When I retired from UMass, I knew I would work there part-time during much of the winter and spring, but have most of the summer off. What a prospect! Like most people, I haven't had the summer "off" since before I graduated from high school. I had visions of myself reading many of the books I've accumulated over the years, interviewing all kinds of interesting people for "Through the League Lens" on ACTV, becoming a frequent plein air watercolorist, hiking, biking and swimming miles, studying Italian verbs, growing most of my own vegetables, mastering my abs with Pilates, and hanging out with my laptop and a good book in one or another of Amherst's downtown outdoor cafes. Not to mention explore the delights hidden in my cookbooks and catch up on my sleep.
Well here we are halfway through August, I return to work full- time later this month, and I;m not ready for it to be over. There are so many fascinating things to do here, but I'm running out of time. I can report that the Mt. Holyoke Range remains the best place to be in the early morning, and that the wireless network provided by Bart's and Rao's works. Ages ago, when I was an undergraduate, I spent hours in the college snack bar, so I thoroughly enjoyed watching the world go by between sections of my book under the crabapple tree outside The Loose Goose. The "crowd" on Rao's plaza varies by time of day, with, for example, a much younger clientele on Sunday evening than Friday morning. Overheard snippets of conversation awaken fantasies of being a screenwriter. Most people talk quietly, but it's amazing how some voices carry!
The mostly cool summer has been good for hiking, but hasnā't been so inspiring for swimming. In last summer's heat I discovered during the "adult lap swim" at Mill River Pool that my hiking muscles don't do me any good in the water. I decided to swim laps as a different form of exercise, but without hot weather to further motivate me, I haven't been doing it as often as I'd thought I would. Pilates really challenges my brain's ability to communicate with my muscles, but thanks to the patient and helpful folks at Momentum, I haven't given up.
I have been painting, but not so much outside. While from my perspective as a gardener I wanted more rain, there have been enough clouds and drizzles to discourage me from lugging watercolor paraphernalia very far. This region is rich in classes, though, so I began the summer with art classes at Snow Farm in Williamsburg and I'm ending the summer with a big bang of more workshops scheduled through LSSE and the Fiber Arts Center. The Fiber Arts Center continues to offer the most fascinating exhibits and items for sale; just being there is an inspiration. I am an NPR addict (another reason I paint inside instead of out: WFCR and WAMC with interesting programs to listen to). Hence I've heard several reports about libraries across America that were supposed to be sent free CDs by the major recording labels as part of a settlement of a price-fixing case being disappointed with the selection they were sent. At the Jones Library, of about 200 CDs, fewer than 50 were ones the library would have purchased, according to Beth Girshman, the Adult Services Librarian. There were a few classical and jazz recordings, no operas, and only two CDs for children. Instead, there was lots of Latin, country and Christmas music. Many were duplicates: 20 copies of a CD of Gregorian Chants sung by Spanish monks (no, not the CD, "Chant," that hit the charts). It's obvious the recording companies were cleaning out their warehouses.
It took librarians a lot of time to sort through the boxes and decide what to do with them. Librarians discovered one "jewel": a boxed set of the complete Atlantic recordings of John Coltrane. Unwanted recordings were sold to a dealer; the proceeds will be used to benefit the music program at the Library. Beth commented there could be a fun game in all this: the recordings that have been catalogued were given a special code, so they can track whether they are checked out of the Library as time goes by. She suggested library patrons could try to "crack" the code. Someone must be listening: I couldn't find either the Spanish monks or the Coltrane when I looked. Cracking the code: Now there's a good project for fall!