Fought fiercely at Harvard, now basking in the Maine sun

Harvard was a blast. I thoroughly enjoy the architecture and the beauty of Harvard. We managed to get in some excellent lectures including a sayonara to the class of 74 by Peter Gomes, the Episcopal cleric who has been the college's religious leader since he arrived with Ben's incoming class as a professor in 1970. He is quite unique and gives a good history of the last 35 years or so. Much is forgotten,but he is the institutional memory of Harvard at the moment and his retirement in 2012 will mark the end of an era.

A reunion is often a chance to party, which we did excessively, particularly John, but it is also a time to reflect. The class of 74 certainly did reflect in the answers it gave to its class survey. They will apparently be published on the reunion website, but by and large the results of the survey show a successful and happy group of very bright men and women who have enjoyed their lives immensely. And richly. Over half of them are in family's with incomes over $250,000 and nearly 10% earn over $500K per year. Not a class of paupers, though one success's wife remarked to John that she and her husband were paupers after paying for their five children to go to name-brand universities.

The reunion also brought home the squalor of dorm life. Yech. Small grubby rooms, poor plumbing, uncomfy beds. Just dragged home Caswell Hall (at Brown) to John. The food however is much improved and much healthier.

During our Boston time, we had a grand visit with daughter and son-in-law,and his parents. They did us proud with a grand dinner of grilled veggies and pizza, good wine, and a birthday cake. We provided S-I-L with a chinois strainer for his jam making endeavors.

We were also fortunate enough to spend time at the Museum of Fine Art's Tintoretto, Titian and Veranesi exhibit. A magnificent chance to see and compare the brilliant lights of Venetian rennaissance art, their highs,their competition, and their choice of subject. Worth every minute of the time spent there.

We also added in a short exhibit of Showa 1930s Japanese art from the MFA's collection. Pre WW2 art, often poster style, showing the modernity of Japan as it slipped into the militarism that brought on the war.

We left Cambridge happy in the renewal of old friendships, and came to the beauty of Maine. We pigged out on lobster last night at the Lobster Shack in Perkins Cove, near our base in Ogunquit. Two 1.5 lbs. lobsters. Excellent, along with fish and steamer chowder.








Today we were off to the Seacoast Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. John found it a wonderful chance to explore history, from old US cars, remnants of the old Boston Elevateds, and a Glasgow tram of the 1950s to a small collection of Massachusetts and Swiss trolley busses. The whole museum collection is much bigger than the collection held by the Pittsburgh based Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, but nowhere near as well presented. Seacoast is the oldest trolley museum in the world, but perhaps not the best. John did not feel it worth spending $50 to drive a trolley, but it was a good day.

We continue our search for the perfect xdry cap. Over the weekend it was Peets in Cambridge, today it was Caffe Prego in Ogunquit, Yesterday it was Ollie's in Exeter, Hew Hampshire. Who knows about tomorrow as we search on the way to Bar Harbour.