Stay or Go?

Just a few towns over lies the now defunct Quincy Quarries, a site that produced granite for over 100 years, including the stone used for the Bunker Hill Monument.

It also claims to be the home of our nation's first railroad, constructed in 1826 to carry stone from the quarry to the Neponset River.

All that history was lost to me as a teenager. Closed in 1963, the old quarries quickly filled with rainwater and instantly became a destination for would-be cliff jumpers, rock climbers, and graffiti artists. It was a haven for every rebellious adolescent wanna-be. Both dangerous and forbidden fruit.

In an effort to discourage kids from jumping, the owners of the quarry began to fill the ink-black water with wire and old telephone poles. This, of course, only made the illicit more enticing. 

That's the thing about jumping into the unknown. Each of us needs to gauge the risk. Is it time to go? Or time to stay?

"The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You've got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances." – Patrick Warburton