Lost Cause?
One of my former advisors has on his web page several of his interests, including the fact that he is also "a supporter of certain 'lost causes.'" When one clicks on the hypertext link, there appears the Red Sox home page. I suppose with their winning the World Series pennant this year (sorry, Laura), they are no longer a lost cause. Before a Newman Center meeting this evening we discussed how the Rockies came from virtually nowhere to clinch a spot against Boston. But it was not meant to be that the Rockies were to win the title this year.
So, Fenway Park's team is doing well again. My, it's been too long.
Labels: baseball, Boston, celebration, Wellesley
Visiting--Boston, North End
I visited the North End with the intention of getting great gelato. Instead, I found that some gelato has actually very very low milkfat (~3%) compared to ice cream. I stopped in the public library, and Mike's pastries (where my former college roomie, Maria, and I used to go for cannolis), where I purchased a yellow cream cannoli (no powdered sugar, please) and a torrone brick for Mom and Dad. I ate the cannoli there (as well as my turkey wrap for lunch), then headed to St. LEonard of Port Maurice Church to admire the Peace garden and to pray in this first church built by Italian-Americans in the new world. As I exited, I asked the guy with the bicycle at the door,
"Is this your neighborhood? Have you been here a while?"
"I've been a Franciscan for 23 years. What would you like to know?"
"Where is the best gelati?" I asked, expectantly.
"via A., in Rome." he said, helpfully.
---we discussed this for a few moments, he gave me some general directions, then I ended up down the street, where I ended up in St. Stephen's church, where Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was baptized and buried. There is a bronze plaque outside the Church, which reads:
"The most important element in
human life is Faith."-Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
St. Stephens is a church designed by Bullfinch. The tabernacle is directly behind the altar, and there are Corinthian columns in the balcony/gallery and Doric-type columns on the first floor. The church is simply decorated in white paint and has wooden carved stations. There was a nice guy explaining the architecture, etc. I asked him about the consolidation of four parishes in the North End.
From there, I headed to the Old North Church, where a tour was winding down and then I had a chance to walk down the right aisle to check out the pews and the organ.
I walked back to the Haymarket stop, taking green line to red line transfers at Park St. (a good station for accessibility), and back to Harvard Square and the bus transfer.
Labels: Boston, Church, ice cream
Visiting---Wellesley Reunion 2007
I went to my Wellesley reunion yesterday. Julie, Chloe, and I took off from Cambridge on a foggy day, which turned into a rainy day. We visited the Science Center and ran into David and Nancy. We visited the summer research labs and I saw my Grace-sized painting, too.
Julie, Chloe, and I went to Slater House to say hi to Sylvia, and I ran into the Asian-American alumnae crowd. I later had lunch with Stephanie H. and her family (with whom I played "Where in the world is [Carmen San Diego/]Grace?" for the rest of the afternoon). Maria and I formed the Pilipina-American alumnae crowd for our class. We all went on a tour of the Lulu Wang center (the upcoming Gates building at Carnegie Mellon University is to be designed by the same spouse team, or so I'm told). The new student center uses the same concept of: housing large spaces to congregate and small spaces to gather and peer from above at the larger gathering places. Then I went to the reunion store, where I said hello to Sarajane, our former student class president. Judy shared her mango sorbet with me, and I headed to Claflin to change for Mass.
I lectored at the anticipated Mass for Corpus Christi and thanked Meri Smith and the priest, Fr. Eugene LaPlante (Babson chaplain) for allowing me to participate. They are remodeling Houghton Memorial Chapel starting this coming school year, and this was the last Catholic Mass in the Chapel until Reunion 2008. We sang
Gather Us In
Gift of Finest Wheat
I am the Bread of Life, and
How Can I Keep from Singing
with Meri accompanying us on the piano.
I met up with Cean and Caitlin outside the Chapel for drinks and dinner in Claflin. We spent a bit of time chatting with Maria K.; listened to Dawn's wailing jazz vocals and piano accompaniment; and Kary, Nikki, Rubina, and her husband joined us for the lobster and clam bake.
Cean and I took a walk down memory lane at her home with our yearbook and reunion book yesterday after chatting with her family.
~~~
Today, after a breakfast of noodles and fruit prepared by Pat and after meeting Amelia, Cean and I marched in the parade (after organizing photos of us in the Pomeroy 1st-year contingent). We met up with Susan O. and danced to "In the Mood" near the band as we waved at the other reuniting classes. I looked for Joan from the Pittsburgh alumnae club, but failed to spot her.
We went to Cean's home to freshen up and to pick up her family for the box lunch in Tower Courtyard, by the lake. I ran into Dawn and we had a photo.
We then walked to Pom to check out our old rooms ("I'm the wife of Bath,") and the bell desk, and the living room. I took the train back to Boston, and the T to Cambridge for dinner with Julie and Chloe.
