Happy Halloween

Sitting on Margaret and Andrew's front porch and I can hear the sounds of excited children through the neighborhood. Anticipation at the coming few hours, I guess. Houses are decorated with skeletons and graveyards and all kinds of mayhem.  In the midst of it is one very non-scary Winnie the Pooh Simon. And of course he's not totally sure what to make of all of it. 

We came down to DC for the weekend as our last visit before we head to Brazil. We hope. The airlines has already canceled our flights and then sent another message changing the schedule. Then with all the tests and other requirements we'll see if we actually get there. 

Last Sunday night Andrew and Lur were in Pittsfield, and we didn't let them have a moment's rest. Museums, walks, a play, tv shows (Ted Lasso) and then the movie Love Actually were  the big distractions away from eating pies and donuts and steak and salmon. And don't forget the naps. 

The play we saw was a new musical featuring Billy Crystal who starred in an adaptation of his movie Mr Saturday Night. In Pittsfield!! If it ever gets to Broadway, we'd recommend it. 

News from the Illinois clan - Daniel's in a new apartment with one bedroom home to his barber chair for cuts. Billy had a big birthday party and Claire is now teaching macrame, as well as her school music duties. 

We had our first frost of the year, very late. I remember one Halloween a few years ago when Peter and Janet were in Pittsfield when it snowed. We picked the last of the tomatoes and had another crop of lettuce. But when we came down here and saw all of Andrew's tomatoes still on the vine. He harvested one crop but there's more on the way. 

Sad news this week as we learned that our good friend from Gabon, John Peter Lindeme passed away. A bit of a shock since a highlight of our trips back to Gabon was visiting with him. He had come to visit us in Claremont and then 30 years later in Bethesda. 

Annie hopped on a plane for a weekend in Maine with her Hamilton friends. And down in Brazil, Joe and Leonor have been coping with a cycle of sickness in their home. 

Our new bathroom project is supposed to start Tuesday after postponements for the past two months. It makes the timing awkward especially as we will be away for three weeks. But one bay in garage is now home to 17 boxes of bathroom fixtures. 

On the volunteer news front, I had my last tour of the season at Arrowhead. Just in time as my one morning a week in Springfield organizing donations for refugees started last Thursday. Mary continues to teach English to her adult student from Congo who is filling the role of recent immigrant, holding down two jobs, and trying to settle into his new life here. 

This week, we see the temps going down to the 20s at night. Just in time to head to the beaches of Brazil. 

Love from up here. 

It's a jungle out there

Two woods diverged in a family – one in Maine and one in Brazil.

Well, actually, the one in Brazil was more than woods – it was the jungle, the Amazon.  We got a text from Joe saying he was going into the jungle. At first, I thought he meant Thomas and Joao's room.  When Mary asked for clarification, he wrote back and said "the Amazon."  Well, I've heard that the Amazon is quite a big place, and that there are places in it that no one has actually gone to, or other places that some have gone into but never come out of.  Hmm.

Long story, to note that the photos Joe and Leonor sent back from their long weekend in the Amazon were spectacular, and I share a couple of them with you all.  I hope the two young boys will have some memory of it.  

The other woods was the Maine woods.  Mary and I went up to see our friends Cliff and Sheila, who live about an hour from the NH and Quebec borders.  Way up there.  Cliff told us that they were in the middle of a drought, and I pass that along only as an explanation for why the fall foliage colors were so spectacular, in comparison to what we're seeing around here, with all our rain.  Our leaves are turning….brown, for the most part.

Anyway, it was a beautiful drive up there, north of the White Mountains.  We were led on a walking grouse-hunt (no shots fired) by Cliff, and toured a local history museum.  But, what do I remember most?  The first Philly Cheese Steak I had in years.  Imagine that, a Philly Cheese Steak in Strong, Maine at the White Elephant Restaurant.  Almost as good as Fred's Café in Pocotello, Idaho.

Other big news out of Brazil is a girl.  Leonor and Joe found out today, confirmed, they are having a girl.  They have a name, but I've already spilled too much of their news to tell.

Out on the west coast, Annie and Sankar have moved into their new apartment.  Unfortunately, the day before their move, one of their kitties, Petta, was hit by a car.  Annie found him in the road; he is making a slow recovery.  

Speaking of slow recovery, we're pleased to note Peter's good doctor news last week.

Down in DC, the big news is Simon has mastered a playground slide.  All by himself, with squeals of delight, I would add.  Of course.

Birthday wishes galore for Janet this week, whose birthday used to be shared with Columbus Day, but now Indigenous People's Day.  How 'bout that for a lifetime of witnessing change?

