Where in the world?

It's wonderful to walk out of the airport in a different country and see someone you know! Annie and Sankar! And a few minutes later we were in our cars on our way to the hotel.

We had driven down to DC a week earlier to help Joe out while Leonor had gone to Portugal with John and Luisa for her mother's big birthday/retirement party. So we were in school pick-up/drop-off duty for a few days. We took advantage of school time for Thomas to catch up with friends in the area.

And then, inevitably, the final trip to the airport. Margaret, Andrew and Simon joined us for the looooong flight. We crashed in Dubai for an extended layover and then off on our second leg. We survived and not even barely. Simon set a record for number of movies watched, broken a few days later by Thomas who may have watched all 17 Star Wars movies, or at least that many, judging by his excitement in retelling the plots.

A few days in Chennai to recover, add another beach to our book, and do some shopping. Gradually our internal clock started to adjust.

Then off to a nice hotel on the beach south of Chennai, in Kovalam. When we woke up the next day Daniel was there and later that afternoon, Johanna came!

We tempted the fates by trying out a water protector for Thomas' cast so he could go swimming. It failed utterly and resulted in a trip to the urgent care, a long wait, and a new cast.

And the skies opened up and we lived through our first monsoon. 36 hours or more of rain meant most of all scrambling to try to keep little boys occupied. They did well. So did their parents.

And then we squeezed in a little sightseeing and somehow it stopped raining for both our excursions. First a trip to a bird sanctuary where the drive there may have been more interesting than the birds. Two hours through South India rush hour.

Later, a few of us went to see the shore temples at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO world heritage site reminiscent of Macchu Pichu.

And there's a wedding! The first ceremony took place yesterday, called the Puja for Sankar who had returned to his home for this groom preparation. Today, our US group heads to Sankar's home town of Thanjavur and Annie will have her own ceremony of Pen Azhaippu, placing sandalwood paste on Annie.

And there Melodie and Jeff will join us. More events over the following days with actual wedding on Sunday, and the reception the day before.

What's clear in all this activity is how much preparation and problem-solving Annie and Sankar have done to help us in this far-away place. As if they didn't have enough to handle! Thanks to both of you!!

I should add one quick other family news as we see on FB Tina's in Egypt. Looks exciting.

Off to pack for our trip to Thanjavur.

Love from over here.

Halloween Special

How can we do a weekly letter without showing the costumes?  Such clever ideas, and pretty obvious the next generation was all in, even if only for a short time for the youngest of them. We're heading down to DC tomorrow, so we're hoping that there's still some candy left over. We were shut out again this year – 12 years running. We reluctantly bought a bag just in case.  Dark chocolate: nobody would have liked it.

I talked to David who was right in the middle of their big Halloween parade on their street. He estimates they get about 200 a night, and he was up to 70 when we were talking.  He had fully recovered from a sinus infection, recovered enough to trick the youngsters coming up their path into giving him their candy. He tried anyway. Paula continues on her rebound!

Two more medical news items.  John Boyle's heart valve procedure went perfectly, and he was magically all better, with little pain or discomfort. He said the change in his energy and breath was immediate.  Miracle.

Not in the miracle category was Thomas' broken arm. You would think with all the climbing and jumping on couches and beds and bike riding that he would have broken it in some extreme sport fashion. Nope. He fell off a cafeteria bench awkwardly, and broke it. They knew something was wrong by the way his arm was twisted, but it took them way too long in the emergency room for them to get an x-ray and get it set right. Early morning hours. Joe and Leonor did a tag team in the er staying with him, and Leonor didn't get home until 7 in the morning.  Thomas was a brave, slightly subdued little boy when we spoke with him.

Wait. There's one more medical issue. I had a bad reaction from my typhus vaccine; I think I even got the illness.  Fever, all the stomach bad things that you can imagine. I finally got some antibiotics which wiped it out, but we had to cancel our weekend in Maine (not Lewiston) because of it.  

Mary went to a swim meet up in New Hampshire where she, of course, did very well. She found out her relay team from a meet in August placed fourth in the nation. I stayed home and did my old people water aerobics.

I did do my last tours of the season at the Melville house museum. And my last classes through the lifelong learning institute – one on Paradise Lost, which I actually read, and kind of understood.

Mark your calendars. We got our first downpayment on the Poconos for 2024 – July 18-21!

