#25 Boston - The Banshees of Faneuil Hall - November 25 2005

The word banshee stems from the Irish Bean Si ("fairy woman), meaning a weeping harbinger of death. Generally they have very long, flowing hair and wear green dresses with grey cloaks. Their eyes are bright red because of their continuous weeping. Long ago, when someone in an Irish village would die, a woman would sing a traditional lament or modern Irish caoinadh (pronounced keenah) at the funeral. These singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners." Traditionally, some Irish families had a fairy woman associated with them, who would make an appearance after a death in the family to sing this lament. These days the term "like a banshee" is applied to those contemporaries who revel in expressing their emotions a bit too excessively - screaming, hollering, that kind of stuff.
Now the banshees at Faneuil Hall, mind you, were more of the passive-aggressive kind, mumbling curses under their breath and giving you the evil eye. These keeners (who were not wearing grey cloaks, but seemed to be members of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Brigades) seemed to harbor murderous thoughts toward our group of Boston Cares ushers at Faneuil Hall, since we were the "new" kids on the block, and of course, could not compete with their wealth of experience in having ushered at Faneuil Hall for the past 13 years or longer. Plus, it can of course not be appropriate at all for any of us to stand in the exact same spot where they usually perform their impressive ushering duties. Nooooooo! We were punished for this (and other) infractions by getting dirty looks, and receiving serious reprimands and public castigation!! They showed us, ha!

Ellen, Patrick, Dara and I decided to be fairly unimpressed by all this, retreated to our seats eventually and did enjoy the concert, though - just in case - we kept looking over our shoulders, making sure the banshees did not gang up on us behind our backs. The event of choice this time was our old favorite, the Boston Classical Orchestra (http://www.bostonclassicalorchestra.org/), this time with a supreme program, which included J.C.Bach (the youngest of Bach's composing sons), Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus. This concert made it absolutely clear why Mozart was such a superstar at the time (and still is) - the difference between him and the other two composers (who were not too shabby either) was striking to me and the Sinfonia Concertante (many of you might know if from the "Amadeus" soundtrack) was superbly performed by Grammy Award-nominated violist Kim Kashkashian and New England Conservatory faculty violinist Lucy Chapman Stoltzman. The audience leapt to their feet at the end of this performance, and boy did the orchestra deserve it! Bravo!!
The Cooleys and I then toodled over to Quincy Market and the Rustic Kitchen (http://www.rustickitchen.biz/), a slightly pricey, but pretty amenable dinner place, right in the heart of Boston's tourist trap area. They call themselves a "a lively and classic Italian-Mediterranean bistro" and I have to give them kudos for a well-prepared and enjoyable meal.

The evening prior I attended a play - Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor", performed by "Theater First", a Somerville-based community theater project. This is probably Shakespeare's most accessible play, even though I learned that in the Elizabethan era this play lasted about 5 hours, and going to the theater was an all-day event in those days. The story centers around two very lively, but faithful Windsor wives, who decide to teach the philandering Count Falstaff a lesson in how to behave, and to demonstrate to at least one of their husbands that jealousy is not something to be proud of and come to think of it, quite ridiculous. As you might imagine, the language during Shakespearean times was quite different - to cony-catch is to cheat; a cuckold is a man whose wife is unfaithful; if you are frampold, you are old and disagreeable; froth and lime means to dilute drinks; marry trap means to shut up; a sack is a wine from Spain; a tire was a headdress from Venice, and sluts and sluttery meant disorder and squalor. Some words I certainly had never heard off - an Antropophaginan is a cannibal, a booly rook an affectionate insult, a gallimaufry is a stew, a latten bilbo is a wobbly sword, mumbudget a children's game and oeillades are meaningful looks. "Still Swine Eat All the Draff" meant that it is "the quiet ones who make all the trouble." It was a most enjoyable evening, and the stellar cast, which included my friend and colleague Renee, definitely deserved a big hand!!!

