Continuity

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.

Granted Miami Beach is now “home”, hurricane season and high temps laced with high humidity provide an impetus to head north during the summer. New Hampshire summers and particularly the fall are world-class options. So rentals were arranged in the Newfound area.

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 71^st, 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.