A Visit from Mark

My friend Mark, whom I first met irl at a Red Sox game in 2009, visited here this week, and we went to another Red Sox game. It was my first since that one seven years ago. We had hit it off right away at that first game, so much so that after the game, neither of us  wanted to say god bye to the other. We just kept our conversation going.

For this visit Mark came by bus and then took the subway to the station nearest my home, where I met him shortly after 3:00 on Wednesday. We dropped off his things at my place and went shopping. Mark's a vegetarian so he bought some items such as soy milk and veggie burgers etc., while I bought various vegetables, some cheese, Stouffer's® frozen Mac and Cheese, a steak for my brother's Sunday dinner etc.

Back home, we took off our clothes and settled in for the evening. Dinner was cucumber salad and the Mac and Cheese. Then we watched the Red Sox on TV. Mark had gotten up very early and was tired and went to bed before the game was over.

I had bought tickets for the Red Sox game on Thursday (grandstand section 23 — a little to the third base side of home plate and toward the back). When I bought them a month or more ago, there was no way of knowing that it would be Alex Rodriguez's final game against the Red Sox, and the next to last of his career.

In the morning, after I went to Mass and did a couple of errands, including getting some brake fluid put in my car, we hung around in our birthday suits until it was time to go to Boston. We had supper at Bertucci's and headed to Fenway park. We took a bit too long at dinner and didn't get to our seats until the second inning.

The Boston fans enjoyed booing A-Rod every time he came to bat. Although I joined in, I thought it would be nice if he got a hit in his last at bat, and I cheered him when he came up for the last time. But he went hitless in the game. The Red Sox led in the early going, but the Yankees came from behind to win.

All in all, it was a very pleasant time, although the weather was very hot and humid.

On Friday, we hung out in the house until it was time for Mark to head in to Boston for his bus back home. It was a very nice visit — pleasant to be able to share nonsexual nudity with a friend and take in a Red Sox game for the first time since 2009. Mark left some veggie burgers, which I enjoyed on Saturday and Sunday. I hope we'll be able to have another visit next year.

Catching up

On October 17 I went to a symphony concert, and the following evening I trekked in to Boston again, for a show called "Baritones Unbound." It's a brief look at the history of the baritone voice, especially after it was identified as such in the early 19th Century, and it was having its first run anywhere. It was basically a fun evening — pure entertainment. Apparently it hadn't been booked anywhere else as of when I saw it, but the Three Baritones are hoping to be signed elsewhere. So keep your eyes on the entertainment listings; if you notice it, I think you'll like it.

Over the weekend, I came down with a cold. On Monday morning, I had almost no voice. But there was gradual improvement. I was able to take a visiting cousin to dinner at Scollay Square before I went to symphony on the 24th. She didn't join me for the concert, but the "absolutely gorgeous young man" I wrote about in my previous post was at Symphony Hall that evening — with another guy who wasn't nearly so gorgeous. We happened to meet in the corridor after the concert was ended. It was his companion's first time in Symphony Hall and his first time hearing Mahler's "Lied von der Erde" live. They were both enthusiastic. I wasn't, but I refrained from negative comments. Having heard his name for the third time, I actually remembered it long enough to look him up on social media. It turns out his paternal grandmother was Japanese. (I hadn't noticed anything semi-oriental-looking about his father in pictures — dad's also on social media.) He was actually in Japan a few years ago on some study-abroad program when grandma died, and he described going to the funeral. In case he shows up again, I think I'll call him G.

The following evening, I went to Scollay Square again, before another HMA concert. I had the same waitress as the previous evening, and she recognized me. She was good, but I was sorry not to see Wendy or Blake, the waitress and waiter I had liked last spring, on either visit. With my cold still lingering, I decided to leave before the second half of the concert.

This week, the cold has continued to fade away. Wednesday was another evening at the theater, for "The Power of Duff," about a TV newscaster in Rochester who begins to pray at the end of the news programs after his father dies. Some interesting things happen, but mostly the play is about his attempts to connect with people — especially his estranged wife and alienated 15 year old son — after a lifetime of being self-absorbed. There is some value to the story, and the play has its good moments, but the characters and the action often seem contrived. It was nice to hear some of the Red Sox final game of the World Series in my car on my way home and to see the last inning on my TV after I got home.

