Goal for Sunday? Dim-sum for lunch in Chinatown, of which the long walk/jog jaunt through the new student orientation at Harvard University and across Cambridge proved too long to arrive in time. We enjoyed Korean kimchi and shabu shabu instead (!!!).I happily watched an old, wrinkled, thin black man (missing all his front teeth) sing the blues and play harmonica in Harvard Square while I laid in the grass and enjoyed kids dancing. It turns out he is Silas Hubbard Jr, a classic in the Memphis and Harvard communities. Back-up? David Johnston, acoustic guitar, a likewise loved artist from the former One Thin Dime.
Harvard Square (meaning more like a region in Harvard, not an actual plaza) is prime real estate for people-watching. It is especially joyful because everyone here is truly enjoying themselves and content. I have greatly enjoyed watching parents play with their children. The people are homogenous in a new way; the races and nationalities are extremely diverse, but everyone seems to wear the same style of semi-casual, nice, clean-cut clothes. I think I've seen two hippies and one redneck out of thousands. It feels surreal.
On Sundays Memorial Drive is closed to cars, and throngs of families weave through each other as they enjoy the rich green landscape and the scenic Charles River. I stopped for a lemonade, and for $2 two teens used Pellegrino water, freshly picked mint, strawberries, raspberries, and hand-squeezed lemon. What a treat! They'd just moved from Chicago because of their father's job, and were not selling lemonade to make money - they were simply bored. What a show!
The late afternoon was spent racing around Fresh Pond Lake, a lush escape from the cute town and tourism. I biked a little too fast in the mud puddles, and still need a shower before bed at 2 am... :) Good thing the sheets are dark red!
(And dessert was the ever-delectable Finale chocolate (torte?... something amazing.))
I'm suffering deeply.
