Boston Briefly 8 '08

Minute Man Statue

Our last stop was in Boston at “the Commons”.   

Swan Boats on the Lake

What was surprising was that I also enjoyed this part of the trip (I tend to get a bit tense in high rise big cities).   Maybe this was because Bruce knows me well or perhaps because in his late teens Bruce enjoyed hanging out there.  Regardless, ‘The Commons’   and its surrounding streets were his first choice of locations to end the weekend.

I couldn’t have agreed more. I’ve been to Boston many times and to me this area is its heart and soul.  I have always appreciated the old churches, and iconic buildings.  But, this was my first visit to the swan gardens. I was impressed.

and iconic buildings.  

 But, this was my first visit to the Swan Gardens. I was impressed.

As soon as Bruce dropped me off at home he had to leave for work, we agreed it would be wise to try to get a few hours sleep before we caught our red-eye flight home, so we booked our final night at the Boston Airport Hilton.  This was the view from our hotel room just before dark.  It was a fitting end to one of the most nostalgic and romantic trips we have taken.

View from our hotel room

North Shore Excursion 8 '08

As always when one adventure ends another begins.  After say goodbye to Steve,  Bruce and I headed to the North Shore of the Boston Area to take a quick tour of the Artist communities around Gloucester, Rocky Neck, and Rockport.   

Ooohmy gaaawd !!!!!!!  I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.   It is sooooooo beautiful!
For one, the  North Shore coastline is magnificent. (It seemed like Laguna or La Jolla in California used to be before there were millions of residents).    

  There are lovely isolated rocky coves and beaches,  

Gloucester Shore

Gloucester Shore

and old-money mansions everywhere you look 

 This Wedding Cake House is  where we stayed

Even the slightly inland communities without the benefit of an ocean view were stunning.    Yes I know, when we visited it was the peak of the summer bloom.  Everywhere I looked flowers (both wild and cultivated) were in full bloom.  It made my heart sing.

Gloucester Art Community Flowers

Yes I did see that most of the infrastructure there is old and dilapidated …that’s what happens when most of the structures are made of wood and built between the 1600- 1800’s.   

Gloucester Harbor

AND, I also saw that the local culture really values the natural beauty around them.   Old or not, the permanent residents love their land.   

Gloucester Boats

 They want to live there, not just to survive but to preserve a way of life. 

Rocky Neck Floats

   Despite the aging infrastructure, they continue to not only maintain, but creatively enhance their homes, and their community.

Rocky Neck Car

It is no wonder that there are so many legendary art colonies in the area e.g., Rocky Neck, North Shore, and Rockport.  We made a fast but memorable trip stop in each. 

Jerry Brown’s La Mirage is “The Best”! 8 '08

Jerry Brown and Bruce were close friends in high school.  Both men were reluctant to see the reunion end, or to say farewell, so when Jerry invited us to come over on Monday morning to see his business, Bruce jumped at the chance.   Jerry owns the ‘La Mirage’ salon in Marshfield, MA.    If I lived anywhere within driving distance, I would definitely be a client. Not only do his customers look chic and gorgeous (I met several), but visiting his shop goes waaaaaaaay beyond the normal spa/salon experience.   It is downright fun.  For one thing every room is highly creative and uniquely decorated.  Each room is interesting, cheerful, and fun, so just being there raises your spirit.  Just as important, walking into each of the different rooms evokes a different feeling.  You can come in for a hair cut and  leave feeling you are a changed person just because of the room you chose.  His clients also have an opportunity for a sense of personal involvement in the atmosphere that I have not found in any other salon I have ever visited.  Steve has turned the back of his property into a colorful small communal garden where his clients and employees can plant, grow, and harvest fresh herbs, vegetables and cut flowers.  He even has a documented resident friendly ghost who haunts the building (how cool is that!).

