Company Galore

This past weekend we were visited by four people: two women friends of Ellen's from Salem, Oregon, and two men friends of mine from California (and Maine). None of them actually spent a night here at the house, but Ellen's friends, Bonnie and Shelby, spent part of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday here, and my friends, Phil and his son, Tom, my godson, met me for breakfast at the Guilford Country Store Sunday morning at 8:30a.m., and after breakfast we went to church at the Guilford Community Church (which is about a 100 yards from the store), and they left early to go to Logan airport in Boston for Tom's flight home to California. Phil returned to his summer home in Maine and will fly to Claremont, CA next week. Bonnie and Shelby flew home to Oregon yesterday. Bonnie and her husband, Roger (who died a year ago yesterday), became Ellen's friends when she lived in Salem and her then husband, John Peel, was on the faculty of Willamette University, where Roger taught art history. For a while, Ellen worked with Bonnie at The Arbor Cafe, which Bonnie co-owned, in Salem. Bonnie is also an artist. We have visited them frequently in Oregon since I came into Ellen's life, and we have had many wonderful times together. Ellen started sending Bonnie a post card every day some years ago, and came to call it her "snail blog." She has now sent Bonnie over 5000 post cards! Shelby, who is a VP for Development at Willamette, and whom Ellen had not met before this visit, heard about the "snail blog," saw the boxes of cards at Bonnie's house, was entranced, and wanted to meet Ellen. She wants to put on an exhibition of the snail blog in Salem! So she came out with Bonnie, and recorded an interview with Ellen talking about the whole project. That interview will provide a sound track for a video that will accompany the exhibit. Eliza and Robin came over on Friday to meet Bonnie and Shelby. Saturday, Ellen and I had supper with them at Burdick's Restaurant, in Walpole, NH, Sunday they went to church with us, and Monday Shelby made her recording. There was a lot of visiting at our house along the way. A very special visit. When we went to Burdick's, I had a big bowl of mussels, as did Shelby. I ate them all, by golly. While I was eating, Bonnie made a sketch of me on the brown paper used to protect the table cloth, tore it off and gave it to me. My time with Phil and Tom was much shorter, but still special. Tom is ratcheting up his involvement with music and is preparing both a concert and a CD (or whatever substitutes for a CD these days). He is a singer-songwriter and accompanies himself on the guitar. 26 years ago, he accompanied me when I sang at his sister, Susanna's wedding in London. In talking with Phil, I mentioned John Cobb, whom I had learned about from Shelby - a faculty member at Claremont School of Theology whom Shelby came to know when CST (a Methodist school) was considering merging with Willamette (also a Methodist school). Turned out Phil knew John Cobb because he is a resident of Pilgrim Place, the retirement community where Phil lives in Claremont. And while I had never heard of John Cobb, a bit of research revealed that he and I shared a teacher at U of Chicago Divinity School: Bernard Loomer, who taught my Constructive Theology course. John Cobb (like Loomer) is a "Process Theologian" and has written extensively on process theology and the ecological crisis in ways that seem similar to my son John's work on "Contemplative Ecology." So ... lots of resonances in these visits!

Bonnie and Shelby

Bonnie, Shelby and Ellen.

Robin and Eliza.

Bonnie and Shelby at Burdick's.

Bonnie's sketch of me she made at Burdick's.

My bowl of mussells.

Hard to believe !

Today is the last day of September! Officially, we are nine days into Fall. And indeed, days are cooler, leaves are turning. I am very tired tonight. That is because i had a real workout at physical therapy today, but also because the weekend was unusually full. My nephew, Daniel Crockett, and his friend, Julio, visited us from Chicago, and Sunday we went to a special concert by Zadashe, a choral group from the Republic of Georgia. All of that involved navigating strange places and terrains, and that is tiring. E.g., we met Daniel at the Brattleboro Farmers Market and ate lunch there. For dinner we went to Panda North, our favorite Chinese restaurant. . .

Musicians at the Farmers Market - the spot we agreed to meet Daniel. e

At Panda: Daniel, John, Cynthia, Ellen, Me, Julio.

Members of Zadashe performing at Westminster-West Church.

Zadashe publicity photo.

Yet more catching up.

