June 28, 2003 Saturday

We attended a wedding party for Kristen Graves (former tenant at 52 Kinnaird) and Lien Tung at their house in North Cambridge.

Sunday June 29, 2003 Roadrace and Shulman Party

The New Charles River 5K  and 5 mile race.

The guy to my left appears to be running. In fact, he is a race walker. I kept pace with him for the first mile. By the three mile marker, I couldn’t see him. He finished 3 minutes ahead of me across the finish line.

That’s me closing in on the finish line [the finish line photo was in an old now defunct format – so lost]. A disappointing 37 minutes, barely under 12 minutes per mile pace.

BTW: After the race was over, the race walker came over and we chatted. He had heart bypass surgery a year ago.

(Thanks for the photos to the official Mr. Wonderful Sports Photographer, Ms. Karen.)

>We also went to a luncheon given by Hank and Flo Shulman in honor of the son Brian and new daughter-in-law Tracy.

Goldie Barman

Mariachi Band

Monday June 30, 2003

Boston Harbor Cruise sponsored by the Cambridge police department for the Riverside and Cambridgeport neighborhoods.

Talked with Anne Williamson, a neighbor and compatriot from the old RCCC days and other community matters.

Tuesday July 1, 2003

Went to see Dr. Jim Umlas today. Looks like I have some floaters. To my surprise he found floaters that i had not noticed in my left eye as well as the new one in my right

“FLOATERS

Seeing floaters (spots) before one or both eyes is a frequent adult complaint. Floaters are usually most noticeable against a white homogeneous background and seem to move slowly when the eye is still. Floaters maintain their relative position in the visual field with eye movement. They result from contraction of the vitreous gel and its separation from the surface of the retina (posterior vitreous detachment). This leads to macroscopic opaque aggregates of vitreous fibers, which can be seen floating in the vitreous. Since the vitreous gel is denser where it attaches to the optic nerve, floaters are usually more apparent in this area. Although floaters usually are without significance, in a few patients they may indicate a tear in the retina. They are more prevalent in highly myopic and older persons and tend to become less noticeable with time.”

from THE MERCK MANUAL, Sec. 8, Ch. 90, Approach To The Patient With Eye Disease

image borrowed without permission from www.lensconsultants.com/_images_us/020602.jpg   information downloaded Tuesday, July 22, 2003 9:25:24

Thursday July 3, 2003

Trip to NYC for a long Fourth of July Weekend

We left Cambridge by 8:30 or so and arrived in NYC, the Chelsea neighborhood first, in time for lunch at a tavern’s noisy back yard. All was ok because I took my bowl of chili with Guiness.

We stopped at a number of galleries, but we found our return to InCamera to be the most rewarding.

InCamera Gallery
511 West 25th Street, Suite 401
New York, New York 10001
Phone: 212 647 766

The current exhibition is a group show. One of the owners of InCamera, David Monaco, took an inordinate amount of time showing us lots of photos in his portfolio of artists.

photo above by David Stewart – From the Fogeys series

Friday July 4, 2003

We visited with the New York crowd, Andrea, John, Noah, Nyla and the extended family (more on them below).

We went to a pool party at John and Jeanette’s (147th St & Malcolm X Blvd). Little did we know that these are real partying pros.

Karen bouncing Nyla

Noah

Nyla

Karen with Nyla

By the time a couple of hours had passed, we had enlarged our territory to four table from our original two. And, we were still there until the clean up crew began to sweep us towards the gates. 

Saturday July 5, 2003

On Friday and Saturday mornings, I took advantage of the running path around the Reservoir in Central Park. Nice packed dirt surface. Most everyone runs in the same direction around the 1.6 mile circumference.

(picture appropriated from http://www.centralpark2000.com/touring/runners_bikers_skaters/reservoir_tracks.htm)

(After my run Friday morning, I found our way north through the park, skirting the tennis courts and stumbling through a ravine and under two bridges of very different construction to the Harlem Meer and the edge of the park. A mini-adventure.)

No trip to the city would be considered without visits to museums.

We spent part of Saturday at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Karen found the National Design Triennial stimulating.

At the Whitney, we focused on three exhibits:

Pictures from Within: American Photographs, 1958–2003; 

The American Effect; 

and Elie Nadelman: Sculptor of Modern Life

Sarah Sze’s “The Triple Point of Water” in the courtyard at the Whitney

The American Effect is a large show of artwork from around the world that focuses on reflections, influences, and commentary on America. Only a few pieces really revealed how engrained American images and ideas are throughout the world. Most of the work was much more straightforward commentary. An interesting phenomenon in the exhibition is the presence of so much video/computer-based art. I found this off-putting because I was not mentally prepared to put on headphones and settle down for a while to see a video or interact with a computer. Thus an awful lot of the exhibition was missed by me.

Monday July 7, 2003

Here is friend Linda at her new Apple eMac.

More lessons about surfing the web to follow.

After many year’s of using old machines and suffering the breakdowns, this is her first brand-new, out-if-the-box computer.

Wednesday July 9, 2003

Karen’s birthday – after the party

Thursday July 10, 2003

A favorite with Law  & Order

Saturday July 12, 2003

Arnold returns!

Sunday July 13, 2003

A smoke stop in one of my favorite parks in Cambridge, Cpl Burns on Flagg St.

What is not visible here?

To the left of the path at rear of picture, two basketball courts where some of the best round ball around is played. On the right of the path at rear of picture, several panel trucks and a couple of SUVs with noisy rap music and people hanging out. To the left at about where the father is helping the tricyclist, is a street hockey court. To the immediate left, is a large playground with a couple of water spritzers and little children screaming as they run through the water sprays.

I walk up this path from the river after each run along the Charles. I enjoy it every time.

Harvard is finishing up new student housing across the river at Western Ave. I have been troubled from the beginning and now as it comes to completion i am struggling to find good things to say. I will return later with a little photo essay and you can decide for yourself.

Monday July 14, 2003

A visit to Dr. Wolpow, neurologist.

I paid a visit to my neurologist today. He gave me a little lecture about how we lack appropriate mental models for the pace and process of peripheral nervous system repairs. He said the good news is that the nerves damaged in the Lyme attack two years ago are alive, but that recovery could take 2 to 3 more years assuming that recovery continues…. so I guess I have to keep my consumption of Scotch dwon to once a week. As Mother used to say in such states, “What a bore!”.

Construction at 217 Western Ave continues. Controversy over disruption of neighbors side yard seem to be resolved with new fence and promises of landscaping when the project is finished.