About snow

January 16 - Today was a big day.  For Andrew who went into the hospital this morning for bypass surgery.  He is having the operation at the hospital where Lur volunteered for many years, close to home.  We wish him luck on what is going to be a tough couple of weeks of recovery. Lur actually has a procedure tomorrow as well, an outpatient fix to a nerve issue in her hand.  When it snows it pours.

And it has been snowing. Here, there and everywhere.  Illinois got clobbered last week, and then they sent their excess towards us. We hit a squall on our way down to DC, that was white-out back in Pittsfield, but we missed that.  Or so we thought. It snowed here most of yesterday, dropping 3-4 inches on this ill-prepared city. So schools are closed, and a few children we know don't remember seeing snow or have never seen it, so there's excitement all around.  Until they see how painful cold can be.  Anyway, there's enough today that schools are called off, and enough to make a snowman, at least.  We did make snowballs yesterday when there was just a little, and that was met with awe and wonder.

We came down for the week to help out with Leonor as Joe had a work trip to Japan. We were supposed to see Jeff and Melodie yesterday, but a stomach bug was going through the Joe/Leonor household, so we took a rain date, or a snow date. Everyone seems okay now, and we hope it doesn't spread beyond.

Snow intervened in our plans to go to New Bedford for the annual Moby Dick read-a-thon. We were going to meet a Princeton classmate who had written his senior thesis on Melville, so it would have been a good weekend of like-minded obsessives. But not to be. The forecast scared us off, and good thing as driving home in blizzard-like conditions would have been no fun. We only got a few inches in Pittsfield, but east of us there were places, along the Mass Pike, that saw a foot or so. 

No snow in India, unless you count confetti for the festival of Pongal, which "marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of spring, which in turn signals the beginning of another harvest season." Annie celebrated with Sankar and his family and sent along some wonderful photos.

We're staying with Margaret and Andrew and they have almost completed some renovations on their house, mostly to give them more storage space inside.  Looks really nice and frees up room, more for Simon to run around.

On the way down, we talked with David and Paula, mostly David, as Paula was under the weather. There's a lot of illness going around, and Mary still has a cough, lingering since India. She did go to the doctor who gave her some medicine which seems to be working, albeit slowly. How have I managed to avoid it? No idea.  

January 17 – Interrupted for snow day. Full of fun with snowballs, snowmen, shoveling, sledding, and a few tears because of the cold.  Mostly mine.  Anyway, there's an update from Illinois. Surgery went well and Andrew has begun the long process of healing.  The nurses want him up and walking a little today.  Wow! Pretty soon he'll be playing in the alumni lacrosse game.

And with that, signing off with love from snowy, cold DC.

 

It's a Wrap -2023

As I climbed out of the pool today from my water aerobics class, I realized I actually kept one new year's resolution from 2023 – water aerobics. Easy, since it was good stretching, a tiny amount of exertion, and a little bit of social activity, checking all those healthy living boxes for people my age. Might be the first resolution I ever kept. The pressure's on for 2024, just hours away. How about you? How long were you able to keep your resolutions?

But first, how was everyone's Christmas? From photos off social media and elsewhere, it looks like there were a) get-togethers across the Dickson USA; b) sicknesses shared in those get-togethers and c) full meals and carols and presents and decorated trees and even movies. 

We saw photos of Aunt Johanna playing with Kiernan, and Kiernan watching a movie, shielding his Elmo's eyes from the scary parts. We saw a trip to a park in upostate NY and a Lego Camp photo with completed Tai fighters. We saw Christmas trees in Illinois, and heard all about the extended time spent at the table. We saw Simon and his family at the theater, and we went to "Migration," but to be honest, it's eminently skip-pable. 

What was missing? SNOW. At least here. We did have ice, and Thomas and John spent hours with their assorted swords chipping away at the ice on the edges of brooks and lake. But then, after a few days, even the ice melted. That hasn't stopped the sword activity.

Other activities around here with Joe and Leonor and family here, have been Legos, library trips, Star Wars books, Aladdin (closely reaching a Guiness Book of World Records for times read), trips to Panera, trips to the doctor and pharmacy, carol and church services, traditions in this household anyway of listening to John Denver and the Muppets and watching the Muppet Christmas Carol and Love Actually (not my idea, but no one had to twist my arm.) Meals included Duck Rice, a Portuguese tradition and stuffed shells and prime rib, with great cookies!

