Continuity
Recently in preparation for a summer
reunion of the Lowell Tech chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity (Kappi
Xi), an all-out effort was proposed to contact and encourage brothers
that have not been seen or heard from in many years to attend the
reunion. After several months of dedicated efforts among several of
the brothers something became clear. Many of the newly contacted
brothers were pleasant enough during the contact but were not going
to come to the reunions. Others had just become impossible to get a
response or even find where they are.
So perhaps what was seen to be as a
desirable goal, that is everyone getting together to party the rest
of our days, may not be so desirable to many. Community is often
viewed as a visceral commodity. But who communes with whom may not be
readily apparent. What was a “frickin' blast'"
in college is
actually anathema to those not wanting to look in the rearview mirror
of nostalgia and “foolish behavior”.
Retroment for the Baron and Baroness
has been reflective of the Von D'Lucci community and family. This
context existed before and it looks like, for us, will continue.
Since the sale of the barn in March,
“Whither thou goest now?” has begged some form of an answer.
There was a “Tenney Mountain Condo”
sandwich between slices of Manor Estates. At the end of April the
northward trek was undertaken with relatively few stops to arrive in
time for our nephew's college graduation.
The condo at Manor Estates (see pic)
provided an excellent venue for retromenting and just enjoying the
view of Newfound Lake. However the monthly rent could not cover the
weekly rate after June 1. Tenney Mt, an abandoned ski area with condo
developments, provided a fiscally responsible alternative. After
labor day Manor Estates would become available at the lower monthly
rate and life would be autumnally rewarded with color and
aqua-nimity.
But what about the meat of the
sandwich? Our heroes just could not sit still. Not one, not two, but
three two-week excursions were travelled. Retro-math yields the fact
that six weeks were spent away from our rentals. Economic culpability
begs an answer.
The quick response is that this is the
first year of such activity, now that the barn is no longer ours.
This is an experiment. Okay. Underlying this is a strong current of
continuity. The barn was a nexus for the Newfound and Von D'Lucci
families. Its physical absence is part of the hope-to-be-brave new
world. How important is the convening of friends? Is dinner for two
night after night such a bad thing?
The fortnight forays included a family
reunion on Long Island; a fraternity reunion in Tully, NY; Manhattan;
Fishkill, NY (twice); Annapolis; Norfolk, VA; Floyd, VA; Lewisburg,
WV; Newcastle, Damariscotta, Boothbay and Searsport, ME; Bolton, MA.
Maintaining decades-long friendships
would seem healthy and important. Getting thrown out for overstaying
a welcome is not so healthy but also important.
Here is a sample of one of the
journeys.
Which vehicle? The Element or the
Camry? To spice it up we decided to trade both of them in for a 2012
Prius with just 18,800 miles on it. However we were leaving the next
day and would have to use one of the older vehicles. The Camry would
be ruled out because its odometer was at 99,000+ and would sell
better with it under 100,000. So the Element it would be. Last heard
from our friend the car salesman: “Take care of that car!”.
Manhattan would be our first stop to
see Rick. W 71st, one block from Central Park, is a fine
destination. Emotional support for our friend as he closed his
business and decided what to do next was also on the agenda. However
we were not real excited about the crack in the windshield courtesy
of a wayward stone in Connecticut as we parked by the apartment.
Rick and Gini decided to morph into
mer-people as we discussed life at the fountain in Lincoln Center:
Crack and all, we headed for Annapolis,
Maryland to see John and Diane. Thanks to the miracle of cellphones
an appointment for replacing the windshield awaited us when we
arrived.
John was the artist/craftsman who
oversaw the renovation of the barn and construction of the hot-tub
room. Chip's nom de guerre is Charles John. The 'John' being
derivative and in thanksgiving for John's expertise, patience and
loyalty.
Gini made a significant Facebook
appearance piloting their boat on Chesapeake Bay:
Eating, of course, was also a big
agenda item. We did take one evening off from cooking by eating at
Wegman's. I love it. You pay by the weight of the food. A sight
seeing trip to St Michael's provided another day's activity.
Then it was off to Floyd, VA. This is a
town about 7 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. It thrives on music
with a peak of FloydFest in July. Our friends Linda and Peter Baisley
live in the area. Peter has a home overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.
Linda has her own place and caretakes her 96 year old dad who is a
neighbor. Touring, mountain-climbing and farm-to-table-dining were
the highlights.
