An Evening in Boston

Last Friday evening was the third on which the Harvard Musical Association had on of its "social evenings." I hadn't attended either of the first two, October 6 and 10, but went to this one. The music was played by a group called Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Before intermission they played pieces by Latin American composers. After intermission, with a second cellist added, they played a quintet by Schubert and, in response to enthusiastic applause, gave us the familiar Minuet by Boccherini — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFFh-HRNP48 — as an encore.

As usual, I went to Scollay Square restaurant for dinner before the concert. Wendy the waitress was there, which I hadn't expected, since she had indicated a while back that she wouldn't be there regularly on Fridays. But we enjoyed a chance to greet each other. I surprised her by ordering a white wine (Tussock Jumper sauvignon blanc, from New Zealand) with my main course of scallops. At home, I usually have white wine with fish and seafood, but I've somehow developed the habit of drinking red wine with everything when I'm eating at a restaurant.

I had arrived a bit later than the ideal time at the restaurant, and Wendy and I didn't get to talk other than the business of ordering my meal. I ended up arriving at the concert just as the quartet was beginning its second piece. The 20th Century Latin American music was good, but I enjoyed the part after intermission more. I didn't stay for the refreshments afterwards. As it was, I got home about 11:30. If I had stayed, it would have been after midnight.

The weather was unseasonably warm, and it was very pleasant walking from subway to restaurant, restaurant to HMA, and HMA to subway. It led me to reflect on how fortunate I've been to have a life which affords such enjoyable things. Further thoughts were that getting around when there is snow on the ground will be much less pleasant but that in conditions like that evening's it would be nice to be able to go naked, if only it were socially acceptable.

On the evenings before and after the one in Boston, I was at the yacht club. On Thursday, there was a end of season cocktail party for the Race Committee. A couple of prizes, each named for a deceased member of the committee, were awarded to people who had served in outstanding ways. There were also coffee mugs for members who had been on duty for more than ten days (which included me and my brother), and glasses for the remaining members. Several of us stayed for dinner after the party. After eating lots of hors d'oeuvres, I couldn't finish my dinner. The leftovers are still in my refrigerator. On Saturday, a group of committee members got together at the club for dinner again; and again I had some leftovers — some of my ribeye steak, which I had for lunch on Sunday.

This week, I'll be going to Boston twice, for an opera on Thursday evening, and the Boston Symphony Friday matinee. I'm not planning any restaurant meals, though.

Going to Boston; Buying (and Reading) Books; Trump

Boston

At my age, the MBTA (Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority) gives me a discount on traveling on their systems — subway, bus, and commuter rail. At present, the only one I'm using is the subway, which I can ride for $1.10 per trip. They give me a card which I load with money which gets deducted each time I use it. Back in January, the card stopped working, so I had to go get a new one. I liked my picture on the old one better.

Recently, I've become aware of fare jumpers taking advantage of my entry. I tap my card to the target and the gates open. After I go through, somebody follows before the gates close. There's a loud honking sound, which would alert police if they were there. A few weeks ago, four young guys followed me through. When I realized what they had done, I confronted them. I emphatically explained that the system need the fare money to pay the drivers and to maintain the equipment and tracks. When people like them evade paying their fares, it means less funding for the system they're using. They should be ashamed of themselves. Then I stalked away.

If you read my music blog, you know that I went to Boston for symphony concerts on three Thursday evenings in January and another three in February, with the cancellation of the Feb. 9 concert reducing the February count from four. I've attended fewer Harvard Musical Association concerts on Fridays than usual. For one thing, they've scheduled several on Thursdays. For another, the weather was too uninviting on a one or two occasions.

On the one time I did go in on a Friday, I went, as usual, to Scollay Square restaurant. Surprisingly, Wendy the waitress was there and we enjoyed chatting. She told me that Seth, the former waiter, had gotten married last fall and no longer worked there at all.

I also went in twice to see my spiritual director, and once for a Handel and Haydn Society concert on a Sunday afternoon.


Books

Perhaps inspired by hearing about Seth, I finally decided to buy Water for Elephants, which he had recommended to me back in the fall of 2010. I got it for me Kindle and started reading it on my subway rides last week. It's a very engrossing book, and I highly recommend it. Hopefully, I'll still be reading it the next time I get to Scollay Square. It would be nice to be reading the book Seth recommended in the place where he made the recommendation.

And this has put me on a book-buying spree. First, I decided to get three books in the "Hinges of History" series by Thomas Cahill:

• Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter,
• Mysteries of the Middle Ages: And the Beginnings of the Modern World, and
• Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created our World.

I already had read the first three of the series, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, and The Gifts of the Jews, years ago, when they were first published. The series is popularized history, but I've found them a nice refresher on things which I had studied back in high school and college. (Minor annoyance: I bought the first three and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea in hardcover, but I inadvertently ordered the last two in paperback, so they won't match the other on a bookshelf. Oh well. I'm trying to tell myself that the content of the books is more important.)

Then, in my nostalgic "remembering Seth" mood, I decided to check out the other book he had mentioned, The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It looked pretty interesting so I ordered it on Kindle.

Finally, a couple of hours ago, I put in an order for the highly acclaimed Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J. D. Vance. Supposedly it helps us understand Trump voters, but I think it sounds worthwhile in its own right.


Trump

Speaking of Trump, he continues to astonish. Every now and then, there is some small event that suggests he's beginning to understand the job of President. His speech to Congress was, apart from the digs at Obama, actually presidential-sounding. It could have been given by a moderate Republican or Democrat, as some commentators have pointed out. But the comes the accusation that Obama wiretapped him. While it is conceivable that Obama could have ordered the FBI or NSA to seek a warrant for such a wiretap, given the denials that were immediately forthcoming it seems unlikely. On the other hand, it seems to go almost without saying that we were spying on the Russians, and if Trump's people were in touch with them, they probably would have showed up.

For Trump to say publicly that he didn't believe the Director of the FBI is shocking. It was also astonishing to hear that he was furious with Jeff Sessions for — properly — recusing himself from any investigation of Russian involvement in the campaigns.

All in all, it seems that he still thinks he should be running everything. He seems to believe what he wants to believe, regardless of the evidence. My hope, and expectation, is that his cabinet and the Republicans in Congress will refuse to let him get away with anything truly unconstitutional and talk him out of anything really unwise. But we should also bear in mind that he was elected on the basis of his campaign promises, so he's entitled to at least try to fulfill those promises.