And, as this excerpt from Annie's letter indicates, some of those traditions extended to India this year:  "We spent Christmas in Chennai. I got the most syrupy sweet drink at Starbucks while we walked around a decked out mall, we sang carols at Christmas mass, I watched The Holiday and Home Alone 2 (the superior of the series), listened to John Denver & The Muppets holiday album while making pancakes, and we had a traditional Christmas dinner of Thai Green Curry and vegan pizza. Really great."

Before the DC folks arrived, Mary and I went to NYC for our wedding anniversary. It's amazing how much you can cram into one 24-hour period in that city, even if you arrive with no plans at all. We did go to a play, "How to Dance in Ohio," a musical about autistic young adults, with autistic performers. We also tracked down a few Herman Melville sites, and weaved our way over to the Strand Book Store and Greenwich Village. We even mastered the subway system, which looked to us surprisingly clean, a step up from pre-pandemic days.

Some medical news. Andrew had a heart check-up and it looks like he's in store for by-pass surgery, some time early in the new year. Not fun, but to quote David, he'll feel instantly better after the operation.

One more bit of news from here. I opened up our local paper to see that Darrow School might close down at the end of this year. They need $6-7 million to keep operating, and then the same for next year. Many Dickson memories from Darrow.

So, back to the resolutions. We heard in church this week about families, and choices. Choices to be gentle, patient, forgiving, polite. You get the picture; these are choices we can make. Resolutions are choices, in a way.

And with that thought for the new year, here's to choices in 2024!

Love from up here. 

Baby it's Cold Outside

Only ten more sleeps!  We have a little more decorating to do, but Mary has done a lot, and me just a little, like taking advantage of my height for the tree-topping angel and the lights and the outdoor wreath, and a new star that lights up the birch tree at night. We have not graduated to inflatables. But there's still time. 

Since our last letter was devoted exclusively to a certain wedding, there is much to catch up on other happenings. After the wedding, Jeff and Melodie headed to the beaches at the Maldives, which looked pretty spectacular and chill.  Daniel went to Paris for a few days which looked like a different kind of spectacular and chill. Johanna went right home, but she had told us she was leaving NYC, so home may be back at Pennington, temporarily. She's looking at places along the Hudson River, perhaps even Hudson itself. Fun to plan, and dream.

While away, we noticed that Tina had quite a trip herself, joining a group for a tour up and down the Nile. Incredible scenery and lots of smiles in her photos.

Out in the Midwest, Claire came back for Thanksgiving, and we pass along photos of the theatrical accomplishments of Auden and Elliot.

We also talked to David and Paula, who is coming along nicely on her recovery, as she said she's been doing stairs and is comfortable walking around, and perhaps even driving. It seems David has struck up a correspondence with Karl Rove after a cold email response to a WSJ op-ed.

Speaking of recovery, Annie has been nursing a foot problem, exacerbated undoubtedly by hours of standing during you-know-what. She's had different diagnoses from torn ligament to arthritis, which means different treatments. Staying off her foot has probably helped the most, but that means staying cooped up inside. She is now back to outdoor walks, but taking it slowly. Not too slowly though, as she wrote this morning that she and Sankar are off on their post wedding trip to points west, Kerala and Ooty.

Other recoveries are in the coughing department, Mary and Margaret have had lingering, mysterious coughs. Negative Covid tests, but progress is slow. Mary feels good enough to go to the New England Masters Swim Meet this morning.

More big news is Joe and Leonor got their household shipment and car from Brazil, at long last. They've been living like nomad/campers for a couple of months, so it must be a relief. It looked that way for three kids who got reacquainted with their beds and toys and books. What an ordeal.  Luisa has started day care for a couple of days a week, and seems to like it.

Also, down in DC, Simon graduated to the next level in swim class.  He had made a lot of progress while in India, putting his head underwater, jumping in with reckless abandon, and making his way to the side of the pool.  And loving every minute of it.

Cincinnati update.  David sent an article saying that Coney Island was closing. Some of us remember P&G days there. I wonder if we were told to wear coats and ties there too. Coney Island had been in operation since 1886. Now it'll hold Taylor Swift concerts.

Life is good. We're expecting Joe and Leonor and family this week, through Christmas and beyond. Happily.

That's the news from Lake Pontoosuc.  Love from up here. 

Wedding bells (or drums)

Probably best to let Annie sum up her own wedding: "It's hard to put into words everything from the past month. Not only because SO MUCH HAPPENED, but also because I can't fully remember and actually don't really know what happened." I suspect any of the family that was there would say pretty much the same thing. But there is an element of the blind men describing the elephant as each of us saw and experienced it differently. And, that elephant folk tale is an appropriate metaphor because it comes from India.