I can't remember recently going this long without writing a post for this blog. I'm not sure exactly why that is the case, but it is what it is, and this is an effort to bring things up to date. I apologize to my followers who have been wondering and worrying. I'm okay! I think the last post was about the Primary Election in Vermont - that was a month ago! Yikes!! The next thing after that that I can remember was on Thursday the 15th - we had John and Cynthia over for supper on the deck - a lovely summer evening meal. Ellen made her signature veggie salad platter - beets, potatoes, carrots, green beans, deviled eggs, etc. I have a photo of Cynthia showing off the platter - a work of art as well as being delicious!

Cynthia displaying the beautiful veggie platter Ellen made.*************** We have actually seen quite a bit of John and Cynthia lately - that would not have been possible if they had done what they originally planned to do in August, which was to spend three weeks on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. They had reserved a little cabin at the "Hole-in-the-Wall Campground" and had planned to drive up in their Honda Fit, with their kayaks on the roof rack. Sadly, just days before they planned to leave, the clutch on the Fit began to fail, making it very difficult to shift gears. Their attempts to get it fixed in time to go on their trip all failed, and to make a long story short, they cancelled the trip. As it turned out, they got a new clutch installed in September and were able to re-schedule their trip - they left for Grand Manan on September 8th and will return on the 17th - not as long a trip as they originally planned, but they are having great weather and really enjoying their time there. Meanwhile, back in August, they came with us to a concert starring Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy and two of their friends at the Retreat Farm (Saturday the 17th); then they came with us for an evening dinner cruise on a boat on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire (Tuesday the 20th), and then came over at least twice later that week, once to have a long and fruitful talk about my physical condition and issues of safety, especially here at the house (e.g., things like going up and down stairs), and once to actually get some things done (like putting in a second railing on the stairs to the third floor). We've had some good times together that would not have happened if they had not cancelled their trip. That, I guess, is an example of being given lemons and making lemonade. But for John, especially, there is no substitute for going to Grand Manan, so I'm glad they are there now.

Keith and Becky and friends at the Retreat Farm concert. ******************* Of course, other things happened as well. Sunday Aug. 18th there was a Hallowell sing for Tom Goldschmid and Kathy Leo. Tom has pancreatic cancer, but is doing fairly well at the present time. It was very special to sing for them. We sat in a circle in their living room, and they sang with us. There was also a Village Harmony concert that same Sunday afternoon, at the Guilford Church. This was a group that had a camp in Westminster-West, led by Mary Cay Brass, Kathy Bullock, and Carl Linich, and this concert was their culminating event. We had to dash down to the church right after the Hallowell sing, and even then got there a little late. But it was a great concert - a really interesting repertoire. I didn't get to talk to Carl Linich, but it was wonderful seeing him again, and hearing the Georgian music he led. When I went on the Northern Harmony tour back in 2001, he was my roommate, so I got to know him pretty well.

Village Harmony concert at the Guilford Church. **************** Monday was the start of the Democratic Convention in Chicago - Monday night was Joe Biden night - but I also had a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon. Tuesday the 20th was a special day, as I mentiioned above - John and Cynthia came with us to Lake Sunapee, NH - about an hour's drive - to go on a dinner cruise in a boat on the lake. We were early, so we drove around the lake, which is pretty heavily developed with cottages and mansions. That was an interesting little tour. When it came time to board the boat, we were disappointed to learn that the boat we thought we would be boarding had been reserved for a private wedding, so we were put on another boat - the "MV Mt. Sunapee" which was not quite as charming - a bit newer and with less character. But it had everything we needed, and actually had an open-air top deck which the original boat did not have which Cynthia and John both enjoyed and was especially good for taking photos - no obstructions! So it worked out fine. It was a lovely evening and we got a nice sunset. It was a buffet dinner which Ellen thought was at best average in terms of food quality, but which I enjoyed (I knew it wasn't anything like what she would prepare, but it wasn't bad). There were ample gluten-free and vegetarian options for John (we had checked that out ahead of time). We had a good time.

Scenes from the Lake Sunapee dinner cruise.****** The Democratic Convention continued through Thursday, and there were a lot outstanding speeches, with the prize perhaps going to Michelle Obama. Overall, it was an uplifting event for sure.

