Dateline - Rt 20 Tire

It was dark this morning when I went to Panera. So dark I thought I must have set my alarm for five instead of six. Nope. Come Sunday it might be light at that hour but not for long. So, I'm now sitting in the tire shop getting snow tires for the car.

But we're home. One week now, and my body is slowly returning to normal. I even ate some candy corn yesterday. Too much, and it made my mouth sore. But what a treat. And that means it's trick or treat day. Every 5-year-old's favorite day of the year. And every grandparent's too! 

We keep buying candy in the expectation that someone will venture back to our house. Or maybe knowing that no one will, and we just want to indulge ourselves.

No trick or treating for Thomas, John and Luisa. They're actually in France visiting friends from Brazil. Now how many people can say that?  Anyway, I learned a new phrase: half-term. That's the mid-semester break that the boys - and the rest of England - were on this week. So, Joe took them for a road trip - to Stonehenge, to castles, to their future university (Oxford) and other points. We went with them too, at least vicariously through the photos.

All this after spending a day with Daniel last weekend who has touched down in London for a few months. One day, we'll meet up with Daniel in this country, not just India and England.

No trick or treating for Annie and Sankar, but they did have plenty of sweets for Diwali. And they had some sad news as Sankar's grandmother passed away.

Lots of Halloween in DC for Simon. An extended, looooong lead-up. We saw him in his skeleton pjs, but he may also have a dinosaur costume. Big decisions for a five-year-old. He also moved up a lane for his swim lessons having figured out the backstroke and the breaststroke!  In the midst of furloughs and Halloween, Margaret and Andrew have a contract on their house so that chapter may be nearing an end. Phew.

I think David and Paula may have the ideal neighborhood for Halloween. They might just as well back up a dump truck full of candy for the hundreds of scary kids knocking on their door. David has been busy doing some consulting for his old firm.

Andrew and Lur wouldn't take my call last week. They were busy unloading their car at Green Lake. They went up for the weekend at Ripon, football and soccer and Claire joining them for the day!

Guess who came to lunch?  Lyn Bidwell and her husband Jack who started dating in Indian Hill high school. They had driven east to Boston and stopped here on their way out and back. Did you know there's a Bidwell House in the Berkshires?  Anyway, we reminisced and Lyn remembered her classmate, Peter!

One more guess. Who's that little boy running in the photo below? It's Theo, all grown up, training for the NYC marathon.

We've settled back in our routines, happily. We've met with the students we tutor, returned to French conversation and hiking groups, started back up with history committees and of course resumed swimming. The last six weeks were kind of a blur, but we're at the other end and hope for good test results come December.

Happy Halloween everyone. Love from up here.

Back to Boston

Back, because we spent the long weekend in Washington. We had planned to go down to visit while Andrew was away in Italy for a friend's wedding (I should be more precise, Tuscany – not too shabby.) As the day approached, the news of the nor'easter also approached, frightfully. And there's a pilot here at Hope Lodge who we've befriended and he scared us a little. My attempt to cancel the trip failed as the airline refused to reimburse, so we decided to make a run for it. Our flight outtahere was smooth. One leg down.
We had a great Uber driver at the DC airport (Margaret, since she was on furlough) take us back to their new house. Great because she is also the bearer of big news, as she can no longer conceal a little tummy push. Yes, she's going to have a baby, in March!  The due date is scheduled for the day after Simon's birthday. That is going to be some birthday party! So happy for her, for the proud Dad, and the big brother.
We had a good long chat with Paula and David, and Paula seems to be doing so much better. Nope, not seems, but is. No coughing on our call. It seems a new medical approach has really helped, and she is already talking about the Poconos next summer, and even a trip down to DC.
Jeff and Melodie came over for dinner, bringing dinner, on Sunday. They talked gardens and showed us some photos of pretty wild giant yellow squash that looks like a trombone, and in fact its name sounds like trombone. In the tradition of big Dickson squash. And they made delicious soup with it. They are well, settling into new jobs, and taking care of so many feral cats. We saw Ollie too.
Phone calls filled us in on the news from London and India. It seems that every conversation with Annie and Sankar somehow manages to make its way eventually to the subject of leeches. There's more to report, on tree plantings, monsoons, and upcoming festivals, as they wind down their work time on their land and head back to Thanjavur for Diwali. From London, I wish I had made a video of our zoom call, as all I can think of is the Art Linkletter show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things." Among other things, John told us about taking off the training wheels on his bike, while fighting off kicks from his baby sister. When she started singing with us, she had to fend off pokes from John. In the middle came Thomas who tried to tell us about rugby, but he didn't stand a chance with his two younger siblings. It was a very fun way to spend half an hour!
It's mid October and that means several things. First, Janet's birthday! Congrats and hope it was as special a day as it was when you turned five!  And if memory serves right, Daniel is getting ready to leave for London, for several months. Off on an adventure.
Sandwiched in between was a cancelled trip down to Princeton. There was a reunion of former soccer teammates, to watch a game and have a memorial dinner for one of mates who passed away. After a couple of accidents, I cancelled our trip down, which meant losing a chance to see Peter and Janet. Peter was at the game and saw my old teammates, and we won. A good team this year.
Mary talked with Marilyn a few times. Rough days for her; she recounted several "sightings" of John, that are too odd to pass of as something other than his presence.
The weekend in DC was marred only by tummy cramps and related problems. Spent a fair amount of time lying down.  We postponed our flight for one day, erring on the side of caution, for both weather and stomach. Turns out we didn't need to do, but it did allow us a chance to hear about Andrew's trip as he was our Uber driver back to the airport. A long delay due to weather, but we made it back, Mary to her book group and me to my treatment.
And we got back to meet Blades, the Boston Bruins mascot who sponsored dinner of pizza and ice cream. I had soup and crackers, but good fellowship with Blades.
Love from over here. Next letter comes from Pittsfield!!