We talked to Annie and Sankhar a few times this week, finalizing last minute preparations. They had been staying at a place called Buddha Gardens, where they shared a room with a pair of scorpions. Serious.  Annie also mentioned she was mastering the technique of drinking water from a bottle without letting the bottle touch her lips.  And, on that score, in preparation for our visit, I've been reading a history of South India, where the author quotes from a Marco Polo journal, stating among other things "And when they drink they do not put the vessel to the lips but hold it aloft and let the drink pour into the mouth."  Some customs endure – that was 1292!

Our next weekly letter will come from Tamil Nadu, with Daniel, Johanna, Melodie and Jeff, Margaret, Andrew and Simon, Joe and Thomas all in attendance. I should mention that Annie and Sankhar have both done an amazing job in getting all of us ready, and comfortable, as well as all the preparations they need to make.  As they say in Tamil, "Nandri."  Now if I could only figure out how to say "I'm sorry," I'd be all set.

Next time, we'll have a ton of photos.

Love from up here. 

 

 

Falling into fall

I just decided.  October is the best month of the year. And the foliage this year isn't that good. I just like the cool, crisp nights, the warm days, pulling out the hooded sweatshirts and corduroys, the sports, the Halloween decorations and more.

I know one person who likes Halloween decorations too. Thomas. Moving around his new neighborhood, by car, on foot or on bike, he was scouting out all the decorations.  With a little encouragement from his grandfather, he even was shouting out, "C'mon guys. Decorate your houses." 

We went down to DC last weekend to help out with Joe and Leonor's move to their more permanent home.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, it doesn't matter if you're moving across continents or across the street, it's still a pain in the neck. But their new quarters are very nice, so it's worth it. Our help consisted of grandparent day care, and it was fun, for us. We'd wake up each day, wondering how we would make it to the end of the day, especially on Saturday when it was raining. We did, and it was not always predictable, but included dancing in the streets, lunch at McD's, swimming, wet playgrounds, hanging with Simon, watching Luisa with her dolls, telling stories, the list goes on. We made it and so far, no colds up here.

Wish I could say the same for Annie and Sankar who have been battling -- and winning the war against --  a few indecipherable illnesses.  But they recovered enough to do a day of sightseeing, that turned into a couple of days when their car battery died. Anyway, here's part of her latest missive: "Tiruvannamalai is a spiritual temple town in the mountains, with Arunachaleshwar Temple being its main draw. It's one of the largest temples in India; the main structures date back to the 9th century, but it's been a spiritual hub for much longer. It took us about an hour to walk through, as we had to pass through 5 different structures before reaching the innermost sanctum, where we received a blessing from the priest. In other temples we've visited, I haven't been allowed to go very far as a non-Hindu, so it was special to be able to see the full site."

Out west, or, as far west as the family goes, Claire has finished up her volleyball season; Andrew and Lur went to a concert of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (quick – what was their big hit?); don 't ask Jen about skateboarding; and Daniel is getting ready to join the crowd heading to India next month.

We've had some birthdays as well. This time Janet's – a great day. Claire's and Billy's and Kathleen's are coming up. I already mentioned Auden's birthday, but at her age, you need to celebrate it many times.

We'll be thinking of John Boyle this week as he goes in for his heart procedure. He's ready to get back to his exercise routines,

The book project proceeds, and I got advance copies.  I must say they look nice. Mary and I are going through one last time trying to catch small typos. Did you know that there never was a company called Procter and Gamble? It's Procter & Gamble.

On our way to DC, we took a detour through eastern Pennsylvania. A soccer teammate and captain (Tom Donley) from Princeton had invited us down to give a talk about my book on history and foreign affairs at his Rotary club. We stopped first at their "cabin" in the Poconos, not too far from Mountain Springs. Then off to York for the talk and dinner with his family. After, we headed over to Gettysburg. I think this was my fourth visit, and I am finally beginning to understand what happened, or pieces of it anyway. We were looking for the site of the famous photo during the visit with Pop and the boys, and then, on our way out, decided to stop at the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address. There it was, with a new sign up since the last time, "Silence and Respect." I wonder if that sign went up right after our visit in 1994.

I should add that Gettysburg took on a whole new meaning in light of our current situation. And, that's not only from me, as we heard it from a couple of park rangers as well. One more thought – the place was packed, and it wasn't even peak summer season.  So, thousands of people must be getting the same lessons, I hope.

And with that, we also hope all of you are happy, healthy and hungry!  Love from up here.  

Happiness is a ....

You may wonder - but you probably don't - how the photos are selected for these letters. It's easy.  As many as possible. And this time, there are so many that I'm tempted not to write anything at all. Except, that there's so much to include. And every picture tells a story.

