This will be a real postcard, without the photo on the other side.
Dear non-farmers,
I set out to pick beans this afternoon from the most beautiful plants of the year -- called Benjamin to join me but had to leave a message. There was no one else on the farm to share the fun until I remembered my mother was probably home, about to take a nap after a long morning at market. I called her and told her about the opportunity, and we had a lovely two hours in the sun, picking the most perfectly virginal beans ever, and getting all caught up on the various stories that we never get to tell. I barely ever see my mother by myself, we are always in a group. It was perfect. I learned about her plans to get her knees replaced, she learned about the things that I am surprised are hard this summer. It was a classic bean patch conversation, and memorable. As I always say, everyone should have a bean patch.
Love, Hana
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
And One Was Jonny...Who Lived By Himself
Not quite, but that's the feeling on the Monday after the last week or so of ever increasing numbers of relatives arriving from far and wide. At this moment, there is a carload of Newcombs rolling across Kansas (I am guessing, although if I were Charles I would know exactly where they are because he is always monitoring the whereabouts of those who let him), heading for Denver. And another carload of Newcombs rolling up the New Jersey Turnpike heading for Boston. And in the last 24 hours there have been multiple airplanes heading to Boston, carrying smaller numbers of Newcombs.
Just as I suspected, our lack of planning -- except for food and venue -- did not turn out to be a problem. Activities spontaneously arose, and Anna and Gordon had prepared for a few cooking projects, which were successfully executed. We ate all the bread that was baked throughout the day but there are boxes and boxes of peach/ginger jam and blackberry jam and blackberry/peach jam. Well, I didn't help at all with that, but I think those are the varieties that were boiled up and sealed.
We officially started the reunion with a big group dinner on Friday night, and ended this morning with smaller group breakfasts. Plenty of eating and cooking and cleaning up. All very jolly, as Sarah Newcomb would say.
The spontaneous activities might have been the most memorable, in the end. Benjamin recently decided that he wanted to turn his nice head of hair into dreadlocks. So the cousins did not quite enough research and started in on the project. It ended up taking 40 cousin hours, all on Saturday. All day long, they sat in a huddle around Benjamin's head, taking small tails of long hair and braiding/back-combing/teasing it. They took turns, some lasting longer than others. They watched lots of movies. They bonded. Some of the hair dressers got actual blisters on their fingers. And they all said they would never do that again, although they also agreed it was a good task for a group. It was fun to see all those second cousins piled together, working and laughing and talking.
The younger cousins were very intrigued by the golf carts and after a few staid lessons they were were allowed to drive all around the farm by themselves. It was a Saturday, thank goodness, so there were no actual work needs for the golf carts. All the workers were at market, no one was in the fields. So for a good part of the day, there were youngsters careening around on the farm roads.
While they were out picking blackberries, Nancy, Carrie's youngest, asked enough questions that it became clear that she really had no idea about the farm and Blueberry Hill and how it all fits together. So Anna said we should be sure to tell that story. Then I decided it would be even more useful for us to tell our story to each other, like at Passover, the origin story. So before lunch we made everyone gather around one big table and listen and we told the story of our grandparents and how they met and on up the line. Sarah Newcomb started, Anna picked it up, I added more, and then Mom told the story of meeting our dad, along with some other interesting sidelines. The kids were polite and listening quietly. Next time others can pick up the tale and tell about their own branches of the tree. We only stayed on the main trunk.
Oh yes, at the very beginning of the day we each got up and introduced ourselves and showed where we fit on the nice tree that SN had made and kept up to date. And we put on our new Newcomb Reunion T-shirts and went outside to take the group picture before getting our shirts all dirty. Indeed, by the end of the day we were all rather stained and rumpled.
We were surprised to note that Michael (Anna's youngest) and Robby (Owen's oldest) looked remarkably similar. From the back it was hard to tell them apart. Throughout the day, various people mistook them for each other. Once when everyone was piled on the couch watching a Bourne movie, Anna jumped back when she realized she had been playing with Robby's hair. Michael was sitting on a different couch. Robby said he had been wondering what was going on.
Because we were all in the Common House most of the day, almost everyone had a chance to wander off and take a nap at some point. I saw cousins napping on couches throughout the day. It was perfect. The youngest one, who is four, had more needs for roaming and activity and he took his nap in a quieter house.