Last night was another symphony evening. I decided to escape Hallowe'en trick-or-treaters by having dinner in Boston before the concert. There is a local chain called Petit Robert. They describe themselves as French-style bistros. The menu varies slightly from location to location, but both the ones I've visited offer some things that are commonplace in American restaurants and some things you don't see regularly on this side of the Atlantic. Before "Baritones Unbound" I went to the Petit Robert Central and had oysters and coquilles St. Jacques. The latter is not available everywhere in America, and it was quite enjoyable. The waiter was easy to look at and properly attentive. This week I went to the Petit Robert Columbus Ave. and enjoyed a tasty foie gras appetizer and a very good tripe entree (neither of which was on the PRCentral menu, although Central had a different style of foie gras). I really like being able to get these things that aren't on most American menus, especially the organ meats, and I'm looking forward to going to one or the other before future plays or concerts.

Looking forward, I'll be seeing "Waiting for Godot" for the first time next week, in a performance by an Irish company called the Gare St. Lazare Players. Symphony Thursday and the following two Thursdays. Harvard Musical Association on Friday the 8th. My parish has their Mass of Remembrance, especially for those who have died in the past year, on Saturday at 4:00, followed by Italian Night at 5:00. Then there is an end-of-season Race Committee party at 6:00.

Change of Seasons

The winter activities (concerts, plays) have pretty much ended and summer ones are approaching. Major League Baseball has been going for over a month, which means I've been watching Boston Red Sox games on TV. The college level summer league which has a team nearby will play from June into early August. I blogged about them last fall. More precisely, I blogged about one of the players. He'll be back this summer, along with his older brother. The Yacht Club had its official opening day on the last Saturday of April. I'll be helping run the races beginning in June.

I went to Boston Symphony concerts on April 25 and May 2. The latter was the final program of the season. There's a bit about each of them on my music blog, here and here. And the Harvard Musical Association finished with a flourish. There was the evening I wrote about in my last post. That was Tuesday, April 23. There were two more social evenings, April 26 and May 1; and they brought a potentially interesting waiter development.

Waiter. On Friday the 26th, Wendy, the music-loving waitress at Scollay Square, introduced a new waiter, Blake. She said she was training him, so he'd be helping to serve. He's kinda cute. The following Wednesday, Wendy was working with a large cocktail party which had taken over half the restaurant, and Blake was my waiter. He did a good job and was very pleasant. Unfortunately, he didn't seem interested in my book, but I'm still hoping to have him as my waiter sometimes (Wendy other times) when the HMA resumes in the fall.

Injury (minor). On my way to the BSO concert May 2, I was walking up the escalator at the Government Center subway station. As I neared the top I heard the announcement that the train at the platform was for the line I needed, so I started to run. At the top I tripped and fell. Some people rushed to help me, and asked if I were okay. I said I was and that I had to catch that train, picked up my hat and ticket and got up, with a bit of help and got on the train. I had skinned my left knee, which was sore for a couple of days (and really hurt when I knelt down too quickly on Friday). I've had no discomfort since Friday. So unless it hastens the onset of arthritis, which runs in the family, there seem to be no lasting ill effects.

New Acquaintance. Friday evening, May 3, I went to a reception for the retiring president of the college where I spent a couple of years as a potential monk. He was one of my fellow monk wannabes at the time, and he stayed on. I didn't know many of the alumni there so after a while I was standing alone. A young man approached (Class of 2006) and struck up a conversation. We talked about various things for maybe an hour, and when I was ready to leave he expressed the hope that we'd meet at another alumni event. As he approached me, my gaydar registered, and during our conversation he had a slightly gay affect — not at all flamboyant, very subtle. Wishful thinking? He went to law school after college and passed the bar exam in 2009. Since then he has been working in the personal injury field. I was able to track him down on the internet and found him on facebook. It's one of these very private pages, but since he had expressed interest in seeing me again, I made a friend request. So far, no response. I'm not looking to hang out with him (unless maybe he wants to go to a baseball game sometime), but I'd like to keep in touch on FB.

