With Phil at the Farnsworth Museum

Yesterday, Tuesday, we got up fairly late, had a leisurly breakfast and met Phil McKean at the Farnsworth Museum, something I have done many times before. Phil is an old friend, going back to 1964 in Providence, R.I., when I was a Chaplain at Brown University and working on my PhD dissertation, and Phil was Assistant Minister at Central Congregational Church, one of the churches that sponsored my chaplaincy and where I had an office. Phil's wife, Deborah, died a year or so ago after a long illness, and he spends summmers in Maine and winters in Claremont, CA. He moved back to Maine from CA a week or so ago. He brought with him his housemate from Claremont, John Dunham, whom he moved in with after Deborah died. John is 93 years old! He's in better physical shape than I am. We met the two of them at our favorite museum in New England, the Farnsworth, in nearby Rockland, ME. There were two new exhibits of particular interest: Penobscot basketry and Andrew Wyeth's abstract art (who knew?). The basketry exhibit featured a family, the Shay's, who made baskets in the late 19th century and early twentieth century and sold them to tourists in nearby Linconville, ME. They were carrying on ancient traditions of basket-weaving used by the Passamaquoddy peoples. Their primary material was sweetgrass, which grows in abundance in salt marshes in this area. They also used brown ash woodsplints. The exhibit included an amazing diversity of baskets: styles, sizes, purposes, etc. There was also a great deal of explanation and background information on the cultural, social, economic and religious dimensions of the baskets. I took a lot of pictures, but they are on my phone, and my phone is charging right now. I was in a wheelchair and Phil pushed me around - just as we did the last time we came together to the Farnsworth. It made it easy for me. Phil also used his membership to get us all passes. A good time!