Anna had posted a non-linear cloud of suggestions of what we might do all day, and we got through almost all of them. We didn't sew but we did everything else. By late afternoon the eight first cousins were all in the same space so we got started on singing. As the years go by we lose more of the lyrics and some of the harmonies, but we all know so many songs by heart, from singing together for over ten years, summer after summer. We sang our favorites (we finally realized we only have SAB, no T, never have), sometimes more than once. Sto Mi E Milo remains the crowd favorite, followed closely by Down On My Knees (which Anna finally noticed is really religious) and Though Philomela Lost Her Love... Next time, if we can get our acts together, we will try to learn a new song. Our voices have always blended nicely since we come from the same gene pool. After an hour or so, we started to run out of voice and repertoire, and Jon had dinner all ready for us, so it was time to eat again.
It is always hard to anticipate how much effort it takes to feed 35 people, especially over several meals. We do it ourselves, and it reminds us what caterers do for a living -- lots of cleaning up afterwards. Luckily Alissa and Anna and Gordon and Jon stayed on top of the cooking, and many of us are good at cleaning. Alissa made a different peach dessert every night of the week, Anna and Gordon kept us well supplied with sandwich material, Jon sweated at the grill and cooked up great hamburgers provided by Lani's neighbor.
Last night I was supposed to be at choir rehearsal at 7 PM but I sent the director a note saying I would be late as we had not yet wrapped up the reunion. While an energetic group went out contra dancing, others of us stayed behind and cleaned up after dinner and sat down for a quick debrief -- what did we like, what will we do next time, what should we make sure to do again. And then I went off to choir and tried really hard to stay awake.
I don't have any of the photos, but when I get one, I will add it to this post. There was a great deal of documentation, including Sarah's lifelong habit of video recording, which we all take for granted. She is the keeper of the family archives. If we had been more organized, we would have made sure to have a working projector on site. But we did that at the last reunion, so it's not like we haven't seen the films lately of Grandpa and Grandma canoeing in the flood below Glen Echo in the 1930s. We will see them again.
All very jolly.
Just as I suspected, our lack of planning -- except for food and venue -- did not turn out to be a problem. Activities spontaneously arose, and Anna and Gordon had prepared for a few cooking projects, which were successfully executed. We ate all the bread that was baked throughout the day but there are boxes and boxes of peach/ginger jam and blackberry jam and blackberry/peach jam. Well, I didn't help at all with that, but I think those are the varieties that were boiled up and sealed.
We officially started the reunion with a big group dinner on Friday night, and ended this morning with smaller group breakfasts. Plenty of eating and cooking and cleaning up. All very jolly, as Sarah Newcomb would say.
The spontaneous activities might have been the most memorable, in the end. Benjamin recently decided that he wanted to turn his nice head of hair into dreadlocks. So the cousins did not quite enough research and started in on the project. It ended up taking 40 cousin hours, all on Saturday. All day long, they sat in a huddle around Benjamin's head, taking small tails of long hair and braiding/back-combing/teasing it. They took turns, some lasting longer than others. They watched lots of movies. They bonded. Some of the hair dressers got actual blisters on their fingers. And they all said they would never do that again, although they also agreed it was a good task for a group. It was fun to see all those second cousins piled together, working and laughing and talking.
The younger cousins were very intrigued by the golf carts and after a few staid lessons they were were allowed to drive all around the farm by themselves. It was a Saturday, thank goodness, so there were no actual work needs for the golf carts. All the workers were at market, no one was in the fields. So for a good part of the day, there were youngsters careening around on the farm roads.
While they were out picking blackberries, Nancy, Carrie's youngest, asked enough questions that it became clear that she really had no idea about the farm and Blueberry Hill and how it all fits together. So Anna said we should be sure to tell that story. Then I decided it would be even more useful for us to tell our story to each other, like at Passover, the origin story. So before lunch we made everyone gather around one big table and listen and we told the story of our grandparents and how they met and on up the line. Sarah Newcomb started, Anna picked it up, I added more, and then Mom told the story of meeting our dad, along with some other interesting sidelines. The kids were polite and listening quietly. Next time others can pick up the tale and tell about their own branches of the tree. We only stayed on the main trunk.
Oh yes, at the very beginning of the day we each got up and introduced ourselves and showed where we fit on the nice tree that SN had made and kept up to date. And we put on our new Newcomb Reunion T-shirts and went outside to take the group picture before getting our shirts all dirty. Indeed, by the end of the day we were all rather stained and rumpled.