 

Birthday Palooza

Back in Boston. And in the middle of birthday-palooza. Happy greetings go out to Paula and Tina for September birthdays, and then to Auden and Johanna for next weekbirthdays and onward to Janet, Billy and Kathleen. I'm sure I'm missing someone but it's hard to keep track. And a couple of anniversaries, including one memorable one in Lisbon with an equally memorable side-trip afterwards. That's a super fun memory.

It's also hard to keep track of family movements. Melodie and Jeff went back to Minnesota, and judging from the Facebook photos, I'm assuming it was for a wedding. Annie and Sankar are in a place called Gurukula Sanctuary in Kerala that looks very idyllic. They're taking another class, this time on conservation. Andrew Siddons was in the Big Apple for a bachelor party, I believe.  Everett and Tina went to the Buffalo zoo. Mary went to Rhode Island for a quick visit with Marj and Lew who then came up to Pittsfield for the weekend. Doesn't anyone stay home?

I managed the week here by myself. It was easy but a little boring. Over the weekend, though, the side effects of the radiation kicked in, and I find myself in a new space. While the last two weeks here have been full of activities exploring Boston, it looks like the next few months will be more of the staying close to home variety. In fact, today, we had arranged with Sooz Pratt to do a day trip to the Vineyard to see her, Fernando and Janie. I had to call it off though.

I got projects though to get me through this homebody stretch. One involves John Shields. Our great grandfather from Oklahoma, or should I say Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas. One little tidbit to share: Mom/Grandma used to talk about his being involved with the capture of Dalton gang. Our cousin Jay Dean even told me that he believes he was a Pinkerton agent at some point. I've found no evidence of that yet, in all my reading and scouring of obituaries and other Ancestry.com hints. Just last week I came upon the Oklahoma Historical Society, and I emailed them with a query. After a couple of days, I assumed my message went into the folder labeled "I'm not going to do his work."  But guess what? I opened my email today and found a response which read in part, "We do have a 4 vol set of books with bios of Marshals and Deputies in Indian Terr. I looked for John Shields and he was not in there…. Also looked in the Gateway to Oklahoma History (their database) for him. Got 72 hits in Logan County.  It looked like he was in real estate, so he was in the paper a lot." I started going through them, and they're not all him, but I did find one newspaper item from 1900 connected to the deed that hangs on my wall, and maybe yours too. So, I'm on a trail, this time not of Herman Melville, but of John Shields, "in real estate."

The news from London appears to be Lake Woebegone good stuff. The young ones are settling in to their new schools, which appear to be enjoying little Yanks in their ranks. Here's one – Thomas, all of 8 years old, has started playing rugby. That was a turn-around- and-run-away kind of sport for me. But he's enjoying it, or maybe he's enjoying the post-practice meal afterwards (see the photo).  By the way, have I written that Chicago Daniel will be London Daniel for several months for a class? He's getting excited and his cousins are too. He's leaving in October and will be there over Christmas and into the new year.

I close on a sad note. I didn't mention one other anniversary above. It was John and Marilyn's 63^rd wedding anniversary.

Love from home away from home.

 

 

Remembering Johnny

Dateline Boston. 

Let's start with an homage to John Boyle. By now, most of you know that he passed away suddenly on Tuesday night. Just sitting in his chair, almost sleeping.

One of Mary's first comments was, "It's hard to imagine a world without Johnny."  We did a lot together, whether it was home and away hostings (in South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Florida, Pittsfield) or regular phone calls, or travel together in Portugal, we, to put it simpkly, had fun.

When we look around our house in Pittsfield, we see a lot of Grandma and Pop, but there's a lot of Johnny too. He was the one who told us it was on the market, but he thought we were crazy when we went ahead and bought it. When we couldn't get insurance or a home equity loan to start work on it (because it had no working bathroom), he jumped in and contacted his insurance friend, and then put in a bathroom, hot water heater and furnace, drilling through petrified wood for hours to get a pipe out to release fumes.  

