The Perks of Walking

One of the perks of walking, aside from being healthy, is the people and things you meet. I thought I might share a few of them to give you some idea of what it is like to walk around my Cambridge neighborhood.

On one of my recent excursions I looked up to see this woman coming toward me.

"Who is this guy?" she must be asking herself

“Excuse me,” I said. “I really like your look. Do you mind if I take a picture?”

“Sure,” she said. 

Then, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was having second thoughts.

She cocked her head to one side and took a long, hard look at me.

“Wait! Are you some kind of weirdo?” she asked.

I assured her that I was not, though why she should have accepted my assurances is beyond me. I mean would some kind of weirdo ever say yes to that question? She took up a position with her back against a wall and stared at my iPhone.

“Would you care to smile?” I asked.

She shook her head no. That, I thought, was important. It must have had something to do with what the “look” did for her. It takes a lot of courage, I thought, to dress against the grain. I tried to imagine myself putting on a dress and walking up Mass. Ave. No way, José. She was carrying it off with aplomb.

I especially liked the touch of the line drawn across her right eye so that the eyebrow became the hilt of a dagger. It lent that side of her face a kind of menace that said keep your distance.  In the corner of the other eye was the hint of tears. The two sides of her face were at odds with one another. The left said, “Keep your distance.” The right asked, “Why are you keeping your distance?” No wonder she didn't want to smile.

The bright red color of her dollar store wig was just right, the way it matched the touches of red in the fringes of her outfit. She must have made this costume herself. It shows a lot of attention to detail, especially the red-fringed white apron around her middle that made her look like a cocktail waitress in a Dada bar.

But what is that expression on her face? The partially closed eyes are slightly wary, slightly defiant, slightly quizzical. She is obviously not completely relaxed. Take a look at that left hand bent back against the hip. Who is this guy, really? she must be asking herself.

If she is in hiding, she has done it very well. I doubt I could pick her out of a lineup where everyone was wearing civvies.

Nick and Willie

I thanked her for the photograph, walked around the corner and ran into Nick on his bicycle and Willie in his knapsack.

"Do you mind if I take your photograph?" I asked.

“Go ahead,” said Nick. 

He had no second thoughts.  He also had no trouble smiling. He told me he was a graduate student and lived in the neighborhood.

A week or so later I ran into Jack.

Jack wasn’t alive, of course. Even so, I felt sorry for him. He must have brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of kids on Halloween. And now here he was, discarded in a trash bin, his mouth in a round O as if to say

“Oh my! How could this have happened? I was on top of the world just yesterday.”

Jack

 

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Jungfrau: Switzerland’S Top School Ski Trip Destination

The rewards of a school ski trip are many: the opportunity for students to discover a new part of the world, test new skills, and spend time with each other, as well as the physical challenge and the fun of it, make it an excellent way to provide a well-rounded and confidence-boosting experience. To ensure their trip fulfils this potential, trip leaders need to be selective when it comes to the planning of it - and particularly when it comes to choosing a destination. With its extensive ski slopes and stunning location, the area around Jungfrau, one of Switzerland’s finest mountains, is an ideal choice. Located in the picturesque Bernese Alps, with a lively atmosphere and superlative reputation as a winter sports destination, Jungfrau has it all. Read on to find out more.

Skiing in Jungfrau
While there are many elements that make Jungfrau an excellent option for a school ski trip, the foremost factor is the quality and quantity of its facilities. The destination is home to three excellent skiing areas: Wengen, Grindelwald, and KleineScheidegg & Mannlichen. Not only does this mean students will never find themselves bored or out of new options to try - it also provides one of the most flexible snow experiences in Europe, with something to suit every ability level. At one end of the scale are the gentle nursery slopes; at the other, the World Cup course. Highlights include the pristine slopes around Wengen, accessible only by railway, and the exciting options offered by Grindelwald - including a snowboarding half-pipe.

