The big organ pipe

My  brother had a large wood organ pipe in his living room. He had gotten it decades ago when his church in Elgin redid their organ and were getting rid of pipes. He used it as a sort of shelf. After his death, the apartment had to be cleaned out and the organ pipe went into his daughter, Susie's, garage. She was very eager to find a new home for it. When John heard about, his eyes lit up. It was a "D" pipe and he had been longing for a drone in "D" to use in his music-making. So....could we bring it home with us in the Subaru? I was skeptical, but willing to try. We measured the space in the Subaru and Susie went home and measured the length of the pipe - it was about 3-4 inches too long, or so it seemed (it was 6' 4 1/2" long).  But sometimes you can sort of jockey something. So Tuesday a.m., she brought it with her to breakfast - and by gosh, it fit, with a little juggling and crunching. There was room for John in the back seat and it didn't really obtrude much into the front seats (though it did a little).

Organ pipe in the Subaru

We got it home to our house without too much discomfort, and lo and behold John got it into his little Honda Civic Hatchback and got it back to his place.  Now he just has to figure out how to supply enough compressed air to it to make it speak. That will be a challenge!

Forty-six years later

In September of 1967, my mother died, and we held a memorial service for her at the church in Anamosa, IA where my father had been the minister from 1946-1952, and there was a committal service in the Anamosa cemetery following. Anamosa was the community mother loved more than any other where we lived. It is where I went through high school.

We (Shirley, John, Betsey and myself) were at that time living in Penn Yan, NY - we had just moved there the month previously. I had just started teaching at Keuka College. For the memorial service we flew from Rochester, NY to Chicago, IL Stewart, Maggie, Susie, Peter, Daniel and Becky met us at O'Hare and we all stuffed into one station wagon and drove to Anamosa! That was in the era when four-five kids could "sit in the back," i.e.,  in the luggage area of a station wagon without seat belts. It was a blast. A memorable trip.

When we came back to Elgin, IL we took a picture of the six cousins sitting on the back steps of the house in Elgin (which has always been known as "Whitewood")

Here is that photo-- is has become almost iconic in the family. Peter and Susie are on the top step, with little Becky on Susie's lap, then Betsey, and on the bottom, John and Daniel.

Peter, Susie, Becky, Betsey, John, Daniel

On Monday, after Stewart's memorial service, the cousins realized that they had a rare opportunity to reenact that photo. Everyone was there. So they went to Whitewood and assembled themselves on the steps,  more or less as before. Here is that photo - 46 years after the one above:

Peter, Susie, Becky, Betsey, John, Daniel

Pretty amazing!

Family time

The past several days has been a wonderful family time. Stewart's memorial service was a good celebration of his life and many people came to help us to honor him. His barbershop chorus was well-represented - despite the fact that many of the members are in their 80s. Afterward we had a family gathering at Maggie and Jerry's home. John and Betsey had a good chance to be together and both of them enjoyed being with their cousins. Here is a photo of the gang. I feel like a patriarch!

Stewart's Memorial Service

We (Ellen, John and myself) are  on our way to Stewart's Memorial Service, which will be in Elgin, IL at the First Congregational Church, U.C.C., on Monday, March 25, 2014, 2pm. I'll be speaking, as well as Damon Crockett, Stewart's grandson, and a friend, Chuck Keyser. There'll be music, including Stewart's barbershop quartet. It will be a good gathering of family and friends. We're driving out - we left Sat. a.m., and we're in Erie, PA in a motel at the moment. Last night we had supper at Latinos Restaurant, an authentic, family-run Mexican restaurant. The owner loved to talk with his patrons, his mother cooked the meal, the cheese enchiladas were good. We hope to be in Elgin for supper. There is snow ahead - not too much, we hope. Betsey, we learned, drove up to Elgin a day early to avoid the brunt of the storm which is in Missouri today.

More Birthday Week

DAY 5 (Wed., March 6th): Ellen and I walked to the Upper Crust bakery for a very nice breakfast. It is about a 2 1/2 mile round trip walk. It was cold but we enjoyed the walk. Then we had to get ready to meet Rob and Betsey for lunch at the Mizzou University Club, a very "posh" restaurant for faculty and staff members on campus.  Lunch is served buffet-style with an amazing diversity of options, all very good.

