Collections

I’ve never been one to collect things, in fact, wondered why anyone would collect stamps or anything else. My mom collected turquoise dishes during the 60’s and I accidentally broke one of her favorites. My memory of that, along with my sincere apology and, mostly, her loving response, is strong, a clear remembrance of her loving presence in my life.

What I have collected is travel experiences, soon to be presented in my book, My Life of Saying Yes: A Travel Memoir. It was just turned over to my publisher, so my minor experiences this past weekend will not be included, so I recount them here.

They began with a mistake. When I asked a friend in her seventies who recently began harp lessons to include me in any upcoming recitals, she told me about plans for the New England Harp Festival in Hartford, CT. That sounded inviting to me, so I put it on my calendar.

The weekend began with a reenactment of the 1775 battle between the ships, Hannah and the British Nautilus, in Beverly.

Hundreds were there to observe, dozens in period costume, the sun was shining, and it was glorious!

Next on my agenda was my standout against Trump and his actions in front of our post office, as usual, with hundreds of others, including our State Representative, Hannah Bowen, who had been at the reenactment, though we hadn’t crossed paths.

Next, Paul and I headed for Hartford, with a planned lunch stop at one of our longtime favorite restaurants, Rein’s Deli, where I had been stopping since 1973. They had opened in 1972, so I missed their first year. After a late lunch, we drove fifteen minutes to the gorgeous Methodist church that was the setting for the harp festival. The music was outstanding! We heard two harpists (large harps and traditional music) and one harper (smaller harp and contemporary music) and were blown away by the excellent performances. The photo is of Rachel, one of the harpists, during her performance.

The mistake? My friend was not actually among the performers, which was a disappointment. However, the performers and the performance were outstanding and we would not have attended, were it not for my mistaken understanding. Yea for mistakes!

We stayed at a local, unimpressive hotel, then had breakfast at Rein’s. Sadly, after more than fifty years of high pleasure in the food here, plus enjoying awareness of our shared name, we were disappointed in the food quality. Nevertheless, we bought a few extra bagels to take home. Have my standards changed or has the quality of their food changed? I believe it is the latter and I welcome the opinion of others.

Before our ride home, we had one more adventure in store, a tour of the Mark Twain house, just ten minutes away. Contrary to my ignorant expectations of his life in simplicity, his home was lavish and beautiful, as the result of his wife’s family money. Twain was an amazing person, whose books contain excellent examples and advice, including, “Travel is fatal to prejudice.” That quote, taken from his Innocents Abroad, 1869, is also a theme in my soon-to-be-published, My Life of Saying Yes: A Travel Memoir. Look for it soon!