Two big things happened this week, and my friend Stephanie was involved in both of them (Thanks Steph!). On Tuesday I had my toe surgery - both big toes were operated on, taking care of my longstanding problems with my toenails, and now my poppers are all bandaged up, I am wearing heavyweight wool socks and very swish surgical shoes. I am stylin! Stephanie, the good woman, picked me up after the procedure and put my dazed self on a sofa chair at home with a cup of tea, and the TV ready to play many many many movies. I have had a couple of rough nights this week, but am now on the mend. The doc promised that I would be ready to go running in about a week - I for one look forward to get my antsy and restless self out of the house as soon as possible. Event #2 of course was Thanksgiving, which I spend with Stephanie and her extended family in Norfolk, Mass, located about 45 minutes from Boston in an upper valley of the Charles River. It was originally settled in 1669, but only became a town in 1870, when it finally decided to break away from Wrentham and other communities and do its own thing (http://www.virtualnorfolk.org). We spend a most lovely evening with good food (as it should be on Thanksgiving) and in the likeable company of the Ryans (hosts), the Coopers (Steph and Dan, shuttle drivers) and Cunninghams (Go Bruce!). Thanks to Zak Ryan for teaching me how to bead and to Miss Daisy Ryan for just being her cute self!

Another little dusting with snow and a lovely temperature of 25 degrees F (4 degr Celsius) made it clear that winter is open for business here in New England and that it is time to stock up on supplies to make hot chocolates and hot toddies (http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink4355.html).

My friends, be well and enjoy the pre-Christmas frenzy that is heading our way!

pet:)

#24 Boston - Just like Rocky Balboa - November 19 05

Yes, my friends, that is exactly what I did - I ran up the stairs of the Art Museum in Philadelphia just like Silvester Stallone in Rocky, and let me emphasize to you that there are very many of those steps. I tried to not look too ridiculous and throw my hands up in the air Sly-style, but decided to content myself with a big grin instead. The hard part is to get the darn stupid music out of your head for the next few days any time any one mentions the word Art Museum, but there you go..... (http://www.jellesen.dk/webcrea/places/america/web/pam.html).


This was the first of many highlights of my trip to the City of Brotherly Love, which I have to say, surprised me in more ways than one - Philadelphia is a perfect combination of Boston and New York City - the historical, traditional bit on the Boston side, and the cosmopolitan, gourmet-food, jazz-club avant-garde style of the Big Apple. Elfreth's Alley to start with: a cute quaint, cobblestone street, reminiscent of Boston's Beacon Hill - it has the claim to be the nation's oldest residential street (http://www.elfrethsalley.org/) and is cozily nestled in Philly's historical Old City neighborhood. Jeremiah Elfreth, a blacksmith, built his first house here in 1713. He eventually became the largest property owner in the area, and rented many of the homes to sea captains, shipwrights and Colonial artisans, including pewter smiths and furniture makers. Other must-sees in the Old City neighborhood include the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall (http://www.nps.gov/inde/home.htm), where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were created. The Liberty Bell (http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_bell.htm) was originally designed to be the bell of choice for the Pennsylvania State House, and cast in London, UK at the White Chapel Foundry. As most of you know, the bell cracked pretty much the minute it arrived in Philadelphia. A new bell was cast in 1753 by local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow using the metal from the English bell. Almost a hundred years later this second bell started to develop a crack which affected its sound (not in a good way), and since George Washington's Birthday was coming up, and the bell needed to be in top shape for the celebrations, repairs were made, but you know how it is - a few hours into the whole shindig, the bell really cracked and that was the end of that. It has not been rung since. With a weight of 2080 pounds the bell is quite impressive in its physical appearance, but even more so as it has been a symbol for the power of liberty over the past 200 years. Its inscription reads "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof". In 1776 the bell announced the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It has also been a symbol for the suffragists movement (http://www.suffragist.com/), the anti-slavery and civil rights movements, and has inspired authors, poets, musicians and politicians alike (http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/quotes.html), most notably HRH Moore's sonnet: "Ring loud that hallowed Bell! Ring it long, ring it long; Through the wide world let it tell ;That Freedom's strong..... Ring it, till the slave be free, Wherever chained, wherever chained; Till Universal Liberty, For aye be gained..........". For those of you who are not into the history kinda stuff, how about "If I had a hammer" by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger? "If I had a bell - I'd ring it in the morning- I'd ring it in the evening ... all over this land, - I'd ring out danger -I'd ring out a warning -I'd ring out love between all of my brothers and my sisters - All over this land.... It's a bell of freedom......."