Doubleheader

Yikes! The Red Sox are playing two games today: one this afternoon and one this evening. How will I get anything done?

;)

PEI Family Visit/Ball Game with Bob and Mark/Commenter's Block

Last week I went to Prince Edward Island for a brief visit. I flew there by plane and was on the ground for just over 72 hours. The first evening I had dinner with the family of the youngest of my second cousins. He and his wife have four children —one starting his second year at university, teen-aged girl, teen-aged boy, and a 14 month old son. After dinner, another cousin (I'll call her "Marian") took me to her place, and later we attended a singer's performance in a rural restaurant.

The next day, I visited the widow of my mother's first cousin (the mother of the second cousins) at the ancestral farm, and my mother's remaining first cousin in the city. Marian had me peel onions that were going to become part of a chow that some of her siblings and their mother would make the next day. We were visited for supper by a friend of hers and the two autistic boys the friend is caring for. Next another cousin dropped off her 12 and 10 year old sons for an overnight. We all went to a ceilidh (pronounced kaylee), a performance of traditional music with fiddling, singing, and step dancing. We met the friend and the autistic boys there. Marian says her nephews' regular bedtime is 7:30, but they were up until about 11:00 that evening.

The boys played in the yard in the morning and we all took a walk along a trail in the woods at before lunch. Then the mother picked the boys up.

My last morning there, Marian sent me to the Premier's office to pick up an item he was donating to her organization's auction.

What struck me from the visit is the sense of family and community — people taking care of each other, doing things especially for family members as a matter of course. This is not something I experienced growing up. Most of the family was too far away for easy contact. One grandmother and an uncle lived 15-20 minutes away, but I didn't observe a lot of back-and-forth. So I learned to be pretty much on my own, not expecting to be called on by relatives for help nor expecting to get much from them, resenting interferences in my routine. Coming to know these cousins as I have over the past four years has reminded me how self-centered I have become — something I need to work on if the second great commandment is to love others as I love myself.

Yesterday (Wednesday) evening I went to a Red Sox baseball game with Bob, who organized it, and Mark. I hadn't been to a major league baseball game for decades. It was thoroughly delightful. We met in Kenmore Square and went to a restaurant nearby (where I was recognized by the past commodore of my yacht club, who was with a group at the adjacent table). Our seats were high above left field, with a good view of everything except a corner of left field.

It was great meeting Bob and Mark, both nice guys. And we had such a lively conversation that I actually paid less attention to the game than if I had been at home in front of my TV. Of course, at the park, there's a lot more to look at than the small pice being shown on TV at any moment. And the experience of being there, just being part of the event (including singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch), felt exciting.

I sometimes wonder if I would like some bloggers I really like over the internet if I were to meet them irl. Well, with Bob and Mark, I was not disappointed. I like them just as much in person as I did in cyberspace and I'm sure I'd enjoy seeing each of them again.

I wouldn't recommend people under 18 meeting with adult bloggers, but for adults who have built up some degree of acquaintance and cyber-friendship, it can be worthwhile. Of course there is always an element of risk, as there is in any first encounter. The other guy could be an axe-murderer, someone who wants to out you if you're closeted, or just a jerk. And it's always wise to meet in a public setting for starters. But when you like what you know of someone from the internet, it can be worth a try, IMO. It certainly worked out very well for me. Just a wonderful evening with friends. And the Red Sox won!

Since I got back from PEI, I seem to be experiencing some commenter's block. I'll look at new posts on blogs I like and just not be able to come up with a worthwhile comment. There probably aren't many of you who notice when I don't comment on your blog, but if you have been missing my comments, let me assure you, it's not that I've stopped liking you or your blog. My feelings haven't changed since last month. But I have been thinking that I should cut down the time I spoend on the internet, and I should spend a bit more time at some websites I was a regular at before I discovered blogging. So maybe I won't have as many comments. But I'll be following you as I have been.