Lunch at the University Club

Salad bar at the University Club

Homeward bound

We are in the Metropolitan Lounge in Union Station, Chicago. I'm really behind in my blog - too busy! The week in Columbia was great. Rob and Betsey really pulled out all the stops - the BB game Tuesday, great meals Wednesday (at the University Club for lunch and at home for dinner with R&B's friends as guests), sushi at a restaurant on Thursday with a symphonic concert in the evening, a trip to ST Louis Friday to hear the ST. Louis Symphony, Tarheels vs. Duke (on TV) Sat  (Tarheels lost), a number of nice walks along the way, as it turned from winter to spring In Columbia. I have lots of pics but limited time to post things. I'll get to it! Unfortunately the train doesn't  have WiFi. I'll try to  fill in all the details eventually.

The blot on all this is that back home in Vermont, our house was broken into by thieves last Tuesday, they took a number of things including a laptop computer, and they tried to steal Ellen's car but gave up because on an icy driveway -  they kept going into a snowbank! They finally abandoned the car with motor running. John found it the next day, doors open, tank empty, battery dead! Snow had obliterated all tracks. So we'll have to deal with that when we get back tomorrow. Sigh! But in every other way, it has been a great birthday week. Thank you Betsey, Rob and Katie!

We'll see Betsey and Katie in just two weeks at Stewart's memorial service in Elgin. Ellen, John and I will be driving out - it will be a great family gathering in honor of Stewart.

So - stayed tuned!

 Here's two pics randomly chosen:

A Dale Chihuly glass creation at the St. Louis University art museum

 

Sushi plate Thursday eve at Kampai restaurant in Columbia

More Birthday Week

DAY 4 (continued): We all hung out in the special lounge for "sleeping car people" and then Maggie and Jerry went back to Bartlett and Ellen and I boarded the Southwest Chief for La Plata, MO (the Chief's ultimate destination is Los Angeles). Since this was a day trip - 3 pm to 8:45pm - we were in the coach car, but were very comfortable. We had a pleasant ride through Illinois countryside and a bit of Iowa at Fort Madison, before it got dark. We were met by Betsey in La Plata and drove the 80 or so miles down Route 63 to Columbia. That was a longer distance from Columbia than I had imagined it to be, but it is an easy ride - a lot better than the one from the St. Louis airport. Rob and Katie were there when we arrived and we talked a bit before "hitting the hay" after a long but good day.

DAY 5: The day started out early when Katie and I went to breakfast together at a nearby place called the Upper Crust. It was a chance for me to talk with her a bit about how she is coping with her illness. She is coping but it's hard. After breakfast, Rob took Ellen and me to the Enterprise Rent-a-car office to rent a Toyota Corolla while in Columbia so we could be free to get around on our own. I didn't mention that it is COLD, SNOWY and WINDY in Columbia. They had gotten two big snow storms last week that haven't melted yet. It's like Vermont!

Our rental car in snow in front of Shay house

This was the day of the "big game." One of the main reasons for Betsey inviting us out was to fulfill one of my "bucket list" items - to attend a Division I, men's basketballball game, live, which I had never done. The game was Missouri-Arkansas. It was Mizzou's last home game, and revenge was in the air because Arkansas had defeated Mizzou by one point in an earlier game at Arkansas, a game marred by what Mizzou fans felt were some questionable referee decisions. It was also senior night - three Mizzou seniors on the team were honored, their last home game. So the place was full and the energy high. The game started at 6pm, and at 5:45 I looked around and said to Betsey - "I'm amazed there are so many empty seats for such a big game." She said, "Just wait," and she was right. By game time it was full - a sellout crowd of over 15,000.

Mizzou-Arkansas game at Arena

There were only two tickets so it was just Betsey and me at the game. Ellen, Rob and Katie watched on TV at home. It was fun - and LOUD. A live game has a lot of features you miss on TV during the time outs: the cheerleaders, the announcer revving up the crowd, people coming out on the court to be honored, half-time entertainment, the band playing, the Tiger mascot acting up, and the traditional Mizzou yell - one side of the stadium yells "M - I - Z" and the other half responds, yelling "Z - O - U."  There is also food  - I actually was able to get a chopped salad and shared chicken tenders with Betsey.Not bad. (No beer for us).

It was not a pretty game - Mizzou started out all arms and legs, turning over the ball again and again. But Arkansas could never capitalize on the turnovers. Mizzou's defensive rebounding was good. Arkansas was ahead 7-6 early, but then Mizzou went ahead and never looked back. Mizzou won 93-63, so it wasn't exactly an exciting game, but it was a lot of fun and everything I had hoped for as a total experience.

Mizzou Free Throw time

Laurence Bowers (Mizzou) making a shot - not my photo!

