Greetings fellow travelers:
“Men are proof that women can take a joke” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Louise Erdrich “The Night Watchman”
“Eventually, all that one has learned will have to be forgotten” …………………………………………………………………… Ramana Maharshi
“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” ………………………………………………………………Carl Sandburg
It’s been one of those weeks where life takes a major turn, yet the days go on, the sun rises and sets as if your world did not change on its axis…………. Tessa and Jake welcomed baby Parker Maxwell to our crazy as shit world on Thursday night……and a sense of incomparable beauty emerged from the wasteland of the Plague years. Nanna and Papi now have FOUR Apples of our Eyes (where does that come from?) ……our fourth granddaughter in four years- and getting close to our own hoops team-class of 2038…. how cool is this? All are home and well…and we look forward to our first visit end of next week…. little Parker is said to resemble Papi….so I guess she is an old Jewish man?
What else is there really to say……well, if you really want to know…. I guess maybe I can conjure up a few thoughts.
Spent last Sunday beginning our recovery from weeklong The Band Visit……cleanup was a can of corn with the last ones standing, Nave and Zoo pitching in…Sunday night we took them out for their shared birthday dinner….to Ludlow and the Hometown Hostel……for a Creekside Tented extravaganza…. then down to the lawn by the school and the huge cannon, to listen to Vermont mainstays, Gypsy Reel…. a comfortable end to a non-stop week. Steve and Sue left Monday morning and we began our recovery in earnest
After the absolute mountain beauty of last week, it turned nasty hot all week…. hot enough to have our five nights a year in which we decry no AC…. which provided an excuse for some floating in the majesty of the uber- clean POND……that somehow became a thing of beauty over the mysterious winter……added heat bonus…. the grass slowed down from growing for the first time in months
Made a trip up to Middlebury midweek to see the new version of The Shaman, and get structure restored, then a quick visit to the dispensary and to see Mama Corleone at wonderful Costello’s’ Italian deli…we had The Don Barzini….
Had to make a trip over to Rod and Claudine’s Mt. Hollywood studios to overdub my lead vocals from our recording session the week before…since they mysteriously disappeared……blessing in disguise…just me in the studio with whisky and headphones…. singing along with the previously laid down band tracks….
Since The Queen was tied up with gad flying most of the week, Lucy and I had a few lunch and walk adventures…making a day of grave exploring on Friday…..though- lunch is pretty complicated these days in these parts…..two places in Ludlow closed for no apparent reason, two others with lines out the door….so settled for takeout sandwich from the Café at Delight (get it?)…which is no simple task…they have hired a post-remedial young woman to answer the phone …it took me three calls to get my sandwich order in…when I got there , I saw the ticket she wrote for the order, which said “Edge Salut on Weet”……seems like the labor shortage must be real…..
Saturday turned out to be our outing day this week….after a quick visit to see the Dumpmaster and the local Goat, who did the Vermont two-step with Lucy for 20 minutes and tried to butt my nose and other parts….we put our Ronald Reagan masks on to surreptitiously cross the border to the land of Live Free or Die (Vermont is more of a Live and Let Live place)….and made our way to the charm of the 300th anniversary celebration of the Acworth (NH) Meeting House…complete with dinner on the ground….got in a few walks and spent the day alternating between driving rain and bountiful sunshine…winding up in the river town of Bellow Falls for a stroll and a trip to the Dari-Joy (400 flavors of ice cream on the same corner for 80 years)
And, that, my friends, is about all she wrote…. it’s a drop dead gorgeous day here on The Mount……the weather has broken to late summer splendor, leaves are begging to change, Lucy is lounging in the un, Saffron is staring longingly out the window, ruminating on how to repeat her overnight escape….and a drive/walk/ country lunch awaits…..FOUR Granddaughters!…who would had thunk it?…….
Be well, stay safe, be in touch……
Big Papi
