old ironsides

Every 4th of July, "Old Ironsides" - the USS Constitution - is dragged out into Boston Harbor and turned, like a mattress, so that it will wear evenly on both of those impenetrable sides.  Not only is the ship an amazing piece of US naval history, but the "turning" itself is quite an event, including fire boats spouting water and a cannon salute from a naval vessel.

This year, I had a fantastic view of the turnaround area in Boston Harbor from a park across the bay looking picturesquely back at the cityscape and with the naval ship, cannons loaded, docked just off to my left.

But Old Ironsides never came out into the harbor.  She stayed hugging the shore, barely viewable through my camera's zoom.  "What happened?" I asked a fellow Bostonian, who was confirming the altered course and the disappointing results.

"Cheney was aboard."