August/September 2021 News

This was my 75th summer vacationing at a family cottage on College Pond in the Myles Standish State Forest near Plymouth, MA. With that deep history, the emotional connection is like the marrow in my bones – to be there is to be happy. First thing each morning, I row for a mile or so. After breakfast Candace and I take the first of our two “trash walks,” traveling the road that circles the pond and picking up the trash that travelers toss out the window – mainly beer cans and empty “nip” bottles. Two hurricanes hit during our vacation slot at the cottage: Henri and Ida. We missed both since Henri closed the forest at the beginning of our time and Ida blew through the day we were back home to pick up the mail and our CSA share. Neither did much damage to the forest, though Ida dropped enough rain to raise the level of the pond by 3 inches or more.

Although I find myself completely incapable of doing any serious work during my time in the forest (no internet, and minimal cell service) I do get to dust off old songs and convene an annual sing-around of musical friends. In years past those gatherings would host a dozen or so for a meal and an evening of song. Last summer we skipped a year in honor of the pandemic, and the Covid shadow haunted this summer as well. But long time friends Hugh Hanley and Paul Despinosa showed up and, though we were few, the three of us sang into the late evening, if not the wee hours. On a separate visit Bill Harley and Debbie Bloch came by for a meal and a visit and Bill gifted us with his wonderful new novel Now You Say Yes. My main activity on vacation is reading through the stack of books that have been piling up on my bedside table all year, but they all got put aside for a reading of Bill’s book, easily my favorite read of the summer.

If you’re reading this newsletter it’s by the grace of Grace McEnery. For the past 9 months Grace has been guiding me through the maze of online concertizing and social media communications. 9 months closely working together and yet, we’d never met! One of the highlights of vacation was having Grace pull into the cottage driveway with a batch of her fresh made-from-scratch ravioli and a day to share with Candace & me. We agreed that we each look taller in person and that we could spend a day together without talking shop. Candace captured the spirit in this picture.

All good things etc...now we’re back in Western Mass. staring at our respective little screens, Candace with her teaching and counseling, me with the stack of mail (mostly bills) that was waiting for us, and writing things like this. Also, way too many online meetings – steering committees and planning committees and executive board meetings and serenity meetings – plus stacking shelves at the local food bank and reaping the bounty of our Wilder Brook CSA. In the upcoming month I’ll be part of a virtual PMN convergence (Oct. 16 & 17) and a concert with long-time friend Colleen Kattau (Oct. 8). More on this later.