December 8th.

 https://youtu.be/w-TWgZ7dym0?si=M5vz_yubsUCWp58q

Mabelle Christine Willard Davis

 Remembering and missing her.

Off He Goes

 https://youtu.be/Hthj9KZrgpo?si=-nsLLOQUHVJ9Ck8O

The Neighborhood

Natick is pretty cool. Different from anyplace we have ever lived. It was an Indian settlement in the early 1600s... after the indigenous people were subjugated by the Puritans in Boston and driven out of Cambridge. Bunch of sweethearts those Puritans, just looking for religious freedom, right?  Actually, brutal thugs. So, in 1675 when another group of Indians attacked the Colonists, they immediately rounded up the Natick tribe, who, by the way, had all converted to Christianity, and shipped them out to an island in Boston harbor... in the winter,,,with no food or shelter,,, for 6 months. Most of them died. And the rest just disappeared in as much as the Colonists stole their land when they were imprisoned. Genocide. No other name for it.

Anyhow, auspicious beginnings notwithstanding, the town we live in is older, well to do, largely white Irish/Italian with a strong Jewish and Indian population. Proximity to Rte 128 Technology Industrial and Research and the top-level University System provides for a highly educated and creative workforce. Crime is low. Spending on police. fire, public works, education, libraries, town government is high. Liberal. Woke. Very privileged. 

K&E bought a nice starter home (for half a million $s) in a diverse neighborhood close to the train station and Rte 90, a direct shot, though very highly trafficked main route, to Boston. Lots of kids. Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Ukranian, Russian, German, Irish, Black, Albanian. Isaac came home from school one day and said "Mom, were getting a new boy in class. He's from Pennsylvania. What language do the speak in Pennsylvania?" 

I know many of the older neighbors and we lend each other tools, share garden crops, talk about the weather, covid, politics etc. Yesterday I was talking with Bob. Odd, but good natured. Kinda like me. He said "Well, today is my 40th Korean birthday." I'm all ears.

"40 years ago today, I received my 3rd kidney from a 24-year-old Korean woman. Prior to that I had to have dialysis 3 or 4 days a week, for 4 1/2 years. The Doctor says it is doing fine and, if needed I can have another transplant, actually 2 if needed." He said the science is progressing so quickly that it is likely a mechanical implant or genetic manipulation will be the treatment of the future. Or genetically altered pig organs.

That's another thing about Middlesex County Massachusetts. The quality of healthcare is some of the best in the world.

I guess there are a lot of worse places to be.

Ryan's Eulogy

Ryan Foss – Ceremony   9/5/2020 - J Stewart

It is such a sad honor to be a part of this gathering as we approach the sacred task of saying goodbye to Ryan, a dearly loved husband and father, son, brother, uncle and friend.

 

Ryan was truly an extraordinary, wonderful, albeit complicated being.

 

He leaves us far too soon but not without first cementing into all of you so many wonderful memories of his spirit, capacity for compassion, intellect, playfulness and his many passions, none greater than that which he held for Davis, Kristen and family, but jazz and even Frank Zappa (with whom he felt a kindred spirit) were on that list as well.

 

In looking for Zappa quotes to help me understand this connection I found this:

 

“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.”  

 

(This and also an Eagle Scout – indeed a complicated man.)

 

Ryan did not have a “boring miserable life” for his life was full of love, creativity, and adventure.  

 

Sadly however, the intensity of this remarkable guy’s spirit drove him to walk a line which he was ultimately unable to manage.   As cliché as if may seem, Ryan was truly a meteor, a shooting star with brilliance that lit up so many yet was ultimately consumed by this brilliance far too soon.  

 

Having been around only in the later years of Ryan’s life I have been so touched by this family’s loving effort to pull him back into the fold when he was lost, yet this was not to be.  So, we are here now lovingly saying thank you and goodbye to this wonderful, sweet guy.

Ryan has gone where we all shall go, he knows now what we only speculate about, yet his spirit and energy remain and it is our job to look for this spirit and honor it with joyful gratitude as it is revealed in this little guy's face, a moving saxophone line or, yes even a remarkable order of supplies for a deck project.

 

Ruth Burgess -Poem

 

Into the freedom of wind and sunshine

We let you go

Into the dance of the stars and the planets

We let you go

Into the wind’s breath and the hands of the star maker

We let you go.

We love you; we miss you; we want you to be happy.

Go safely, go dancing, go running home.

The years soften. Much is forgotten, forgiven, accepted. We miss you and love you. 

Italy

 Rome, Elba, Tuscany. Dream trip. Thank you, Josh!

32 Years

On the Road with Connie & Glen: Spyro Gyra (gdfoss.blogspot.com)

I wrote this blog in 2014. And it continues through last night. You need to read that blog to understand the context for what comes next.

So 32 years later, here we are. How is it that Spyro Gyra is here in Natick, two blocks, walking distance, from our apartment? For the last 15 years of our journey, I tracked them. We were in Florida, they were in California, They were in Boston, we were in Santa Fe. We were in Georgia, they were in Chicago. We were never in the same place at the same time. Until yesterday.  Amazing.

Katie gave me tickets for Christmas. And the concert was last night. Spiro Gyra live. Fabulous! All that and more.

Connie and I so enjoyed the concert and got to speak with the Sax Man, Jay Beckenstein after the show.  He laughed at our story and kissed Connie when he learned the rest of the story.

Bucket list. Check.

Iceland

 Rugged Beauty. Otherworldly. Unimagined grandeur.

Waterfalls and rainbows, volcanos, basalt snowcapped mountains, glaciers, northern lights, hot spring pools, geysers, geothermal vents, black sand beaches, ocean cliffs, lava fields, Reykjavik. There are no words adequate to describe. No adjectives suffice. Pictures with have to do. 

And then there is the food...