Michelle Obama. ********* Thursday the 22nd, I had a gathering of retired clergy in the morning at the Dummerston Church - another good discussion, this time on the chapter titled "Loneliness," (i.e., as one grows older, one loses family and friends and watches one's world fade away). In the evening we had a Hallowell rehearsal at the West-West church - something we always enjoy. Then we came home and listened to the final speeches of the DNC, including Kamala's acceptance speech. A lot of good energy there! On Friday the 23rd, we went down to Shutesbury to have supper with Katie and Brendon. We had a lovely supper on their screened porch. The only glitch was that when we left to come home, I left my laptop on the porch. But Katie brought it up to the Brattleboro Farmer's Market the next morning and met Ellen there. I didn't go to the Market with Ellen because Peter Amidon came to the house to visit me. That was very nice. I'm not sure if he had a specific reason for coming or just wanted to be in touch, but he did offer to set up a wood bee for us to get a pile of wood stacked. Ellen normally would say, "I can handle it," but lately she is having hip and leg pain and stacking wood isn't so easy anymore. So I think she is appreciative (though it hasn't happened yet). Sunday there was a Union Service of the usual four UCC churches (Guilford, Dummerston, Centre Church and First Church, West Brattleboro), this time at Centre Church. There was a good congregation and a good choir, led by Mary Milkey-May, whom we like - a good choir director and a fine organist. Centre Church has a very nice pipe organ. Scott Couper, pastor at Centre Church, gave a very rousing sermon. Centre Church is located in the heart of downtown Brattleboro, and a lot of homeless people spend the night on the church lawn. The church has even installed a porta-potty for their convenience. But Scott has to pick up a lot of needles and trash every morning. Housing is so expensive in Brattleboro that there are more and more people who have nowhere to live. It's a big problem, and Scott clearly feels the church has a responsibility to help alleviate it, but the question is - exactly what should it do? How much should it have to do? It was a timely sermon. After the service, the "coffee hour" was really a full-blown lunch - we didn't eat the full spread, but what I had was good.

The coffe hour "spread" at Center Church. ******************* That brings us up to the last week of August - a week in which John and Cynthia came over several times, for one reason or another. The highlight of the week was a visit from my granddaughter, Katie, and her friend, Gabby. We hadn't seen Katie since she came last year with her housemate, Christian. Things have changed, and now Katie is living with Gabby! Gabby (a.k.a. Gabrielle) is a very easy person to be around, and Katie seemed relaxed and happy with her. They were going to a wedding in New Hampshire, and came a couple of days early to see us. We met John and Cynthia at Panda North for supper Friday, and on Saturday, Katie and Gabby took a trip around Vermont because Gabby had not been in Vermont before, and then J&C came over Saturday and joined us for supper here at the house. K&G enjoyed looking at photo albums of Katie when she was a little girl. K&G left for the wedding Sunday morning, so we said our goodbyes when we went to church.

Above: Gabby (left) and Katie (right). Below: Katie (left) and Gabby (right) looking at photo albums. ****************** I still have two weeks to cover but I'm going to get this already very long post up now!

More catching up.

The Variety Show (see previous blog post) was a big success, I would say. It was very well attended, and should have brought in several hundred dollars. More importantly, it enlarged our understanding of each other. It revealed dimensions of the performers we had not been previously aware of. That was Sunday, the 11th. Monday, as I recall, was a quiet day at home. I was reading a Maisie Dobbs, mystery: The Messenger of Truth,I think it was. # 3 or 4 in the series, as I recall. It was well done - I am currently reading the next in the series, Among the Mad. I am enjoying them (again... I read several of them when they first came out, years ago). Tues., the 13th, was Vermont Primary Election Day. We had an interesting primary election - it is not every year we have the opportunity to vote for persons of color, and in this case, both a black woman and a black, queer man, running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively. The black woman, Esther Charlestin, won the Democratic primary and in November will be running against the incumbent, Gov. Phil Scott, a (rare) moderate Republican who is very popular and even attracts Democrats to vote for him. She is relatively unknown, and her only experience in an elected office is on the Middlebury Selectboard. She is not expected to win, but you never know.