There's more, and he deserves more, but I'll put a link to his obituary when it gets released. He wanted no service, no get together, and the family is respecting his wishes. Mom, I remembered, took a different approach. After Pop passed away with instructions for no service, she said, "Too bad; you're not around. I'll make the decision."

Mary went down to Florida on Thursday and joined their three girls, grandchildren and spouses to help out, to help each other out. He and Marilyn were inseparable since their youth, so it has to be unimaginably hard for her.

I should have gone too. Instead, I hung out and then drove to Boston on Sunday to start my treatments. After one day, I consider myself an expert.  I am awed at how easy it seems, which means I am awed at how far cancer medicine has come, this, in the face of the Sunday Times Magazine cover declaring the "war on cancer" over. There are a few medieval indignities it seems that have mostly to do with going to the bathroom, but it could be a lot worse. If the worst part so far is the incessant blood draws, then you'll understand it's pretty easy.

What hasn't advanced is hospital cafeteria food. After treatment, Mary arrived in an Uber from the airport after a couple of unforgettable anecdotes (ask her about her phone and the Uber directions), and we "enjoyed" lunch in the cafeteria. I'm not supposed to have cold cuts, so I opted for tuna salad on a soggy croissant bun. Needless to say, the soggy part was not advertised.

One other advance is the accommodation, Hope Lodge, a fifteen-minute walk from the hospital. It's a lodge managed and operated through the hospital for people who live far away.  All free. There are communal kitchens, living areas and small suites. Very nice. My recommendation, buy Necco wafers, Valentine heart candy, and Fluff, because they seem to be the big donors.In the midst of this, Andrew and Lur came to Pittsfield. They stopped in Fairport on the way out to check in with David and Paula where they had dinner with Matthew and his family. Can you believe Donald is in 6^th grade?  They then continued on to our pad where we enjoyed steak, salads, walks, Melville talks, and long chats that seemed to cover all the subjects. I had unearthed a couple of old Far Hills yearbooks, some honor cards and a few Camp Falcon photos as prompts for reminiscing.

Thanks to everyone for checking in. We'll keep you too well informed. Home to Pittsfield on Friday!  Love from over here.

See you in September

Dateline. Canadian border 

In Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom, in particular. At our friend Charlie's lake cabin. It's a bit chilly but quiet and beautiful. We're on vacation. 

We're nearing a week with old Peace Corps friends so that means reminiscing and telling tall tales and sharing photos. Pretty amazing the ties that still bind after 45 years. 

The only bummer was we couldn't get together with Matthew and Tina who had decided to spend a long Labor Day weekend at Lake Taghanic State Park. Only a hour away. Too bad but you can always come back. 

Before that we enjoyed a week with Margaret and Simon. Simon went and conquered the same day camp that his cousins attended in July. Andrew had to work so his wife and son flew up for the week. They got back home in time for his kindergarten orientation session. 

Over in London, Thomas started his new school and John starts tomorrow. Everyone will remember the nerves on first day in a new school. Pretty sure they'll conquer their schools. 

They came back from a couple of weeks with their grandparents in Portugal  They moved into their new house with all their stuff thanks to Leonor. Joe is now able to do his job search and get ready to roll out the red carpet for Daniel who's heading there for a couple of months for a class, I believe. 

Out in Illinois, Jen and the kids returned for a quick visit. They must have been happy to see Andrew and Lur. Claire had been out to Denver as well. 

We caught up with John and Marilyn, one of whom had a nasty fall playing pickleball. Who says it's not a full contact sport?

We also talked to Annie a couple of times. She is knee deep in paperwork, trying to regularize her status.  That meant getting her parents' birth certificates. We found them but mine was a Cincinnati Hospital certificate that had Donald and Georgianna's name on it but not mine. So the question I'm asking is how long did it take them to give me a name?

Over in NJ we saw Johanna sporting a new, cute hairdo. 

Back here in Vermont, we saw a shirt today that said "Elbows Up'. I heard that's a hockey expression to defend yourself. Makes sense. 

Happy September everyone!!  

Dog days ... and kitties too

Sometimes you think nothing really happened when these letters get started and then … POW!  The memory kicks in.

The first of the month saw Margaret and Andrew moving to their new house. A block away. Mary and I went down to help in the only way we knew how. Watch Simon. And that meant the farmers' market, the pool, pulling the wagon with stuff, MacDonald's and other assorted diversions. Fun.  Meanwhile back at the ranch, Margaret and Andrew were exhausting themselves crating things back and forth and then supervising the professionals who came to move the big stuff. By the time we left Monday morning (and Simon back at camp), they were in their new house with a bit of a mess to clean up. But happy. It's  very nice. The best part, from Simon's vantage point, was the doorbell. I say "was" because his mother was threatening to dismantle it after the first 78,286 rings.