We were surprised to note that Michael (Anna's youngest) and Robby (Owen's oldest) looked remarkably similar. From the back it was hard to tell them apart. Throughout the day, various people mistook them for each other. Once when everyone was piled on the couch watching a Bourne movie, Anna jumped back when she realized she had been playing with Robby's hair. Michael was sitting on a different couch. Robby said he had been wondering what was going on.
Because we were all in the Common House most of the day, almost everyone had a chance to wander off and take a nap at some point. I saw cousins napping on couches throughout the day. It was perfect. The youngest one, who is four, had more needs for roaming and activity and he took his nap in a quieter house.
Anna had posted a non-linear cloud of suggestions of what we might do all day, and we got through almost all of them. We didn't sew but we did everything else. By late afternoon the eight first cousins were all in the same space so we got started on singing. As the years go by we lose more of the lyrics and some of the harmonies, but we all know so many songs by heart, from singing together for over ten years, summer after summer. We sang our favorites (we finally realized we only have SAB, no T, never have), sometimes more than once. Sto Mi E Milo remains the crowd favorite, followed closely by Down On My Knees (which Anna finally noticed is really religious) and Though Philomela Lost Her Love... Next time, if we can get our acts together, we will try to learn a new song. Our voices have always blended nicely since we come from the same gene pool. After an hour or so, we started to run out of voice and repertoire, and Jon had dinner all ready for us, so it was time to eat again.
It is always hard to anticipate how much effort it takes to feed 35 people, especially over several meals. We do it ourselves, and it reminds us what caterers do for a living -- lots of cleaning up afterwards. Luckily Alissa and Anna and Gordon and Jon stayed on top of the cooking, and many of us are good at cleaning. Alissa made a different peach dessert every night of the week, Anna and Gordon kept us well supplied with sandwich material, Jon sweated at the grill and cooked up great hamburgers provided by Lani's neighbor.
Last night I was supposed to be at choir rehearsal at 7 PM but I sent the director a note saying I would be late as we had not yet wrapped up the reunion. While an energetic group went out contra dancing, others of us stayed behind and cleaned up after dinner and sat down for a quick debrief -- what did we like, what will we do next time, what should we make sure to do again. And then I went off to choir and tried really hard to stay awake.
I don't have any of the photos, but when I get one, I will add it to this post. There was a great deal of documentation, including Sarah's lifelong habit of video recording, which we all take for granted. She is the keeper of the family archives. If we had been more organized, we would have made sure to have a working projector on site. But we did that at the last reunion, so it's not like we haven't seen the films lately of Grandpa and Grandma canoeing in the flood below Glen Echo in the 1930s. We will see them again.
All very jolly.
Friday, August 14, 2015
A Moment of Calm
Ordinarily I would be out in Loudoun on this crisp, beautiful morning (it was 59 degrees at 6 AM, it is almost fall already) after a rustic night's sleep. But I had a civilized night's sleep in my own bed because the house is full of family and guests and it would have been too odd for me to stay in Loudoun all by myself. Not that I am doing any significant amount of hosting here -- Alissa has been managing all the cooking ever since she got off the plane from Guatemala. I feel lucky that I managed to clear the kitchen counter on Sunday in the middle of the day, before everyone started to arrive. That seemed like an important welcoming step. As it turned out, it was serendipitous because Benjamin had an unexpected fast-paced dinner party on Sunday night, feeding some friends who were in town to play for the contra dance at Glen Echo.
Anyway, the house is completely quiet. Benjamin is sleeping in the basement but not in his own room because it has been turned into a guest room and there are guests. Hugh is sleeping in the messy middle room downstairs. Alissa and David and Rebecca are all upstairs. This house goes to bed very late. I have the most real estate to myself, sleeping-wise, since Jon is in Shreveport this week.
Last night Alissa and company created a sandwich bar for dinner -- Jon and Peio would have loved it -- and we ate on the porch for the first time all summer long. Thirteen people and we haven't even started the real festivities.
Tomorrow is the Newcomb Family Reunion 2015 in Virginia. The time/date was chosen in January 2014 when Jon and I were visiting my cousin Helen in Lucca, Italy. We found a date that we knew would work for the Italian cousins, and we promised ourselves we would make it happen. And so tonight the Newcombs from Boston and Italy will arrive and tomorrow we will spend the day together. When the Newcombs from Boston host the reunions, they make plans and prepare and rent a space. When the Newcombs from Virginia host (our first time), we plan the food and provide the venue and we will wait to see what happens when we are all together.