Mabry Mill
Site of
FloydFest in the Blue Ridge
Then it was on to Lewisburg, West
Virginia. A former student, track athlete and good friend of Chip's,
Luke, was getting married to Christine. They were going to have a
variety of events. Thursday night was a meet and greet at an Irish
pub in Lewisburg. Much to my surprise there were other Newfound
graduates/track athletes, Seth and Carl. These guys had been a key
part of the team in 2000 that finished third in the state
championships; the highest of any team I have coached.
Touring the next day brought us to
Greenbriar. This is a high end resort that caters to the PGATour and,
historically, anybody who was anybody including the regularly
visiting Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The 'Bunker' underneath the
complex had originally been excavated to accommodate both houses of
Congress during the years of the 'Red Scare'. Some reporter blew the
whistle on its covert existence in the 70s and now serves as a tour
stop of the grounds.
The next night was a hoedown at the
local Elks Club. What a trip!
On Saturday we were all packed into
buses and headed for Christine's family farm. Abandon cellphones all
ye who enter here.
My heart swelled with pride at the
fortunes of this young man. Christine is amazing and both families
made sure everyone felt a part of what was goin' down.
At the party back in Lewisburg later an
interesting event occurred. As some may know, Chris gave out a gift
bag to certain graduates each year at Newfound. Key components were a
couple of “Prole” t-shirts. These were shirts designed by Chris
that embodied George Orwell's totalitarian world. The proles were a
class of people who were 'under the radar' and seemingly not drawing
Big Brother's attention. Luke, upon receiving his t-shirts and
embarking on his college career at Boston College, decided he would
propagate the Prole legacy and had hooded sweatshirts made. He
proceeded to wear his for all of his years at BC.
Fifteen to twenty of the people at the
wedding had or still had one of these sweatshirts courtesy of Luke.
Upon arriving at the after-party I was wearing my Prole sweatshirt.
This drew a little attention from some. One person in particular was
commenting quite a bit on the whole Prole business. He was speechless
and in denial when I announced that I was the designer. He settled
into: “It's an honor to meet you”. I felt obligated to have a
beer.
The next morning saw us driving across
most of Virginia on a vector to Norfolk. Gini's 93 year old Uncle
Buzz and cousins Mike and Mary awaited. This visit was like a grand
bonus round. Mike and Mary are just great people. They are extremely
intelligent and well read. So much so that I can't get away with any
careless attempt at being clever. One has to be on one's toes around
this crew and that includes Buzz. The highlight (besides some serious
bay seafood) was a visit to the Naval Air Museum at Virginia Beach.
This is a privately owned series of hangars with dozens of aircraft,
mainly from WWII, of which over 90% are still air worthy.
Buzz had brought one of his three
flight books that chronicled thousands of hours of piloting in the
40s, 50s and 60s. The guide was quite knowledgeable but quickly
realized one of his charges was the real deal.
That P51 Mustang in the background was
supposed to go airborne for some visiting dignitary but we were to be
disappointed with any aerial display.
They did, however, have Buzz's craft
that he flew on and off aircraft carriers, the AD-4 SkyRaider:
They gave him something the size of a
clothes hangar tied to the rear of the plane to hook one of the
cables on the carrier deck. Psychedelia has nothing on these flyboys.
One of the best moments was when the
guide was explaining the features of another aircraft. Most things on
it had to be manually controlled. Buzz chipped in with the fact that
it took 27-29 turns on the controller to fully pull in the landing
gear. With a smile the guide pulled out a notebook and recorded the
little nugget for future tours.
A long drive to Fishkill, NY followed
to celebrate brother Tom's birthday with his partner Sandy. He was
turning 52 and would be playing with a full deck (so to speak). Sandy
claimed that all evidence pointed otherwise.
They picked out a fabulous place to eat
that was outdoors and right on the Hudson River. A most enjoyable
evening.
Finally we would wend our way home
stopping of course at the First Homely House (or Last Homely House
depending upon which direction you are traveling). There one would
find Rich, Val and Val's mom. It is our Rivendell.
Continuity as a mathematical term makes
most people's eyes go in different directions. In math class, though,
it was visually one of the easiest concepts to grasp. If you can
trace the graph without taking your pen off the paper, that is no
breaks in it, you have a candidate for a continuous function.
If you can stay in someone's community,
virtual, geographic, anecdotal, familial or otherwise then I believe
you also have continuity. Maybe not so mathematical.