For example, the picture of Simon at school jumps out when you look at his shirt and fill in the blanks of how it got so dirty. Or, the picture of Kiernan and Sean tells the story of a visit to the doctor, but neither of them look sick. Or, how about Joe and Thomas at the baseball game, where Thomas would have outlasted all of us, even though he had had a full day at school. What about Claire with friends (teachers?) soaking in the joy of a convertible. What's that backstory?

But there are others I couldn't squeeze in. Let's start with the birthdays. Happy birthdays to Paula and Tina, and looking ahead to Johanna and Auden. That's a lot of photos of blowing out candles. Or singing, as Donald and Everett show us.

All these pictures remind me of a friend who recently sent me a George Bernard Shaw quote – "A happy family is but an earlier Heaven." Or of a holocaust survivor's quote, "Happiness is a choice."

That last quote came from a play we went to this week called The Happiest Man Alive, which recounts the true and obviously harrowing story of Eddie Jaku, and there's a book and a TED talk to go with it.

The other quote comes from a friend who read through the book Have a Great Week, Love! Pre-publication activities are proceeding, and we are looking at a November date.

Happiness, for us, was a couple of visits to Washington, with a delayed rain date tickets for a baseball game. We wanted to invite Jeff and Melodie but they were getting over illnesses.  We watched Simon one night while his parents went to a wedding, and we had a marathon swimming pool outing.

Hearing Andrew and Lur recount their trip up to Kohler Wisconsin sounds like happiness too. They all went to a concert by a group we should have heard of before, called Guster. They also squeezed in a field hockey game with a Lawrenceville friend.

And happiness in Jersey is Janet back at the theater doing audio description.

Not so happy was our furnace situation. With temps going down into the 40s and 50s, the house was chilly when we got back from DC. What was supposed to be a quick visit by the plumber to turn on the pilot light turned out to be a major fix to the fan, along with a major bill. I have a picture of the broken part, but it's not so happy, except that we now have heat again. And, it gave us an excuse to get a free consult from Johnny, who filled us in on the next steps for his heart valve procedure.

Back in DC, Joe and Leonor have found more permanent quarters which they hope to move into soon. It's not far from where they currently are, and still walkable to school. It's near Sherman Circle which seems to be a busy place for families. We'll head back down there next weekend to see if we can help out with the move or with daycare during the move.  Is there such a thing as move-care??

We also had a consult with Annie about trip plans and what we'll do before and after the ceremonies. She and Sankhar have both been sick, but they still managed to squeeze in outfit preparations – one line from her latest chronicle stuck out for me: "for our wedding, we'll spend 25 times more on the bride outfit compared to the groom (and this does not include makeup, etc.). I'm starting to understand why the wedding industry is the fourth largest industry in India."

And with that thought hanging, we'll close this letter out with a final happiness wish for you.

Love from up here.   

Too dark to see

It's dark this morning when I woke up. And this week is the official end of summer. And don't even talk about the garden. What a weed fest. We do have pumpkins, small ones, one for each of the grandchildren. Why did I plant pumpkins?  They have drowned out the cucumbers, which I actually like. Oh well. As Mary says, live and learn. Next year.

We headed back to DC this week to help out the only residents in that city who are recently arrived from Brazil by way of Portugal. Joe was off for a week of travel to Taiwan and Korea. Everyone is settling in nicely, and it is a big adjustment. We went to grandparents' day at Joao's pre-school, and it was nice, even if he didn't know the word for "grandparent." He is rapidly picking up English, and speaking it so proudly. We walked to their school a few times, led by Thomas who knows his way around the neighborhood. Luisa mostly watches her brothers, but as soon as they're gone, she lets fly with jibberish that must mean something to her. Fun.

One day after school we took the two boys over to Simon's school and playground and then surprised Andrew for dinner. And we had all gone to an indoor playground on the rainy Sunday, followed by lunch at my favorite restaurant. Micky Dee's. Nice to be so close to cousins. Remember that?

Another day, while everyone was at school, we took the bus down to the mall and walked over to the Library of Congress. I had an appointment in the Manuscript Reading Room, trying to track down anything I could find on John Shields and the Dalton Gang. I struck out, looking through a box of Pinkerton Detective Agency records, because Jay Dean had told me that John Shields was employed there. Well, all the records I could find had the names of the outlaws but only a few of the actual lawmen. Hmm.  Where to next? Do I give up? No way.

