Puddle glum

A big puddle formed at the intersection of Harvard Street and Norwell Street, right in front of the Mt. Horeb Lodge #10 in Dorchester, this afternoon. Blame it on the rains, not on Boston's Public Works Department. The lodge doesn't occupy the prettiest building on the block, but the competition isn't too cut throat to claim the title. It's a stalemate. Each of the windowless, peeling-paint buildings that occupy this particular intersection were obviously built for other purposes originally, and all four have obviously seen better days.

A pothole in front of the lodge building does, however, claim the title of the best puddle on Harvard Street. Just ask Angela and Nathan Jones. They live a little up Norwell Street on the second story of a non-descript three-decker. They noticed the puddle forming, the way it always does on rainy days, and they decided to float paper boats on it.

Angela has recently taken a class in origami at he biggest Dorchester branch of the Boston Public Library. She taught Nathan how to make paper boats as she had been mentored. Angela put a daffodil head on hers. Nathan put a miniature, plastic army man on his. "My boat is going to shoot yours, Angie," he said when he christened his boat on it's maiden voyage with sweaty palms and a runny nose.

The two paper boats didn't do much except get wet on this pit-a-pat, rainy day that didn't unleash enough wind to make the seas stormy. A Wise Potato Chip truck did the job. The truck nicked the puddle while making a tight turn off Norwell onto Harvard. Both boats were in the wrong harbor at the wrong time. The were reduced to pulp. Nathan fished into the bottom of the puddle and retrieved his gun-toting marine. "I win!" he exclaimed. Angela had nothing but crushed flower petals after the disaster had transpired. They went home to grilled cheese sandwiches and a shared can of baked beans at the kitchen table after they changed out of their wet clothes.