Heading over to the Christ Church Burying Ground http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_christb.htm. one can visit the grave of Benjamin Franklin and his wife Deborah. Franklin was the quintessential Jack of all Trades, not just one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, but also a printer, author, scientist, postmaster, inventor, and diplomat. He was quite revered by his fellow Philadelphians and apparently more than 20,000 mourners attended his funeral. He not only loved his wife, but also was very fond of beer (he is the author of the quote: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"), so he send a beer mug to good old Deborah with the following inscription: "I fell in love with it at first sight for I thought it look'd like a fat jolly dame, clean and tidy, with a neat blue and white calico gown on, good natur'd and lovely, and put me in mind of - Somebody". That my friends, is dating, Benjamin Franklin style!

Enough history!! Philadelphia offers many modern day distractions, fabulous museums, art, sculptures everywhere including the famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture in John F Kennedy Plaza -http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2004-09-indiana-LOVE.html.

The food is fantastic in this town! And I am not just talking the Philly Cheese Steaks (http://philadelphia.about.com/library/howto/htmakeacheesesteak.htm) and (the very delectable) Philadelphia Soft Pretzels (http://www.bg-map.com/foods.html). Restaurant highlights included Ly Michael's on North 11th Street, with spectacular Asian Fusion Cuisine, and Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street - a lovely upscale Jazz Bar with gourmet soul food, that will knock your socks off (http://www.zanzibarblue.com/).

The most amazing experience in Philadelphia was a visit to the BodyWorlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute Science Museum - by far the most stunning exhibit I have ever seen (http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/ausstellung_usa.asp). A very controversial show when it first premiered in Europe, this exhibit features real human bodies to " reveal the complexities and individuality of the body that simply can't be shown on conventional models." I now it might sound strange or morbid to imagine that you see real human bodies, but through a process called plastination it is tastefully and aesthetically done, and shows the human body in stunning beauty and perfect function. You must see this!!

Just like Boston, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania definitely have a flair for adorning restaurants and businesses with strange names - best finds were: "Rotten Ralph's" on Chestnut Street, the "Funk-O-Mart" on Market Street, and the "Dosie Dough" Bakery in Lancaster, PA. While we're at it, let's move on to rural Pennsylvania, home of the famous Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located right between Blue Ball and Paradise. (http://www.800padutch.com/intercs.shtml). Also in the area is "Bird in Hand" (I am not making this up!!) (http://www.padutch.com/bih.shtml) and Smoketown.

I had spent the weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit my mom's cousin Louise and her husband Carl. Located in Amish Country or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, this is a lovely area, and with prime fall foliage in full swing, it was a wonderful time to visit. Carl and I started the weekend off with a very gratifying 5-mile run in Lancaster County Park (http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/parks/site/default.asp) along the Conestoga River, up some very substantial hills, through one of the county's many covered bridges, and past beautiful Rockford Plantation http://www.rockfordplantation.org/), which was built in 1794. A visit to Lancaster's fabulous Central Market at Penn Square was next(http://www.lancasterpa.net/photo_tour/historic_buildings/central_market.htm) - the country's oldest publicly-owned, continuously-operated farmers market, followed by a delicious meal at the Walnut Street Grille of the Lancaster Brewing Company (http://www.lancasterbrewing.com/home.html). Located in a former tobacco factory, this was a mighty cool place, with some very good brews (Amish Four Grain, Milk Stout and Hop Hog IPA) and very nice pub grub. A drive across Amish country revealed beautiful landscapes and open farmlands, and maybe a brief glimpse of Amish culture. http://www.800padutch.com/.

After a so-far quite unexpectedly warm November, the East Coast has now officially declared winter - starting out with balmy 70 degree temperatures earlier this week, Philadelphia turned into Chilly Philly over night, with a drop to 30 degrees and Boston of course has followed suit and forced everyone to get their winter wear out of the closets. The sun is out, but don't let that fool you, it is nippy!