Esther Charlestin lives in Middlebury, Vermont. She holds an undergraduate degree in history and communication. Charlestin earned master's degrees in corporate communications/public relations and in teaching from Sacred Heart University in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Her career experience includes working in higher education and the public school system. Charlestin was elected to the Middlebury Selectboard. She co-chairs Vermont's Commission on Women.************ Thomas Renner, who is Deputy Mayor of the town of Winooski, was running against a popular Democratic incumbant Lieutenant Governor, David Zuckerman. Renner did not win the Primary, but I expect we will see him again.

Thomas Renner.

A lot of catching up to do.

Wow! It has been over a week since my last post! A great deal has happened! There was a Variety Show at the Guilford Church on Sunday, August 11th; Vermont's Primary Election on the 13th; John and Cynthia came over for supper on the deck, Thursday, the 15th; Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy put on a concert at the Retreat Farm, Sat., the 17th; there was a Village Harmony Concert Sunday the 18th at the GCC; I had an appointment in the Urology Dept., BMH, on the 19th; the Democratic Convention opened on the 19th; we went on a Dinner Cruise on Lake Sunapee, NH with John and Cynthia, Tues., the 20th - that was yesterday. Whew!! Today I'm having a quiet day at home - which is why I have time to bring my blog up to date. It's close to 3p.m. and I'm still in my PJ's. It's nice to have a day like that now and then. The Variety Show at the GCC on the 11th was part of a series of fund-raising concerts at the church, going back to early 2023. Anyone who wanted to sing or play something, or put on some kind of an act, was invited to do so; Rachel Johnson organized it. I considered singing something, but wasn't sure my voice could be depended upon to "be there" when needed. So I opted not to. About 20 people did respond - and it was a fun, diverse, show indeed. There is a lot of talent in the Guilford Church! It was about an hour and half long, followed by a reception which Ellen helped put on.

Andy Davis with his Quebeois Woodshed Group - fiddles, accordians and piano.

Barbara Lee and Kachina Lee-Autenrieth in their "Skip-a-Beat Clown act.

Mary Brooke Grove playing a movement from the Sonata in F# Minor by Brooke Triplett Grove (1927-1973).

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, with their grandson, Arthur (their son Sam's boy), singing Our Hamlet,, a very entertaining send-up of the play.

Connie Green and Rachel Johnson playing Telemann's Sonata in G Major for Flute and Piano.

Katherine Breunig singing Happiest of Times with Dinah. Dinah was Katherine's mother who died of cancer back in about 2000. If anyone "stole the show," Katherine did with this very touching song.

Bill McKim playing a Rachmaninof Etude.

Sue Owings and Terry Sylvester singing an "Old-Time Camp Song."

Brad Amidon singing "Welcome to the Renaissance" from the musical Something Rotten by Wayne and Katey Kirkpatrick. Brad lives near Boston and is not related to Peter and Mary Alice Amidon. His parents, John and Joy Amidon, were very active in the church years ago (both now deceased), and Brad likes coming back for special events like this.

Michelle Markus, clarinet, and Rachel Johnson, piano, playing Canzonetta by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937).

The Final Day for us.

Today is our final day for the Marlboro Music Festival. There are rehearsals and a concert tomorrow (Sunday) morning and aftenoon, but we will be at church in the morning and a GCC Variety Show Concert in the afternoon. It is sad to have it end, but we have taken full advantage of it, and enjoyed it immensely. Meanwhile, car problems have forced John and Cynthia to cancel their trip to Grand Manan, at least for now. That is hugely disappointing to them, to say the least. So, we'll see what that opens up for us. Maybe something fun with them! Today we will hear a Schumann Piano Trio in G Minor, and Britten's Canticle IV: Journey of the Magi, Op. 86, for piano and three male singers: countertenor, tenor and bass-baritone. These are both new to us. Program notes: Robert Schumann, Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 110 (1851). Schumann: Born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Germany; Died July 29, 1856, Bonn, Germany; Duration: approx. 28 minutes; Last Marlboro performance: 2021.***** Composed towards the end of his life, Schumann’s Opus 110 Piano Trio in G Minor has been grouped with other later works of the composer’s that are said to show signs of the deterioration of his mental health. However, the work is full of beauty, energy, and turbulence that are woven together in such a way that Schumann’s wife, Clara, wrote, “It is original and increasingly passionate, especially the scherzo, which carries one along with it into the wildest depths.” Though the work may seem to some to signify Schumann’s deterioration, it serves as a suitable final Piano Trio, imaginative, personal, and expressive. It has been played at Marlboro numerous times since its premiere by Marlboro co-founders Rudolf Serkin, Blanche Honegger-Moyse, and Hermann Busch in 1956. Participants: Sahun Sam Hong, piano; Clara Neubauer, violin; Christoph Richter, cello