LA Mirage: 663 Plain St Marshfield, MA 02050 - Phone: 834-8525

Gathering at Jerry and Joanne Brown’s home 8 '08

 Aug 3, '08  Gathering at Jerry and Joanne Brown’s home

Catching Up

The next afternoon (Sunday), Jerry and Joanne Brown hosted a get together for all of the class of ‘68 from the Hull Jewish community center. 

Jerry and Joanne

  Jerry and Joanne are a lively and vivacious couple who know how to throw a really great party.  Joanne is a fabulous cook.  As she put it, after months of dieting before the reunion, everyone was ready to eat hearty.    

They have a lovely home with a large garden on the south shore.  It provided the perfect setting for all of the  Jewish kids who had gone through  kindergarten, been bar mitzvah, and on to high school together to reunite. 

BJ and Al

Maxine and Eileen

 Shelly, BJ  and Dianne

Ronna

Shelly

Maxine

Dianne

Additional reunion photos

These additional photos of the gathering at Steve’s house were provided by Ronna Townsend.

BJ Steve and Joanne

Shelly and Al

Ronna and  Bob

Terry and Steve

Maxine and her husband

Iris and Doug

Bruce and CC

BJ and Al

Bruce

Class of '68

Bruce’s 40th High School Reunion 8 '08

Hull High school

Bruce’s 40^th High School Reunion

Bruce’s 40^th High School Reunion was held at the Red Parrot Restaurant in the town of Hull, MA on evening of Saturday, August 3^rd.   

The event was well attended with close to one third of the graduating class showing up for the dinner.   The event planners did a great job.  There was a bulletin board with 1968 photos of everyone, and an original signed edition of the 1968 Hull HS year book to look through, and everyone had a name-tag with their high school yearbook photo on it, so it was easy to recognize one another. 

 There was a full bar, and a fully-loaded prime-rib buffet dinner. The DJ played dance music from those years, and 

Steve and Joanne

there was and plenty of tables and chairs 
and open space around the dance floor to catch up on one another’s lives. 

 It was a time to celebrate life’s successes and renew old acquaintances. Sure the homecoming queen and king looked a bit heavier than they did in 1968 (don’t laugh, pal, we were all in the same boat), and everyone (who hadn’t hit the bottle) looked a bit grayer.  But overall it was a handsome and welcoming crowd, with a great time had by all.  

Hull, MA revisited 8 '08

Hull Water Tower

We flew into Boston airport on Friday night before the reunion, which gave us the entire next day to visit and explore the town of Hull.  Bruce was born in Hull and lived in there until he joined the navy at age eighteen.  Needless to say he has many fond memories of the place and was anxious to show me his roots.  I had been to Hull, before, but only on a drive through basis, so I too was happy to have time to get to really know the place better.

 Early on Saturday morning we jumped out of bed and promptly set out for a long walk along the beach.  It was low tide so we were able to walk for miles along the wide clean Atlantic shoreline.  

Eventually we wound up on the street where Bruce grew up and of course had to visit his family’s home.  All Bruce could think to say when he looked at it was”It looked so much bigger when I was living here.”

Continuing on we crossed over the peninsula to bay side where Bruce had gone clamming as a youngster.  The bay shoreline with its views of Boston and of Strawberry Hill was very bit as magnificent as Bruce had told me.

By that time we were hungry, so we headed back into town for a muffin from Weinberg’s bakery. Listening to the local chatter and strolling down the main street revealed that not much had changed in the forty years Bruce has been away.  It was like stepping back in time into a place which has retained all of its small town pride and prejudices. 

Weinberg's Bakery

Refreshed, we decided to get in the car and visit some of the more distant points in Hull.

 The high school was first stop on the list.  Again not much has changed except for the addition of a giant windmill.   A visit to the local cemetery provided me with so great views of the local lighthouses and shoreline,

while Bruce had a quiet moment to visit friends who were buried there.

For Bruce, the visit was nostalgic.  It was reassuring both to know that most of the good in Hull is still there, and to find some reminders that so are its limitations.  For me visiting Hull was less complicated.  I looked at it with an artist’s eye and found it charming.

Hull Fire Department

 The views were classic New England as were its citizens.