Forty years ago the earlier generations of this group would gather for weeks at a time here in Virginia. Our cousins would come to stay with our grandparents in the house on Beulah Road and we would swim, practice for The Show, sing, eat, work at the stand, and have sleepovers for big chunks of the summer. This tradition lasted for well over ten years. So the generation that is Hana, Lani, Anna, Charles, Carrie, Helen, Owen, Nathan has a group identity that is old and stuck in time. The next generation of our own kids has a less solid identity but they do know each other. Sarah Newcomb has provided a consistent and open home for her offspring and all of the second cousins, and the Monday night dinner tradition includes any Newcomb relatives that are in Boston.
Anyway, there will be a story coming out of this weekend, I am sure. Meanwhile, I have to get back to getting some ground ready to plant some fall seeds. I already had to take off everything I was wearing this morning because the dew was so heavy that I got soaked from head to foot, picking zinnias with Carrie. I am dry and ready to go again.
Anyway, the house is completely quiet. Benjamin is sleeping in the basement but not in his own room because it has been turned into a guest room and there are guests. Hugh is sleeping in the messy middle room downstairs. Alissa and David and Rebecca are all upstairs. This house goes to bed very late. I have the most real estate to myself, sleeping-wise, since Jon is in Shreveport this week.
Last night Alissa and company created a sandwich bar for dinner -- Jon and Peio would have loved it -- and we ate on the porch for the first time all summer long. Thirteen people and we haven't even started the real festivities.
Tomorrow is the Newcomb Family Reunion 2015 in Virginia. The time/date was chosen in January 2014 when Jon and I were visiting my cousin Helen in Lucca, Italy. We found a date that we knew would work for the Italian cousins, and we promised ourselves we would make it happen. And so tonight the Newcombs from Boston and Italy will arrive and tomorrow we will spend the day together. When the Newcombs from Boston host the reunions, they make plans and prepare and rent a space. When the Newcombs from Virginia host (our first time), we plan the food and provide the venue and we will wait to see what happens when we are all together.
Forty years ago the earlier generations of this group would gather for weeks at a time here in Virginia. Our cousins would come to stay with our grandparents in the house on Beulah Road and we would swim, practice for The Show, sing, eat, work at the stand, and have sleepovers for big chunks of the summer. This tradition lasted for well over ten years. So the generation that is Hana, Lani, Anna, Charles, Carrie, Helen, Owen, Nathan has a group identity that is old and stuck in time. The next generation of our own kids has a less solid identity but they do know each other. Sarah Newcomb has provided a consistent and open home for her offspring and all of the second cousins, and the Monday night dinner tradition includes any Newcomb relatives that are in Boston.
Anyway, there will be a story coming out of this weekend, I am sure. Meanwhile, I have to get back to getting some ground ready to plant some fall seeds. I already had to take off everything I was wearing this morning because the dew was so heavy that I got soaked from head to foot, picking zinnias with Carrie. I am dry and ready to go again.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Hand to God: 15 Hours Round Trip
At noon yesterday, six of us piled into a rented minivan and headed north. As we said, a whole novel could be written about what it took for each of us to be ready to go at noon on a Tuesday. Most of us had gone to work early, arranged for an absence, and then grabbed our wallets and hopped in the car.
We went to New York to see Alex Mandell starring in a Broadway show. He is the understudy to the lead in "Hand to God," which is billed as a new American play. It's a drama, the lead character plays his own role as well as a sock puppet named Tyrone who becomes increasingly strong willed and vocal. Alex got to play the lead for a whole weekend recently and a lot of our friends and neighbors went to see the play then, but Jon and I couldn't get away. This time, with one day's notice, we could.
Alex grew up in our neighborhood, part of a large, very close, blended family (he has four sisters), and started to bloom as an actor when he was in high school. Then he went to the elite acting program at Boston University and then he decided to throw himself into becoming a professional actor. He has gone to dozens and dozens of auditions, has had small roles and lead roles, and his trajectory is steadily up. Most important, he is the nicest guy ever. A true mensch.
Alex's parents are devoted to their children in every possible way. They go to every event, plan elaborate graduation parties and create unique b'nai mitzvah ceremonies, and they have regular family meals. Alex has two sets of parents who all get along with each other and work together to make their children's lives as good as possible. This must be part of the secret of Alex's success.