Evening Activities
No school ski trip is complete without good après-ski activities, and while staying in the Jungfrau area there are plenty of options for keeping young people entertained in the evenings. Winding down the muscles after a day on the slopes is important, and there is a range of physical activities on offer to provide the perfect evening workout, including swimming and snowshoeing. For a fun and active evening, the local ice rink is a good option, and other nights can be spent socialising at the hotel or dancing at a disco.
Around Jungfrau
While skiing may be the main focus of a school ski trip, it is especially rewarding to pick a destination that has interesting sights and activities beyond the slopes, and the Jungfrau area has plenty to offer. Filled with the lively cosmopolitan buzz that Switzerland is known for, the mountain towns provide all the atmosphere and culture that a trip leader could hope for. Well worth a visit is the Jungfraujoch, a pass between the Jungfrau and Monch mountains, which is home to a number of excellent attractions, including Europe’s highest railway station, viewing platforms overlooking the stunning Aletsch Glacier, and the Ice Palace, an impressive gallery of ice sculptures. Visiting Jungfraujoch by train is also a great way to enjoy the breathtaking alpine scenery.

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Top Travel Destinations in USA

United States of America is the country which attracts all of us. The students are attracted to better education facilities, travel geeks are attracted towards the exotic locations and in short people love the better standard of living in US.
USA is one of the most popular vacation destination of the world. There are many places which are like paradise for travelers. In this article I will discuss about the various places in the United States which have seen a major increase in terms of tourists.The most sought after popular vacation cities are as follows:-
1- Hawaii - This place is known for its beaches and awesome natural beauty. Nature lovers would not get a place better than this. It is famous being a honeymoon spot. You do not need to worry about staying there as the place is full of hotels which would make your stay a desirable one.
2- Las Vegas - This is the fun loving city in the US. Las Vegas is famous for its night clubs and Ghostbar, Haze, Moon and Playboy, Surrender, Krave are to name a few among the best night clubs. Needless to say, Las Vegas is known for its adult fun, having strip clubs and topless shows as the major attractions.
3- Georgia - Atlanta Georgia is the perfect place for having family fun. You can explore Georgia's scenic beauty like waterfalls,mountains and canyons. The most popular family attraction is in Six Flags Over Georgia which is the largest theme park in the South East. Other attractions include- Lake Lanier Islands, Callaway gardens, Blue Ridge Scenic Gateway, Atlanta Museum etc
4- Texas- It has special attractions being the second largest state in the USA. The major attractions in the Texas include- Stonehenge Odessa, Riverwalk Burnet, XIT Museum, Old Stone Fort Museum, HOUSTON Raceway Park, Glass Cactus etc
5- New York - It is one of the loveliest state in the USA. New York city is known for its history and architecture. If you love camping then you can try out some camping by staying in the Ranch Camping resort. Besides camping you can enjoy horseback riding,island fishing etc. There are many famous museums in New York like the Center of the Arts, Historical Aircraft Group, Stamford Art Center, AAron Davis Hall etc.
6- Virginia - The most popular saying for this place is "Virginia is for Lovers". To start with, you can enjoy Virginia's Atlantic beaches at Assateague Island which are warm and gentle enough for all ages to enjoy fully. Other destinations to enjoy are the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shenandoah National Park.
Well you must have learned that USA is a country which can be said as a travelers paradise because it has so much to offer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6034091

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People Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn't Grow Flowers

“What did you think of them?” the nice young woman at the gift shop cash register asked when I came out of Harvard’s famous glass flower exhibit at the Peabody Museum.

I had gone into the museum on a whim. Now that I had taken up walking, I thought maybe this would be a good place to get in some easy mileage. I joined up. Of course, I’d heard of the glass flowers. For one thing we had a neighbor who lived around the corner from us on Oxford Street. She lived in a very unusual house. It was set well back from the street bracketed by two of the more typical wood frame houses in the neighborhood. The house was one mile west of the Peabody on the same street. An easy trek from door to door.

