A Mad Dash to the Faneuil Hall Restrooms

I got off early from work Friday afternoon and wandered over to Faneuil Hall. It was my third time there this year but my first time wandering through it alone.

My first thought?

I really needed to pee.

I had climbed up out of the Haymarket T stop with a practically unusable cell phone and an equally unreliable sense of direction. The red brick of the Freedom Trail led me through through the front entrance of Faneuil Hall, past a crowd that surrounded a group of break dancers that I had yet to watch.

I would have stopped, but I needed to pee, so I went into the first building. The stairs to the bathroom were blocked off. I went through that building into Faneuil Hall proper, walked all the way around the food court, and circled the entire area before going into the central building, only to find my pathway to the bathroom impeded by a line of tourists that came hand in hand with the start of Memorial Day weekend.

A few first impressions, as I essentially scoped out the area during a mad dash to find a toilet:

1. These weren't "my streets." I didn't get the same sense of comfort and familiarity that I have when I walk down the Mag Mile in Chicago.
2. It definitely had the same vibe. Mostly tourists wandering around, looking for something to do. No skyscrapers, no cars even. But it was still a city, made up of people who generally ignored each other. I was a stranger among strangers - people ignoring each other out of habit and necessity, but looking for a reason not to.
3. I saw some people who looked like they were street performers, but no actual street performances at the time. Did the recent "Pay to Play" controversy kill off one of the scenes that made Faneuil Hall so famous?
4. And I really really really needed to pee.

Eventually, I ended up near the front entrance to the food court, where the big street shows normally take place. There wasn't a performance going on, but a group of five people were gathered in a tight circle right in the middle of the performance area. One of them had a mic on and a bag of juggling clubs.

I sat down. Watched from afar. When it was clear that a show wasn't going to start anytime soon, I gathered up the courage to approach.

Their first thought? That I was with the Boston Globe, starting off "all friendly and everything" and then whipping out a pen and notebook to get quotes from them.

I laughed uncomfortably, then went on to explain my background in anthropology, as well as my experience as a magician and street performer. I didn't want to hide my research background - especially given how closed and guarded of the craft buskers tend to be.

Their second thought? That I was with "the feds."
Nope. I am not that either.

Then I sat back and watched some of the best street theater Boston has to offer - not as an anthropologist in the field but as an amateur busker learning from the greats of her time.

[Trying out tags for the first time. Not that I really understand them, so I'm not sure if I'm using them right.]
#Faneuil #busking #buskers