When the Boston Strangler escaped prison, a group of boys set out on a boxcar adventure. Would they be heroes—or just hungry dreamers?
I grew up a few miles from state prison. The railroad tracks which ran close by my house also ran by the prison. There were times on that was a lot of excitement because the prisoner had escaped. Most of the escapees or trustee who worked on a farm that surrounded the prison. The farm land was owned by the prison and the produce was used to help feed the prisoners. They escape or generally trustees. That’s what they call the prisoners who worked on the farm who decided that they had it and they took off down the tracks and headed for Boston, which was 26 miles away. One time a famous prisoner who was known as the Boston strangler escaped my buddies, and I were so excited when we heard the news that we ran to the railroad tracks and climbed on top of the freight cars. In those days there were no cell phones but we thought if we could catch a glimpse of the Boston strangler we have a story to tell in school as well as being heroes if we told the police where they could catch the strangler. After a few hours of lying on top of the freight cars we got bored and decided to find our excitement someplace else. The Boston strangler was eventually recaptured and everything returned to normal. We had a shot at fame, but it didn’t materialize.
3 Questions to Tie into the Theme:
- Why do moments of fear and danger often become some of our most cherished childhood memories?
- How did imagination and curiosity shape the way you experienced the world as a kid?
- What stories from your youth remind you of how close you came to greatness… only to choose snacks instead?