Rest in Peace

Henry "Hank" Boucher, who lived across the street from me on Church Corner in Cambridge, passed away Sunday. There was a memorial flier taped to the lamp post on the corner this morning.

I never formally met Hank, but he was very much a part of my daily life in Cambridge. Friends with the minister of the First Baptist Church, Hank was often seen in one of three places: sitting on the Baptist church steps facing the flowering tree, leaning against the wall of the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church on the opposite corner, or sitting in his car while it ran, parked on the side of Magazine Street. He ran his car daily, often going for short drives to keep it running. And if he was hanging out on the corner, he usually had a paper cup of coffee. Sometimes the minister of the Baptist church would join him.

I'd usually spot Hank while sitting in my kitchen window looking out on the street, but we never got beyond nodding neighbors when passing on the street.

I never really met Hank. I didn't know him at all. But his death saddens me. I'm going to miss him.