Unlike its neighbors the house was all brick and mortar. Spread sideways, it was two stories high with two large bays on the ground floor. One was used as a garage and the other a workshop. Our friend was a weaver and her loom was in the second bay. She has moved now. I don’t know the new owners or what use they’ve made of the workshop bay.

Original woodworker shop where glass flower cabinets were built.

There was something odd about the house. It hadn’t always been a private residence. The block and tackle jutting out from the roof was the giveaway. Over dinner I asked our hostess about the history. She said that it was originally a woodworking shop. In fact this was where the cabinets that held the glass flowers at Harvard’s Peabody Museum had been manufactured. She said we had to see the exhibit, if only for the cabinets. And now several years later I had somehow managed to find the time and the inclination.

Professor George Goodale originally commissioned the flowers as a teaching aid in his botany class. Between 1887 and 1936 Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph fashioned them to an extraordinary degree of accuracy. They were everything a botany professor could want. They were life-size, accurate to a fare-the-well, and best of all, they never perished.

They have become something of a celebrity item. Marianne Moore, in her poem Silence, wrote of them:

                                    My father used to say,


                                    “Superior people never make long visits,

                                    
have to be shown Longfellow's grave,

                                    
or the glass flowers at Harvard.”

Guidebooks tout them as one of the important “sights” of any Boston visit.  The duck tour would, I’m sure, stop there if it could get up the steps.

“Well,” repeated the nice young woman at the gift shop, “What did you think of them?”

Glass cabinets made at Oxford Street Woodworking Shop

When I entered the rooms where the flowers were displayed, it is perhaps understandable that my eyes had fallen first on the cabinets. They were splendid. The wood shone as only wood polished for a hundred years can.

Then came the flowers. I traveled the room twice. I needed absolutely to be certain.

By this time the young woman was growing impatient.  I hadn’t answered her question. She decided to answer it herself.

“They are incredible, aren’t they? It is amazing the level of detail the Blaschkas managed to mold in glass, don’t you think?”

 Cactus

Pitcher Plant 

What I thought was that the Blaschka flowers were like vodka martinis. They are an acquired taste.

“It is a remarkable achievement,” I mustered and then—I don’t know. It just slipped out—“Amazing how they’ve managed to make them look just like plastic.”

Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae

She broke into a huge smile.

I took advantage of her good humor to ask, “Can you tell me how to find the coelacanth?”

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In Search of Judgment

I recently received the following e-mail from Andrew, a British friend who was in Boston for a conference. Being a barrister, I was sure he would visit the Harvard Law School before returning to London.

“Whatever you do,” I said, “Don’t miss seeing the Safer sculpture Judgment. It’s just by the Gropius dormitories.”

This is what he wrote.

Today, my last day in town before flying back to London, I went with a colleague, Richard, to Cambridge. We wandered round Harvard yard and elsewhere….In our wanderings I hoped to discover 'Judgment' but we were having little success. Eventually we asked various passers by—many with maps but none with a clue as to what we were talking about. Most wanted to direct us to the statue of John Harvard.

Eventually we came across Harvard Law Library and Richard went inside to ask. They also did not know what we were talking about (again assuming it was the Harvard statue). In the end I went online and showed Jay's blog to the helpful receptionist—and although she did not recall seeing the sculpture shown in his photos, she did recognise the buildings in the background. In a very helpful way, she offered to print us a map—and while we waited for her to do that she very kindly allowed us into the library itself—which was a real treat for us lawyers.

Having viewed the library we went, map in hand, and easily found the statue—and as proof I attach a photo.

British barrister in front of Safer's Judgment 

It really is a lovely piece—so thank you Jay for telling us about it—and you should know that there are two more people (who work in the library) who now know what it represents.

I’m not sure why this ignorance of the Safer sculpture so gets under my skin. It is a major work. It is also a trenchant statement, sitting as it does in the lap of Harvard’s legal wannabes. This, it says, is what you are getting into.