I had forgotten to bring my camera, but fortunately Betsey's cell phone takes photos. So I got some shots. It was a fun event with my daughter!  It brought back memories of when I went to Wimbeldon with Betsey and Katie the summer of 1998 just after Shirley died.

Birthday Week!!

March 2nd was my 80th birthday! Wow! How did that happen? Anyway, the celebration is non-stop for over a week. Here's a day by day account:

DAY 1: It started on Friday evening when Ellen and I went to Hallelujah Farm in Chesterfield, NH., which is a B&B and Retreat center run by our friends, Roger and Sandy Daly.

Entrance to Hallelujah Farm

Living room-Dining Room at Hallelujah Farm

Brunch at Hallelujah Farm

DAY 2: We spent the night there in a beautiful guest room and the next morning, Saturday, John and Cynthia joined us for brunch, prepared by Roger and Sandy.

Roger & Sandy Daly in the kitchen

We had a leisurely brunch and an even more leisurely time just enjoying sitting and talking by the woodstove. Cynthia brought her harp (the one we carried to Minneapolis to be repaired and brought back) and John brought his Irish whistle and they gave us a lovely "concert." A beautiful birthday!

Cozy by the fire

Cynthia got some photos of "us-ens" which I hope to post later.

Saturday evening Ellen made me a "fav" meal of loin lamb chops, scalloped potatoes and brussell sprouts which we ate by the fire at home. Delicious!  (No photos).

DAY 3: Sunday I led the choir at the Dummerston Church, we went home and packed and then headed out for a train trip to Columbia, MO where Betsey and Rob had invited us for a week of birthday celebration.

On the way we stopped at the Center for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington, VT where our friend, John Nissen, is recovering from spinal surgery and just starting a course of chemotherapy. We had come over several times the previous week, and John seemed the best yet on Sunday. We are sending lots of loving, healing energy to him.

Center for L & R

Then we went on to the Albany-Rensselaer Train Station to get the Amtrak to Chicago.,

Amtrak station in Rensselaer, NY

We had reserved a roomette which is really a cozy way to travel. We were Room 3 in Car 4920 which was 9 cars away from the dining car, so we got a good hike going to supper and back!

Roomette on the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago

Dining car

At supper we sat with a very interesting couple, George Joseph and Thelma Pinto  - both are on the faculty at Hobart-William Smith in Geneva, NY, he in French, she in African Literature. She grew up in Cape Town, S.A., and is a Dutch citizen. They plan to retire soon and move to the Netherlands, where they own a home. I used to live and teach near Geneva, NY (at Keuka College), and had spent 2 months in the Netherlands, so we had a very nice dinner-table conversation. In an earlier period of his life, he had been part of a team which translated the New Testament into the Wolof language in Senegal, and that added another element of common interest (I having been a NT scholar at one time). The food wasn't bad either (maybe not GREAT but not bad).

We enjoyed our roomette - Ellen read aloud from a book John gave me for my birthday, James Diamond's The World Until Yesterday, a fascinating look at traditional societies and what we can learn from them.

Ellen reading

Sometime after 10:30pm, our room was made up into two berths. Actually, the seats proved to be totally recalcitrant to the attendant's efforts to make them up and we were moved two doors down to Room 7 which, fortunately, was available. This gave us the added advantage of being able to store our suitcases in Room 3, and make a bit more room to move around.

I LOVE train travel and with the help of a capsule I got a good sleep. I could actually stretch out in my berth. Ellen had the upper berth and was a bit anxious about falling out in her sleep, so she didn't use a sleeping pill. A harness is supplied which is designed to prevent falling, but it wasn't cleat just how to hook it up. So she didn't get a good night's sleep but she enjoyed resting and watching stations go by. I was awake early and caught the rosy early morning light out the window.

Early morning somewhere in Ohio

I got up early and took a shower, and we had a good breakfast in the dining car. Our train was reasonably on time and we arrived in Union Station, Chicago, a little after 10a.m.

DAY 4: We were met by Maggie and Jerry Hochberger, who had come in by train from Bartlett (Maggie is my brother Stewart's former wife). We had lunch together at a very special restaurant, Pazzo's, located in a skyscraper on Wacker Drive near the station.

The atrium at Pazzo's restaurant

It was like going into another world.  The food was really good too. After lunch we went back to Union Station and gawked a bit at the grand old central waiting room.

The four of us at Pazzo's, photo  courtesy of the waitress

Our meals at Pazzo's 

 

Ellen, Maggie and Jerry in Union Station