Anyway, let me add a few thoughts, for the record.

-          At least two Dicksons told me that this trip left them a changed person. Hard to argue.

-          It was REALLY wonderful that each of the brothers' families was represented (Jeff and Melodie, Johanna, and Daniel.) And it was wonderful to see these cousins interact, with Joe, Margaret, Andrew, Annie and Sankar, as much as it always is in the Poconos.

-          Thomas and Simon added an indispensable touch, as they bridged the cultural divides for all of us. People everywhere respond to small children.

-          I told Annie that she was going to get on a moving sidewalk, and over the course of the four days of the actual wedding celebration, that sidewalk would move at different speeds and become a blur. I should have listened to my own advice. At times, I had to remind myself that I had a daughter who was getting married; it was such a cultural experience.

-          The wedding. Day 1 was Annie's arrival ceremony in Thanjavur (Sankar's hometown); Day 2 was the henna ceremony and dinner/party for families and close friends; Day 3 was the reception, consisting of an extended reception line over several hours; Day 4 was the wedding, with its rituals, and in the middle of it, Sankar tying the knot was the main event, judging by the crescendo of music and drum roll and loud applause afterwards, followed by another extended reception line. The wedding hall where events were held on days 3 and 4, was actually three large halls, two taken over by endless buffets, served by hundreds of people for the thousands of guests.

-          I would hasten to add a HUGE note of gratitude to Sankar's parents, and brother and sister-in-law, who hosted all of these events and guided us through them.

-          Even with all the religious traditions that were hard to understand, there was a fair amount of flexibility, or maybe it was forgiveness, since we didn't know what we should or should not be doing.  Case in point was Thomas and Simon deciding on their own to go up and sit next to Annie and Sankar during the ceremony. Instead of being hustled away, there were smiles all around.  But that's just one example; I think I could write a book about all our misunderstandings, if I even knew that I was doing something wrong.

-          One highlight was the invitation to go to Sankar's family house after the wedding, to meet up with his parents and brother and sister-in-law in a quiet space, and get to know them better. Mary and I returned one more time as we were heading to the airport and met with a similar reception. I will add here, that Annie and Sankar will be staying there for a few weeks before they head off on a trip to other parts of India before determining where they want to settle down.

-          And there was media coverage. A phalanx of still and video photographers in the hall, questions shouted out in Tamul to Sankar and a few to Annie in English. Thousands of likes on YouTube and Instagram the next day, articles in both Hindu and English press.  We actually coasted on that for the rest of our trip, as we repeatedly saw people in different places who had seen us and exclaimed their joy at meeting us. The articles gave these foreign guests credit for dispensing with our coats and ties and dresses and wearing saris and dotis.

-          A word on the food. I was never sure exactly what it was I was eating, but I know it was different preparations of vegetables, with spices, and condiments, sometimes served on a banana leaf. Quite a range of tastes. I should add that we all tried to eat without cutlery, but I was probably the first to give in and reach for the spoon and fork.

-          We had travel experiences before and after the wedding, sampling the rich, deep history and culture along the way. One bonus was our witnessing and even participating in a little the Diwali celebrations.

-          That meant driving from place to place. Which brings me to the subject of driving.  We didn't, luckily. I think the overall motto was "share the road," so many different life and vehicle forms on the actual roads. And then there is the weave, India's version of passing. I was reminded of the old algebra word problems about time and distance (a car is driving 55 miles an hour leaves 15 minutes before another car driving 60 miles an hour. How long does it take for the second car to catch up.) Drivers in India seem to have the best grasp on time, distance and space, as they squeezed around trucks, motorcycles, animals, and still managed to not collide with the trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles coming the other direction.  And, after three weeks on the roads in India, we didn't see one accident, and we only saw, miraculously, one minor road rage incident. (Sorry.  Why did I spend more space writing about driving than I did about the wedding?)

-          I was about to write that we managed to achieve my motto – no hospitals, no headlines. But I've already mentioned that there were headlines (good ones) and there was one urgent care visit when Thomas needed a new cast on his broken arm after the protective bag was not so leak-proof, and his cast was ruined after a short time in the pool. I should also add that Annie's trying to nurse a torn ligament in her foot.

-          I will not write about the flights as I hope that amnesia kicks in on only that part of the trip.

-          There's more, much more, and I think it could even be never-ending. But probably best to stop and leave a little for in person chats. We put our hand on our chest as the appropriate way to say thank you to Annie and Sankar for making all the arrangements to ease our stay. And we put our hands together and take a slight bow to them as they start their journey as a married couple.

  

 

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.