Speaking of John Shields, it was sad to hear that Mike Kline, our cousin from Kansas passed away. His mother was Dorothy Shields Kline, technically Grandma's aunt, but not that much older, so more like a cousin. Mike had a difficult struggle with cancer, and when we saw his daughter Alden in Hawaii in March, she told us the cancer had returned and spread.

Also, sad to read about Tina's grandmother. I remember her at the wedding and reception. And, in many of Tina's posts.

One more item from DC - look out Coco and Serena because Margaret is taking tennis lessons.

On the way down to DC, we checked in with David and Paula, who continues to make good progress on her recovery. She's been out a few times, and working hard at PT. A long road.

Also on the medical front, John Boyle went into the hospital for a procedure to check out heart blockages, before he has to return to get his heart valve repaired. Fortunately, they didn't find major problems which means he doesn't have to have open heart surgery, but a less invasive procedure, similar to the one Mary had a few years ago.

One of the photos here must be the luckiest coincidence in the history of humanity. Look at the hat Andrew found at a thrift shop in Illinois. Now there's a story I'd like to read, how that hat made its way out there. Or maybe we should just make one up. Perhaps with the help of artificial intelligence. Claire is back at school, and coaching volleyball this year. And here's a photo of four visitors to their grandparents.  

And now for the latest from Annie, who unfortunately is also suffering from a prickly heat rash on her back: "In today's Tamil class we learned probably the most important question: "Sappiteengalaa?" - "Have you eaten?" Over the past six weeks, I've learned that the best form of small talk is anything revolving around food. "Have you eaten?" is usually asked after "How are you?" Followed by, "What did you eat? Where? Was it good? Are you hungry?" or "What? Why haven't you eaten!? Are you hungry?" Even while eating, you can spent half the conversation talking about food - what else you ate that day, if you like the food you're eating, what we should eat next. And I'm slowly learned to be prepared to share whatever I'm eating."  I'm already hungry.

As I head to the kitchen, sending you our love from up here. Look out for hurricanes this weekend!

Vacations and Stay-cations

Say goodbye to August. Not Pat and Jen's 4-month-old, but the month. We actually saw them yesterday, down in Westerly RI, which is one reason why the letter is late. 

No, say goodbye to the summer. How did that happen?  It went by in a whirl. I wonder if we didn't pack it in, then it would go by slower. Hard to even remember that Annie and Sankar were here with us for a couple of those months. Seems like ancient history. But fun ancient history.

Speaking of Annie and Sankar, here's a little snippet from her latest missive: "Big news is last weekend we went wedding saree shopping. Sankar's Mom and aunt met us in the South Indian capital of silk, and especially silk sarees: Kanchipuram. Apparently, it was an auspicious day, at the start of wedding season, so there were about 1000 people in the shop. Everyone was seated on the floor in groups of 5-12, with an assigned shop attendant who unfolded and refolded what seemed like hundreds of sarees. Yes, I got mine for the reception and wedding - exciting. But we also got 20+ more. We spent four hours there (not to mention Sankar's mom who arrived two hours before us), and most of the time was spent picking out sarees for specific family members to wear to the wedding. The best part - there was a tea and samosa shop on the second floor."  A photo is below.

The other big news is school started. We had almost hourly updates as Thomas started kindergarten, and John and Simon went to pre-school. There were some tears at the start of the day, and fatigue at the end of the day. I'm not sure if John was crying because he didn't have the language, or he missed his mother, or his backpack was almost as big as he was. His brother, though, even wanted to stay for after-school day care. Did he want to sleep there too? 

One Dickson family opted to go south before their sons went back to school. Matthew and Tina headed to Orlando, which fortunately wasn't in the direct hurricane path, at least not Idalia. Maybe Hurricanes Donald and Everett. I can't help but ask, in relation to the photo here who was the goofiest. Looked like a lot of fun.

Margaret also had a vacation, but didn't go anywhere, so I guess it qualifies as a stay-cation. Sounds heavenly. Joe and Leonor continue their house-hunting, trying to squeeze in visits in between school drop-offs.

After not going to Tanglewood almost all summer, we crowded three visits in a week. To John Williams film night, Star Wars, and Jackson Browne. All three were terrific, the last one with the Super Blue Moon rising next to the big screens.

We too had kind of a stay-cation, but not planned. We were supposed to go up to Vermont for our by now annual visit to the "northeast kingdom," but a few days before Charlie (where we stay) wrote us with pictures of his home in North Carolina that had been demolished by a tree falling during a micro-burst. They had better things to do than go bike riding and maple ice cream eating.