And, this week, coming up is Claire's birthday, followed closely by Kathleen and Billy.  I do remember calling October birthday month.  And I forgot to mention that Auden also had her 8th birthday, the day after Johanna.  She had an old-fashioned tea party, that reminded me of a tea party Ann had when we were living in Indian Hill for her birthday.  I wasn't invited.  And I know why.

What else?  Mary went down to NYC for a day-visit to the Botanical Gardens to catch before it closed an exhibit by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama that looked sensational.  I wasn't invited to that either.

It meant we played host to Marj and Lew and had a string of breakfasts and dinners with Mary's high school crowd, and then watched the nail-biting Game 5 which the Red Sox pulled out.

I mowed the lawn today, and hope it's the last one of the season, but with the temps still in the 70s during the days, I may be mowing through December.  Ugh.  Is it better than shoveling snow?

With that, love from up here.  

Babies and babies

By now, hopefully, everyone has seen Sean and Erin's big news, expecting a baby in February next year.  They posted other news on our Facebook group, about their new house in Maryland and new jobs, but the baby was the big news.  Just wonderful and congratulations!

Right on the heels of that announcement, Leonor slipped into her Tiny Beans photo posting that she and Joe were expecting again, with the due date in March next year, right on the heels of the Maryland birth.  And also wonderful and congratulations.  Being the practical guy, my thoughts go to reserving more cabins at the Poconos!!  And a wider lens to take a photo of the growing clan.  

Not sure there's anything worth reporting after those FANTASTIC updates.

But, here goes.  Mary and I spent the weekend down in Washington with Margaret, and Andrew and a certain young man named Simon.  A barrelful of laughs and wonder; the little guy changes seemingly right in front of our eyes.  We were able to squeeze in visits with a couple of friends and return to our old church, where the minister remembered us by name, even with masks on!  I had a senior moment in ordering a Door Dash meal when Andrew and Margaret escaped for a night out.  I had the meal sent to Joe's old address in DC, so no wonder I couldn't find the meal on the front porch when I received the alert text.  I called the delivery guy (dasher) and overheard him talking to the people at Joe's old house who were complaining that that wasn't what they ordered!

 
There seems to be a common thread in the letter thus far – social media and the gig economy.  And, it continued when we had a conference call with our Encore de la Paix friends as we explored another Gabon project.  After discussing libraries and containers full of books, we settled on putting together a project of teaching English over Zoom.  That way, no travel, no heavy lifting, and, more gigabytes.

Out in Oakland, Annie and Sankar are settling back to their routines, and have found a more permanent home that they will occupy this weekend.  It's in an intentional community, and we look forward to hearing more of what that entails.  Down in Brazil, Leonor's father and step-mother are into their final days of visit, and this past weekend they all traveled to a nearby park full of waterfalls, parrots, swimming holes and hiking trails.  

We also heard from Timmy who was in the midst of his move from Washington to Montana.  And we checked in with John and Marilyn who are doing well in their Covid-free bubble down in Florida.  And from Dundee, we hear that Miles has started basketball practices.  I hear there are scouts in the stands already.

And it's birthday season.  Today is Johanna's big day, and we passed by both Tina's and Paula's.  Happy celebrations to all.  And to mark the occasions, I offer up the following portion of the October 5, 1983 letter, that adds a little to the famous cut-short fishing trip in the Adirondacks:  "It's fun to get calls from Washington.  Mom called last night to relate one more 'progress-things are getting better' report.  She had seen Johanna and was so glad to describe all the emotion of seeing a bright little girl.  Peter and Janet had held her during the day and so normalcy seems to be taking over,  Thank God……. "

Since I have scanned all the weekly letters in the files I kept, I am now going through old boxes of letters and envelopes I saved for the stamps and carted around the world for the past 40 years. I have unearthed a few stray weekly letters that didn't make their way into my files. Better, though, it's been fun to open up letters addressed to New Hampshire, Arlington VA,  and Lagos, many from parents, brothers and sisters-in-law.  First, I need to thank you all for writing over those years, since, as you might guess, getting a letter was so much fun and so special.  Second, though, it points to a bygone time when we actually spent more than a few seconds to reach out to friends and family and even wrote real stuff that mattered in relation to things that were going on in our lives. There was one quote in a weekly letter from Pop who hadn't heard from his sons during the week and asked if we needed pens.  A lost art form unfortunately.

Closing out, the photos here are of outings that parents plan in order for their young children.  Can you spot Donald?  A taste of what's coming your way, Sean and Erin.  Fun and memories.

Love from up here.
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