My friends, I hope this email finds you all well, and you are enjoying a lovely weekend. I will leave you with a quote about Philadelphia (which is not known to be the safest city around) from former police chief and mayor Frank Rizzo: "The streets are safe in Philadelphia. It's only the people who make them unsafe."

Until then!

pet:)

#23 Boston - You Chuck It And It Comes Right At You - November 10 05

If you guessed "boomerang" and not "vomit" (like some people), you did guess right, and you would be able to qualify for the Waterville Games Club, a recently formed institution, which requires you to think quick on your feet (even after two to three beers or several bottles of Smirnoff Ice). If you can identify the word "scorpion" from the description "an insect with something on its butt that can hurt" you are even more of a contender, and if you scream "voodoo doll" as a response to "you know, your office colleagues that you don't like", you will be immediately admitted to the VIP section of the group!! This is what hiking will do to you - after three to four hours of scrambling up hills in the White Mountains it was time to exercise the mind - and with a couple of brewskies behind us, there was no holding back at either "Taboo" or "Guesstures".

Denise, Rick, Will, Phoebe (the dog) and myself hoofed it up this past weekend to the White Mountains and Waterville Valley - the weather had promised to behave, and did so mostly over the course of our stay.

On Saturday, our choice of adventure came in form of a nice hike up Mount Pemigewasset, also known as "Indian Head" - a moderately high peak with great views (in the big bang for your buck category). Pemigewasset means "rapidly flowing", aptly named after the Pemigewasset River nearby. (http://hikethewhites.com/gargale/pemi_pan.jpg).



It was a most luminous day with temperatures in the mid 60s, guys were taking their shirts off - what can I say - everyone was happy! Despite the fact that we are past prime foliage time, we enjoyed the scenery (see enclosed pictures) and as most of you know -a lunch just tastes better on top of a mountain!!

Sunday, the weather flaked out a bit on us, gray sky kind of stuff, but the temperatures decided to stay civil, and after our initial attempt to hike up the East Pond Trail near Mt Osceola was thwarted (the storm of the previous week had knocked down trees and made access to the aforementioned pond impossible), we decided to leg it over to Lawrence Road in the Valley, and then up the Goodrich Rock Trail. This is a pretty cool trail, amigos - fairly moderate in its approach, it ends with tons of granite boulders to squeeze through and climb over, including a 30-foot ladder up to Goodrich Rock itself. Not for the faint of heart, as they say, and Phoebe, our canine companion was extremely disappointed as she was not able to climb up there and share the view with us. She then decided to embark on some serious howling expressing her displeasure over those wretched humans who abandoned her at the base of the rock. We (actually I) got back into her good grace by offering a colossal-size dog cookie in the shape of a moose, and all was well in doggie land.

Since returning to the Boston metro area, there has been a whirlwind of activities - starting off with Monday, and some volunteer work for the Boston Jewish Film Festival at the Coolidge Corner Theater. Coolidge Corner is a pretty neat area in the lovely town of Brookline, with loads of restaurants, cool little stores and other places of entertainment. I was the hander-outer of polls for a documentary called "Frozen Angels", which discussed all kinds of reproductive issues, IVF, surrogate mothers etc. I would have rated it ok, so-so, some interesting parts to it - I think directors Erik Black and Frauke Sandig wanted to create some dark undertones to it, so the actual documentary was interspersed with Bladerunner-style night scenes from Los Angeles. Just did not work for me.

Continuing on with the cultural stuff, I assumed my volunteer ushering duties with Boston Cares, this time at the Huntington Theatre for the play "The Sisters Rosensweig" (http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=1320&src=t). Written by Tony Award- and Pulitzer-price winning author Wendy Wasserstein, this was excellent entertainment - a witty and clever tale about one evening in the lives of thee very different sisters. Love, romance, sisterhood, family, careers, childhood, idealism - all neatly packed into a very delectable play adorned with the Huntington's mastership of stage design.

Yesterday the MGH Running Club was once again out on the streets and lived up to its tough reputation by running in any weather (rain this time) and by applying the same enthusiasm to the ordering of some fine beers at The Hill Tavern, our watering hole of choice.

