Thanksgiving Pilgramage I - Waltham

This blog has not been active for almost two months, and there is a reason, or at least an explanation. I have been on the road. So here is the first of the series of Thanksgiving Pilgrimage recounts, and there will be more, and then their will be something like a Christmas Pilgrimage, regarding returning to paradise, and if I am lucky, I will get all of these entries done before I fly out to San Francisco for the Martin Luther King Day celebrations. Also, as further introduction, I must tell you shame facedly that I did not take my camera out nearly often enough, so you will be too often stuck with 1,000 words when a simple picture would have done.

I left for the US on November 15th, and Jon picked me up at the Boston airport and deposited me at his Jess's house in Allston. Jess had just finished her semester's work at BU in the Journalism School (where she did quite well indeed!!), but was exhausted. The three of us took a drive, found me a cell phone to use in the states, had some wonderful Indian food, and then Jon headed home and Jess and I made it an early night, saving time for talking of travels until whenever we woke up the next day. I must admit that the futon that Jess uses as a couch makes a pretty comfortable bed, and I am so glad that Fran and I bought a quality futon many years ago, when it was our livingroom couch.

Anyway, the next day I was feeling lonely for Italy, so I got together for lunch with my doctoral advisor's widow for lunch near her place in Waltham. Arthur Blumberg was a man of rare intellectual acumen, and deep understanding of human organizations. Even though I did not finish my doctorate, he and I remained friends, and often he helped me see some of the forest when I was only seeing trees and branches. Phyllis, his wife, a pretty smart lady in her own right, was also a professor and then associate dean of the College of Human Devolpment at SU. I got to know her better and better as Arthur retired, and I could go into Syracuse for monthly lunch meetings with Arthur, and sometimes Phyllis.

I wish I had a picture of Phyllis to show you, but alas I do not. I did take my camera out at the Elgin Watch Company, which is now a brew pub, where we had a wonderful, long, lazy, full of conversation lunch. I think I had to take this picture, because already I was homesick, and it reminded me of home.

John Hopps and sons has gone through many owners, including Cinzano and Corvo most recently, but they still make some pretty good Marsala wines, and they now make them in Marsala instead of, apparently, in Mazzara Del Vallo. All of the really old, super valuable barrels of Marsala were of course destroyed in the war when the Allies bombed Marsala to make the Axis forces think we might come ashore there.

Anyway, it was a wonderful lunch with Phyllis, and on my swing back through Boston before I left, we were able to get together for dinner and some jazz with vocalist Andy Bey. It was wonderful to see her, and spend that time with her.