Instead, we stayed home and played host to other Peace Corps friends who have a home in Michigan, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and on the western shore of Ireland. It was fun reconnecting, but we had nothing to do with the coup the day after our friends left here.

It was interesting that Gabon had so much news attention, likely due to the other coups in Niger and elsewhere in Africa. The electronic talking drum was busy that day with friends all exchanging news about the fraudulent election and military takeover hours after the winner was announced. One friend had presciently written the day before the election and said, "Wonder who's going to win?" I guess it was one election "victory" too many for the Bongo family. Except that it was a cousin of Bongo who is the general in charge now.

On our last trip to Washington, we went to the Independence Day reception hosted by the Gabonese Ambassador. He used to work at the Peace Corps office in Libreville, and he used his remarks to gush about Peace Corps and to say he was hopeful that Peace Corps would return there. Pretty sure that prospect is on hold.

Anyway, happy Labor Day to everyone, happy start of school and fall and football.

Love from up here.  

 

 

Welcome!!

Dateline Washington.  Guess who's making her first appearance in the US of A?  Luisa!  She's arriving with Leonor, Thomas, John and Avo Patricia later today.  So, of course we're here. And in 50 years when they ask us where were you when Luisa first came to the US of A, we'll be able to say, we were at Dulles Airport in the greeting party.  (50 years?)

We drove down yesterday, and went straight to Joe's temporary quarters where they'll stay until they find something more permanent. They look like they've had a fun-filled, glorious time in Portugal the last few weeks, and now they're coming back to ???? 

Moreover, we saw Simon this morning before he went off to school/daycare. Surprised him actually, since we got here after his bedtime last night. He's a real boy now, getting dressed by himself and more. They grow up so fast.  (We also saw Margaret and Andrew!) 

And, while we meet family, we also said goodbye. To Annie, who started her adventure in India, with a long plane trip, but probably welcome after all the last minute crush of stuff to do before leaving. She's in Chennai, staying at Sankar's family apartment, getting over jet leg and doing, she says, touristy stuff. Here's a snippet from her letter:  "It's been a week since I arrived in Chennai, and overall, things are going great. As I've likely told some of you already, it is much more chill than I was led to believe. With the exception of the traffic - now, that is nuts. Sankar has been chauffeuring us around in a Maruti Suzuki Swift, a small white four seater that seems to have come right out of Roger Rabbit - it can pivot on a dime and squeeze into virtually any gap. I've found the best way to get through a particularly treacherous stretch of chaos is to simply close my eyes."  We have spoken to her a couple of times, the latest when she was watching Sankar and his friends play cricket.

We spoke with David and Paula.  They had hosted Matthew and family for Everett's birthday party.  Paula says she's on the mend, and she sounded strong. She's been doing PT, and her caregiver (David) is doing it all, except when he's on the porch recovering with a glass of something in his hand. Along with this new job, he has rejoined the board of the state insurance agents association.

Out in Illinois, Andrew and Lur have been cat-sitting for Claire's kitty. She was back in Michigan supervising her move, only to find that the ferry across Lake Michigan has shut down, making her journey longer than expected.

It's been a busy first part of August back in Pittsfield. The highlight has been the work done by an arborist last week, who came out to save our storm-battered hydrangea tree, and the old crabapple tree that blooms so rarely now. It was a real treat to talk to someone who had insights into each of our trees, and admired quite a few.

What do you do when they close the Y swimming pool for annual maintenance? Mary swims in the lake, and yesterday before we left, she did a lake swim in the rain. Who cares, she says? You're already getting wet! John stays home in the dry house.

We had our annual Melville weekend, marking his birthday and his hike with Nathaniel Hawthorne up Monument Mountain. I was able to corral a few of my college roommates to read at the Moby Dick marathon.  Maybe next year, I could get family members to read with me!  I think Kiernan might be ready, since he's getting in a lot of practice!

More on the cultural front – we went to "Film Night" at Tanglewood along with 20,000 of our closest friends.  We all braved the traffic and tight quarters to listen to John Williams conduct music from his many film scores.  We also went to a play, Fences, performed at Shakespeare and Company.  Magnificent. And the New York Times carried stories about both recently!

Oh, I should mention the cover. Thanks to all who voted – the cover with the photos was the clear favorite, although the publisher thought the typewriter and blank space one was an award-winning cover.  Wouldn't think of trying to overturn this election. (Ouch)

And so, hope you're all well.  Love from DC