On the way home, we checked in with Paula who is feeling much better, and told us about Donald and Everett and their outdoor adventures. The picture of Everett fishing looks a little like his grandfather.

The group in London was settling in, visiting the sites, and then off to Portugal to visit Leonor's family until their shipment clears customs and they can move into their permanent quarters back in their new hometown. Fun to see the photos at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and the double-decker buses.

Further east, in India, Annie and Sankar continue to move forward on their project, breaking ground for a fence, a pond and making their first plantings. Progress.

Closer to home, we see that a New Jersey contingent went down to a Maryland contingent to spend time with Sean and Erin's two little boys, growing up so fast. 

Has the shine from the Poconos worn off yet? I found the letter written after our 2015 reunion, the first in the annual treks (except for COVID). Check it out and see how far we've traveled: July 2015. A thought: when you look at the website, you can find old weekly letters, dating back to 2008. Also, remember, you can add your own letters and/or updates simply by sending an email to popsweeklyletter.bubbles@blogger.com.

Winter in the Berkshires is kind of lonely, and every year we wonder if we have any friends left. Then summer arrives, and we play host to a steady stream of family and friends, and we forget about being lonely. But that's true with most folks in this neck of the woods. We were lucky to have Mary's book group descend, ahead of some Foreign Service friends and then another FS friend from Cornell, and tomorrow it'll be Margaret and Simon for a week. We also made time to head over to Northhampton for a day of hiking and bridge.

And we even squeezed in a one-day trip to Waltham where I underwent a procedure to get ready for radiation in September. Kind of knocked me out but I'm back on my feet again. Mary's been in the water quite a bit, helping to teach school children how to swim.

Will someone tell the summer boss to slow down a little. We love these short, sandal and tee-shirt days.

Love from up here.

 

 

Poconos2025

When we used to teach, the end of July was a little scary. The summer's almost over. Even without the teaching deadline hanging over our heads, it's still a little sad that we're seeing too much summer in the rear view mirror.

But what a summer it's been so far. First of all, does anyone remember the Poconos? Seems like a long ways back. But, as Andrew wrote in a note afterwards, it was different but differently great. It was too bad David and Paula had to pull out at the last minute as Paula had come down with pneumonia.  We were able to give them a call on the last night and have them join the birthday celebrations.

We had a couple of new traditions, First, some of us stayed an extra night, Sunday, which allowed others to hang out longer on Sunday and even use the showers in the three cabins we kept. Second, Margaret and Andrew inherited a pinata, and one evening we watched as the boys took pretty vigorous whacks at the number five hanging from a tree. This time, the pinata was fully loaded, bringing to mind a Christmas pinata in Mexico when we didn't know you have to fill it with stuff.  There was disappointment then but an enduring story.

Highlights? I'm sure everyone has their own, but the five boys eagerly awaiting the birthday cake arrival was exciting. Wish it had lasted forever. And then there was the usual chatting, and eating, and swimming out to the dock, and playing in the sand, and swinging and tetherball, walking and boating. Those too I wish could last forever.

Melodie started us off on some musing over how many years we have been spending a July weekend together at Mountain Springs. We came up with a magic number 10, but then remembered that we took at least one year off in 2020 due to Covid. And, I just checked, we also skipped 2021 for the same reason. You can compare the two group photos from 2015 and 2025.

Anyway, we signed up for next year, and the dates are …. Thursday July 16-Monday July 20.

One more memory from the Poconos was of Joe driving up on Thursday at 11:30 after cleaning out their house in DC. His car was stuffed, and he had a box spring on the roof of his car, that he thought we wanted. Anyway, it was family reunification of sorts, for at least the boys in his family. Then a week later they got on a plane, in business class no less, and had a full reunification in London with Leonor and Luisa. They're off on their next adventure, and the photos they're sending along so far look fantastic. I should add here that we were sad to see them depart, as we enjoyed three never-get-back weeks with two wonderful boys.

Margaret and Andrew are having their own stressful days as they prepare to make their move to a new house, tomorrow. We are going down to help out with another wonderful boy while they pack up, drive the block to their new abode, and unpack. You can place your bets that there will be a lot of pool time this weekend.  Hope it doesn't rain.

There were birthdays and a lot of them.  Mary and Donald share one day, then Thomas, and tomorrow is Everett's. Oh boy! Ice cream cake is my downfall.

Finally, there's a story from India with Annie and Sankar taking a walk through the forest and getting attacked by leeches. Maybe attacked isn't the right word, but then again, maybe it is. Are they the first in the family to have too pull leeches off their bodies?

On that happy note, wishing you all happy days for the rest of the summer.

Love from up here.