Anyway, the trip north was easy for those of us who were not driving. The turnpike was closed in both directions due to a major truck fire, but Jon and Cookie navigated while Paul drove and we got to New York on time. We had a quick dinner and met up with Benjamin and Rebecca who had come down from Boston (on extremely short notice) and with Jesse and Shalini who live in NYC. We also had Jim with us since he was going to visit Jesse, by coincidence, so he got in the car and came to the play too.
The theater was smallish for Broadway, and most of the seats seemed to be full. The audience was so receptive and appreciative -- applause after almost every scene. All five actors were excellent, and the story was full of unexpected twists. Lots of profanity but after a while you just don't notice that anymore. Alex did a great job. He is a physical actor and this was one seriously physical role, with the puppet taking over his mind and body. By the end I had to cover my eyes, things were getting so out of hand (and bloody). Alex got a standing ovation.
Afterwards, we stood outside the stage door and greeted our boy next door. He is unfailingly gracious and humble, even with all this adulation (teen girls love him and there is apparently a huge world of Twitter conversations about him). He took us on a quick backstage tour and showed us some of the tricks they used, and some of the incredible details that go into a set.
Becca took an 11:30 bus back to Boston, Benjamin stayed in NY to visit friends and we headed back down the turnpike (which was still closed), using the Garden State Parkway to skirt the traffic jams. We got home at 3 AM. All of us were back at work this morning.
It was totally worth it. What a whirlwind, and how cool is that to have a friend who is starring on Broadway. And to have friends who will rent a comfortable vehicle, stock it with Doritos and popcorn and bottled water, and drive us both ways. Doesn't get much better than that.
We went to New York to see Alex Mandell starring in a Broadway show. He is the understudy to the lead in "Hand to God," which is billed as a new American play. It's a drama, the lead character plays his own role as well as a sock puppet named Tyrone who becomes increasingly strong willed and vocal. Alex got to play the lead for a whole weekend recently and a lot of our friends and neighbors went to see the play then, but Jon and I couldn't get away. This time, with one day's notice, we could.
Alex grew up in our neighborhood, part of a large, very close, blended family (he has four sisters), and started to bloom as an actor when he was in high school. Then he went to the elite acting program at Boston University and then he decided to throw himself into becoming a professional actor. He has gone to dozens and dozens of auditions, has had small roles and lead roles, and his trajectory is steadily up. Most important, he is the nicest guy ever. A true mensch.
Alex's parents are devoted to their children in every possible way. They go to every event, plan elaborate graduation parties and create unique b'nai mitzvah ceremonies, and they have regular family meals. Alex has two sets of parents who all get along with each other and work together to make their children's lives as good as possible. This must be part of the secret of Alex's success.
Anyway, the trip north was easy for those of us who were not driving. The turnpike was closed in both directions due to a major truck fire, but Jon and Cookie navigated while Paul drove and we got to New York on time. We had a quick dinner and met up with Benjamin and Rebecca who had come down from Boston (on extremely short notice) and with Jesse and Shalini who live in NYC. We also had Jim with us since he was going to visit Jesse, by coincidence, so he got in the car and came to the play too.
The theater was smallish for Broadway, and most of the seats seemed to be full. The audience was so receptive and appreciative -- applause after almost every scene. All five actors were excellent, and the story was full of unexpected twists. Lots of profanity but after a while you just don't notice that anymore. Alex did a great job. He is a physical actor and this was one seriously physical role, with the puppet taking over his mind and body. By the end I had to cover my eyes, things were getting so out of hand (and bloody). Alex got a standing ovation.
Afterwards, we stood outside the stage door and greeted our boy next door. He is unfailingly gracious and humble, even with all this adulation (teen girls love him and there is apparently a huge world of Twitter conversations about him). He took us on a quick backstage tour and showed us some of the tricks they used, and some of the incredible details that go into a set.
Becca took an 11:30 bus back to Boston, Benjamin stayed in NY to visit friends and we headed back down the turnpike (which was still closed), using the Garden State Parkway to skirt the traffic jams. We got home at 3 AM. All of us were back at work this morning.
It was totally worth it. What a whirlwind, and how cool is that to have a friend who is starring on Broadway. And to have friends who will rent a comfortable vehicle, stock it with Doritos and popcorn and bottled water, and drive us both ways. Doesn't get much better than that.
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