Clara, Sahun and Christoph playing the Schumann Trio.********** Benjamin Britten, Canticle IV: Journey of the Magi (1971) . Britten: Born November 22, 1913, Lowestoft, England; Died December 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, England; Duration: approx. 11 minutes; Marlboro Premiere.***** Britten wrote five works which he titled ‘canticle,’ and each are settings of texts of a spiritual nature and scored for a different instrumentation. Canticle IV, Journey of the Magi, is a setting of a T. S. Eliot poem of the same name which explores themes of birth and death through the allusion of Jesus’s birth. The poem itself is not so overt in traditional Christian imagery, exploring instead the reactions of the magi, as Eliot appears to imply they would not be able to understand the miracle of the moment itself. Britten also uses the Antiphon melody, “Magi videntes stellam,” to tie together the Christian material. Although Britten’s other canticles have been performed at Marlboro, this will be the premiere of his fourth. Participants: Daniel Moody, countertenor; Daniel McGrew, tenor; Evan Luca Gray, bass-baritone; Lydia Brown, piano . ********************* The text of the Britten piece: Journey of the Magi. A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.' And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There were times we regretted The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces, And the silken girls bringing sherbet. Then the camel men cursing and grumbling and running away, and wanting their liquor and women, And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters, And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly And the villages dirty and charging high prices: A hard time we had of it. At the end we preferred to travel all night, Sleeping in snatches, With the voices singing in our ears, saying That this was all folly. Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley, Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation; With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness, And three trees on the low sky, And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow. Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel, Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver, And feet kicking the empty wine-skins. But there was no information, and so we continued And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory. All this was a long time ago, I remember, And I would do it again, but set down This set down This: were we led all that way for Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.

Performing the Britten: Lydia Brown, piano; Daniel Moody, countertenor; Daniel McGrew, tenor; Evan Gray, bass-baritone.

The Last Friday of the MMF!

Wow! We got here at 8:50 this a.m., in time for the Brahms Quartet in A Major. Fantastic! Today we will hear Brahms (2 pieces), Boccherini, Adės, Beethoven, Schuman and Bartok. We will have a full day of music. Meanwhile, John and Cynthi are struggling with a car problem just as they were planning to drive to Grand Manan for a much anticipated two-week vacation. But their Honda Fit has a clutch/transmission problem - stick shift, and it is very difficult to shift gears, sometimes impossible. Can't drive to Canada with that situation! They had planned originally to leave today, and had already delayed their departure because of Tropical Storm Debby coming up through Maine today. Torrential rain! Not fun driving. So, lots of things to figure out. We'll try to be of help some way if we can.

The Brahms quartet: Cynthia Raim, piano; Clara Neubauer, violin; Misha Amory; viola; Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello.************************ LATER. The Brahms was followed by the Boccherini String Quintet, and that was followed by something we had not heard before: a piece for a String Ensemble of some 18 musicians titled, Shanty - Over the Sea, by Thomas Ades. It was unusual and quite lovely. Then there was a long lunch break until 2p.m., when the rehearsed the Beethoven Choral Fantasy, which is a decades-long traditional final piece of the Festival which will be performed this Sunday afternoon. That just ended, and they are re-setting the stage for the Bartok Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano. That will e followed by the Brahms Sechs Quartette, and that will be it for today. During the lunch break we ate in the car (because it was raining- Tropical Storm Debby remnants!) and then went down to West Brattleboro and got a maple creamee at Dutton's. I also called John and got an update on their car situation. No final solutions as yet.

Rehearsing the Beethoven Choral Fantasy. The chorus wasn't here today - they will undoubtedly come tomorrow.

The Ades, Shanty-Over the Sea being rehearsed.