In the cover photo on the post from our first stop of this year’s grand tour (at the Bates College Class of 1976 50th Reunion), the gentleman on my immediate left is my friend Fred. Fred also appeared in a photo or two in the 40th Reunion post (though if you click that link, be aware that this blog was just a few weeks old back then and I had not reached full verbosity as a raconteur).
Fred has long been proactive about staying in touch. He came to see Sue and me in Troy when we moved there. He soon introduced us to his lovely fiancée Barbara, and we attended their wedding not long thereafter. When we lived near Hartford, Sue’s official office was in Boston. She went to the office rarely but regularly, so she got together there a few times with Fred and Barbara because, well, that’s where they lived. And now they live in Truro, MA.
Fred invited us to visit, way out at the wrist of Cape Cod, so we headed for the outer Cape – past the elbow and up the forearm, right near that place kind of below your thumb where you can feel your pulse. The drive was fine – very little traffic and exceptionally scenic. We set ourselves up in Fred and Barbara’s driveway as their temporary neighbors. Buster, the Resident Canine, evidently approved and accepted us – as soon as I learned to operate the tennis-ball launcher – and we settled into a very peaceful, relaxing, and stimulating sojourn with our good friends. Conversations with Fred and Barbara are wide-ranging, interesting, and fun.
The weather, too, was fine when we arrived – perfect for a beach walk with Buster, and not so windy as to preclude further conversations and discussions on the way, catching views across the bay to Provincetown, where we had reservations for dinner. The next day the wind picked up again (sub-tropical storm Josephine was threatening, I learned later). After coffee and the newspapers (real printed newspapers!), each of us went off to take care of things we had to get done. When we were ready, Fred, Sue and I took a b-r-r-risk walking tour of Provincetown while Barbara finished up her volunteer work, then we all returned to the house for an afternoon and evening of more conversations, discussions, and stories (and being trained by Buster to play Toss the Skeleton). What a pleasure it was to join this household for our brief visit!
More Truro and P’town photos are here in this flickr album.