It isn’t an MIT/Harvard thing. (Truth in advertising, I’m an emeritus member of the MIT faculty.) Maybe what bothers me is that it bespeaks a negligent attitude of the public toward public art. The Harvard Law School class of ’49 undoubtedly spent a lot of money purchasing the Safer piece. Harvard went to a lot of trouble to bring it onto its campus. Yet nobody seems to notice.

But why isn’t it enough that I notice? Why do I want everybody to join in? I think I may be getting closer to an understanding of why this ignorance of the sculpture gets under my skin. The fact that I care about the sculpture and so many others don’t suggests alienation. It draws a line in the sand between those who walk on by and me. That is an uncomfortable feeling. During my daily visits to Judgment, I have been stopping people and asking them to take a closer look at what they are about to pass up. Shades of The Ancient Mariner! Some of them have been grateful. Well, one of them has been grateful—a Harvard Law School student whose name is Maria. But most look at me as if I were an old man in need of humoring.

Now that I know what is at the bottom of it all, I think I’ll stop personally recruiting for Judgment.

As the Beatles wisely sang, Let it be.

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These Are the Craftsmen

Tessellated floor in Borromeo Palace

This past May Nancy and I visited Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. We spent a morning on the Isola Bella. I took this picture. It is of one of the tessellated floors inside the Borromeo Palace. I was struck not only by the beauty of the floor, its patterning and workmanship, but also by its anonymity. Someone 300 or more years ago laid it with care, consummate skill and a flair for design. It has lasted for centuries. Yet no one has the slightest idea who the maker was. When I asked an attendant that question, he looked at me as if that were an odd thing to ask about, what with all those Bassanos and Crespis hanging on the walls of the palace gallery with their nameplates clearly legible for all to read.

This is not an unusual state of affairs. Who fashioned the gargoyles that protect Notre Dame in Paris. The sarcophagi of ancient Rome? The wall carvings of Angkor Wat? The carvings of the life of Buddha that ring Borobudur in Indonesia? These are among the great injustices of history. We know the masters, but we know nothing of the master craftsmen. It doesn’t seem fair.

Kirk and Joe

I have been fighting a small battle to rectify this. Last year when plumbers installed a shunt so that an outdoor spigot wouldn’t freeze in winter, I had them sign the trap door that hides the shunt. Last month when a plumber installed a garbage disposal under the kitchen sink, I asked him to sign the unit.

Mel

And now another occasion has arisen. Outside my front door, craftsmen from the J. Marchese Company of Everett, Massachusetts are laying down a new brick sidewalk. These sidewalk makers will not disappear into obscurity if I have anything to say about it. Here are three of them, Kirk, Joe and Mel. They are experts at exchanging new walks for old.

It isn’t an easy job. There are curbstones to be reseated. Tree pits to be relined and then there are those new bricks to be laid. If there isn’t a concrete foundation beneath them—and in our case there isn’t—then a whole new foundation has to be fashioned. The bricks will go on top of a black carpet of asphalt.

Kirk handles the backhoe as if he were driving a bumper car in an amusement park. Joe, the one with the Red Sox beard, maneuvers a huge dump truck as if he were riding a bicycle. Mel lays down the bricks. And I’m leaving out all the guys who support them, the ones who tote the brick piles for Mel or the ones who spread sand on the bricks and then sweep them clean to fill in the cracks.

Brand new sidewalk

Now I'm conscious of brick sidewalks. Bricks are like people. They shrink just like us when we grow old, .

I am grateful to these craftsmen for rejuvenating the sidewalk while I am still around to enjoy it. It will certainly outlast me. If anything, the sidewalk will watch me grow old instead of the other way around.

20 or more years later

This morning Mel said goodbye to me.  He is off to Colorado to shoot elk. His family likes the meat. He wouldn’t shoot it if he didn’t eat it, he said. Anyway, Mel said the sidewalk is guaranteed for 10 years, but that it will easily last fifty. I’ll be lucky to last another 15. That’s good. I wouldn't want to be around to watch the edges crumble.

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