I completely spaced last week that I was going to mention again the best Halloween Party on Earth, taking place all over the usually more sedate Beacon Hill. My friend Melissa and I strolled along ghastly-ghostly decorated homes, admired the most precious trick-or-treaters (human and canine alike), and just like all the other gawking spectators could not help it but try to get a glance of Theresa Heinz at the Kerry residence (which we did).

I am heading home now, ready to pack my suitcase for a business trip to Philadelphia, which I am fortunately able to combine with a trip to see family in Lancaster, PA.

See ya soon!!

pet:)

#22 Boston - IKEA is coming!! November 4 05

Isn't that the biggest news since the Red Sox won the World Series!!! Everyone in Boston and I am sure all across the Commonwealth is in a state of excitement and anticipation - the Swedish furniture giant is opening a store in Stoughton, Mass and I hear that there is a guy who is camped out in front of the store already so that he can cash in on the $5000 handed to the first customer there. He might have to buy a 1000-pack of tea candles to prove that he is indeed a customer, but I am sure he can handle it. Stoughton, I learned, is only about 20 minutes from here (until recently we had to drive to Connecticut for cheap furniture), and plans are in the works for a little retail session with some of my girlfriends.

This is coming in particularly handy as I am currently in the process of looking for a property to buy - a condominium that is, and despite the fact that the housing prices are indeed taking a nose dive, I am still facing the conundrum of either purchasing a postage-size apartment in the area of choice or a bigger space in those faraway places like Cambridge or Charlestown. My realtor, Larry, is a patient man, and I like him all the better for it (his claim to fame: He used to be a limo driver for Donald Trump). While he knows that I generally favor older apartments with some character, he dragged me (God knows why) to Charlestown last night to visit Parris Landing (http://www.parrislanding.com/gallery.php). Well - something landed there, and believe you me, it ain't Paris or Parris (whatever or whoever that may be). The building is a design of renowned architect Philippe Starck (http://www.philippe-starck.com/) and my first impression was "museum meets insane asylum", and I kept waiting for Nurse Ratched to show up in one of her starched outfits. The lady from the sales office did her best to advertise the "charms" of the place, but I think even she sensed that I was a lost cause.

All this looking for a new pad added of course to the stress of the week, which was filled with errands that had to with my name change and I can happily report that it is taken care of: I am now no longer Chinese, can all myself Petra Loesch again and I am quite happy about it. Oh yeah, and I had to work, too! I have to say one thing though about all the different "official places" such as the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Department, Suffolk County Court House here in Boston - they are great! No lines, in-and-out in 10 minutes, and friendly staff!! Quite the opposite experience from what happens in California - maybe I should write a little thank-you note to Mr. Menino (our mayor, also known as "mumbles" because you cannot understand a word he is saying - http://www.cityofboston.gov/mayor/default.asp).

Recapping the past weekend - I attended the wedding of my friends Ellen and Patrick, who are fellow Boston Cares friends, and parents of Oscar's cousin Marge. The wedding took place in Sturbridge , located about one hour west of Boston and famous for Old Sturbridge Village (http://www.osv.org/ ), a 19th century community complete with houses, shops, meeting houses and cider mill. We did not spend too much time there but pretty much hoofed it immediately to the tavern for the wedding celebrations. It was a lovely event and featured a quite cool Dixie band that got everyone dancing like a rag on a stick. Ellen was an absolutely beautiful bride, Patrick looked dashing and deliriously happy. The newlyweds are currently vacationing in Italy while Marge has shacked up with us, and she and Oscar are still figuring out all that territorial alpha-male/female stuff.

After that dippy little snow episode last weekend, the weather has calmed down a bit and we have enjoyed beautiful fall weather here in Boston (finally!) - I am heading up to Waterville Valley again tonight for some serious hiking (there is snow at about 3000 feet, so who knows what will happen.....). Next week is promising to be quite crazy with events almost every night and a flight to Pennsylvania on Friday, but more on that later.

My friends, have a great weekend, be nice to your friends, and even nicer to your families!!

pet:)