Statehouse

I had a floating holiday I had to use or lose by the end of the month, so Heather and I took the opportunity to take a tour of the Massachusetts Statehouse today. It's only open during the week when I'm normally working, so I have wanted to see what it looks like inside for a long time. After walking past the building every day for years, it's about time!


I thought it was a great tour. We got all the history, stories, and traditions from a page who really had his facts straight. Cool stuff. The building is truly incredible, of course, and seeing all the reminders of Massachusetts' history everywhere you look was pretty cool. We also learned the origins of the terms "holy mackerel" and "red tape".


Red tape comes from the red ribbons used to bind the piles and piles of bills the Representatives have to review and vote on, a tradition carried over from the Brits. Mass still abides by it - we saw them as the House floor was all prepared for session.

It turns out the Mass House of Representatives had a "sacred cod" hanging in their chambers to represent the importance of the fishing industry to the Commonwealth. When one of the wings was added onto the Statehouse long ago and the House moved, the Senate inherited the old House chambers and expected that included the sacred cod. The Reps took the cod, which pissed off the Senate. To appease the Senators, the Reps made a gift of a new fish for the Senate to hang in their chambers..... A mackerel, of course.

So that's how I spent my vacation day. Well it wasn't all history and dorkiness - after the tour we went to Boston Beer Works for the Italy - Ukraine match.