~~~
Reunion Observations___
I've never been to a class reunion until this weekend. I'm certainly glad that I went this weekend, as so many vibrant, spirited classmates also attended...I'm sure there were a few sticks-in-the-mud, but I didn't meet them. I was struck by after 20 years out of college I am at peace with myself and with the choices I have made in my life. No regrets.
About my classmates, everyone had the same personalities as 20 years ago, except some of us have magnified our personalities many times over.
I found that I have a memory for detail about my classmates and my experiences at Wellesley:
I quoted my first greeting at Pomeroy (by Cean's "big sis," Donna);
greeted another classmate with the details of what she did right after graduation; and laughed when one classmate noted how 20 years had caused a noticeable "spread" (not in demographic trends, either).
I am so honored to have so much life and lifeforce in common with all these women, as well as to have shared my Wellesley experience with them.
All of us from our class were enthralled by the walking and driving classes from earlier reuniting years. A class from the 1970's chanted "No More War," joined by the rest of us; most of us raised our hands in peace signs. One older class had the classmates brandishing--not using--walking sticks.
Labels: Boston, Church, friends, ice cream, lector, library, Marietta, Mass, Parkersburg, Philippines, philosophical, read, thankfulness, Wellesley
Visiting--List III--aka Dinner with Michael
Tonight, I travelled to Back Bay and had dinner with my cousin Michael at Garden of Eden restaurant. We enjoyed mussels, a savory tart, and salads. During dinner, we came up with additional preferences (as opposed to the original criteria) for my original list, "For," as Michael indicated,"you need to know what you WANT. And then you settle for 85%."
In addition to what I had indicated on my list, these additional preferences were added
not too-too tall
decent head of hair (or not?)
not obese, i.e. reasonable BMI
tolerable specifics: not bad-smelling, not furry.
These additional criteria are to be added to the list:
native intelligence
exuberance
I guess I need to make a space in my life for a person to join me on my journey.
Labels: Boston, family, list, philosophical
Visiting--Cambridge, Julie's family
7 June 2007
Today Dad drove me in the darkness to the airport for my flight to Boston. I tried to charge my phone longer, so we left later, at ~4:20AM.
I learned a lot about what it's like going through an airport with a disability [More on travel with a disability later.]
On the flight to JFK, I asked the gentleman sitting next to me, "Are you going to a game in New York?" He replied that he is going to visit his brother and see the Pirates play the Yankees in an afternoon game on Sunday.
Once off the plane, I caught an earlier flight to Boston's Logan airport, resulting in a 10/10:30 arrival at Logan. I sat next to a rabbinical student (female) who was returning from a mini-sabbatical in Israel. We spoke about interfaith relations, "going non-secular," singing gospel music and it's effect on the spirit, etc. I gave her (Julia) my email address.
I noticed the lanyard on the wheelchair attendant at Logan Airport--"I [heart] JESUS." we had a discussion about that, dying for others and their sins and then rising from the dead. Pretty powerful stuff for discussions, Christians or no.
I followed my friend Julie's directions to her home, and arrived about 11:30am. I napped for about two hours.
I then left to get an ACCESS card from the Back Bay station. On the way to and from the Back Bay stop---at the Downtown Crossing stop---I noticed that the transfer from the red to the orange line [outbound, Forest Hills] and from the orange to the red line [inbound, Harvard Square] was not easy for one who is mobility-challenged.
I noticed graffiti at the cemetary sign @Dick Cheney. I noticed sidewalk painting by Cambridge green:
Happy 4th of July
Corporate America
May we continue to
Bathe in your
glorious corruption
!!!!
I hung out at Julie's home for about an hour and then we walked to Chloe's preschool, where I met Chloe ("I'm shy...HEY! That's Ellie! Can I have a turn on the twister, Ellie?...Do you want to see me do a cartwhEEEL?""). We walked home to wash the lil blackened soles of Chloe's feet (and the rest of her), then walked to dinner at Cambridge Commons ("Boy, I[we] didn't notice how hungry we were!") I enjoyed the Mediterranean mezzo plate with them, as well as the country fried chicken, which brought up memories of my aunt. My aunt used to visit us when we were in elementary school and greet us after school with a big plate of Southern fried chicken. MMMmmm! Delicious!
We returned home, where Julie listened to a message from Larry. Chloe requested to "talk to Daddy" when she heard his voice on the message machine. Julie dialed him, and he was on his way home from the train station.
Julie did the goodnight stories with Chloe, and was later joined by Larry. Larry and I chatted while Julie closed the day with a goodnight tuck in with Chloe. Julie, Larry, and I chatted for a bit while watching the aquarium, and while munching and making Chloe's tomorrow lunch. At nine we decided to call it a night.
Labels: Boston, children, friends, Marietta
