagram account, blackgirlsrow, to encourage other young women of color. [Read more.]( [I learned to love Boston from the banks of the Charles River]( As you spend more time around Boston, the Charles River infuses into your consciousness, writes Fred Hewett, who's lived within a mile of the river for more than 40 years. The Charles can make the city yours, he writes. [Read more.]( [I learned to love Boston from the banks of the Charles River]( As you spend more time around Boston, the Charles River infuses into your consciousness, writes Fred Hewett, who's lived within a mile of the river for more than 40 years. The Charles can make the city yours, he writes. [Read more.]( [The politics of war must have a place for love]( People who live in a western democracy, have the luxury of having an opinion without the burden of dealing with the consequences of it, writes Imam Taymalluh Abdur-Rahman. We must use the blessing of being distant from the bloodshed and tragedy to bridge gaps and open dialogue. [Read more.]( [The politics of war must have a place for love]( People who live in a western democracy, have the luxury of having an opinion without the burden of dealing with the consequences of it, writes Imam Taymalluh Abdur-Rahman. We must use the blessing of being distant from the bloodshed and tragedy to bridge gaps and open dialogue. [Read more.]( [Racial bullying in schools is on the rise — including here in Mass.]( Schools can prevent racial bullying and impose meaningful consequences when it occurs, write Alexis Rickmers and Oren Sellstrom. [Read more.]( [Racial bullying in schools is on the rise — including here in Mass.]( Schools can prevent racial bullying and impose meaningful consequences when it occurs, write Alexis Rickmers and Oren Sellstrom. [Read more.]( [It's time to end religious exemptions for vaccinations in Mass.]( Proposed legislation in Mass. would eliminate exemptions from vaccination for students on religious grounds. No major religion prohibits vaccination, writes Rich Barlow, and these exemptions risk the health of some of the most vulnerable among us. [Read more.]( [It's time to end religious exemptions for vaccinations in Mass.]( Proposed legislation in Mass. would eliminate exemptions from vaccination for students on religious grounds. No major religion prohibits vaccination, writes Rich Barlow, and these exemptions risk the health of some of the most vulnerable among us. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "We talk to our kids about war because they are curious or because it affects their lives directly; it is an instinct to inform as well as protect. But knowledge is often a burden to carry." "[What I Told My Daughter About War]( The New York Times. "School librarians around the country can opt out of that Scholastic Books collection of 64 “diverse” books for their popular book fairs. They can choose to hit what one librarian has called 'the bigot button' in order to stay out of the line of fire of rightwing parents and politicians." "[Scholastic Books should stop buckling to rightwing bullies]( The Guardian. "We don’t talk about convalescence anymore. ... [D]uring my own medical training, I received countless hours of instruction on the epidemiology of disease and the physiology of illness, but only a handful of lectures on how to help patients recover. Yet we may need convalescence more than ever." "[Why Are We So Bad at Getting Better?]( The New Yorker. "Rowing down the Charles, and showing the families that were on the sidelines that, here we are, we're doing it. Black girls. Black queens. It was such a beautiful moment." — Baylor Henry, ['You belong here': That's what I tell other Black women who row]( ICYMI [As I say a prayer of mourning, my heart is in the East]( I want to transform stories of Israelis terrorized into an improvised Mourner’s Kaddish, or prayer of mourning, for my brothers and sisters, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman. [Read more.]( [As I say a prayer of mourning, my heart is in the East]( I want to transform stories of Israelis terrorized into an improvised Mourner’s Kaddish, or prayer of mourning, for my brothers and sisters, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here.](  Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2023 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved.