I attended the New England Crime Bake, Nov. 11-13.
Among the ups: William Martin’s master class on your first line, first paragraph, first page, Reading the Crime Scene, Best New England Crime Stories: Deadly Nightshade, connecting with an agent, finding open submissions, the hard working Hilton staff, the IngramSpark Tennessee reps, the buzz and excitement of talking about books.
Among the downs: taxi from Boston to Dedham by driver who kept his eyes glued to his smartphone claiming he knew the route. $74 later we arrived. Speaking of money, the Hilton charged for everything. The cuisine? Many of us didn’t pay the $35 for evening left overs, eating bar food instead.
The Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse was built in 1910. It was originally for girls. Now it’s coed. Let’s hope it continues to survive.
From Friends United Meeting – Weekly E-news
Ramallah Friends Meeting
There has been an active and vibrant Palestinian Quaker community in Ramallah since the late 1800s. In 1910, this community built the Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse and later added another building that was used for community outreach.
The Ramallah Friends Meeting has always played a vital role in the community. In 1948, the buildings and grounds became the home to many Palestinian refugees. Throughout the years, the members of the Ramallah Friends Meeting organized numerous community programs such as the Children’s Play Center, the First Day School, and women’s activities.
By the early 1990s, the Meetinghouse and Annex, which housed meeting rooms and bathroom facilities, fell into disrepair as a result of damage inflicted by time and the impact of conflict. So serious was the deterioration of the meetinghouse that by the middle 1990s it was impossible to use the building at all.
In 2002, a committee consisting of members of the Religious Society of Friends in the US and the Clerk of the Ramallah Meeting began to raise funds for the renovations of the buildings and grounds of the Meetinghouse. By November 2004, the renovations were complete, and on March 6, 2005, exactly ninety-five years to the day after the dedication, the Meetinghouse and Annex were rededicated as a Quaker and community resource.
Friends meet every Sunday morning at 10:30 am for unprogrammed Meeting for Worship. Everyone is welcome to attend, and the Meeting frequently welcomes visitors from outside Palestine, Friends and friends alike.
Monday evening a friend and I attended The Eveillard Gift, a collection of European works on paper the Eveillards have given to the Frick Collection. At Frick Madison there was a gentle crowd in the fourth floor chamber, celebrating the acquisition. There was also confusion. Many of us thought the Gift was also represented on the second and third floors. There was scurring in and out of the enormous elevators. Who could complain? We feasted on old favorites: Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid, Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert.
Among the Eveillards’ works I was especially fond of a little Goya. It’s a single figure, a man dancing and playing the tambourine.
On Wednesday, another friend and I agreed to meet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We planned on seeing the Tudor exhibit. Maybe duck into the Cubism exhibit.
The only problem: the Met is closed on Wednesdays. So we scooted up ten blocks to the Guggenheim. Of course there was a long line. Everyone else had thought the Met was open. The line moved smoothly and we had a rather expensive, mediocre lunch in the pleasant cafeteria that overlooks Fifth Avenue and Central Park. We discussed plans for a Judson group and then walked up a few flights looking at the Alex Katz exhibit. I’ve always thought Katz’s work was boring. This exhibit didn’t change my mind. In fact, I admire the building more than most of the art presented at the Guggenheim.
Dancer Aileen Passloff’s memorial was packed with devoted students. On October 15th Judson’s Meeting Room celebrated her achievements.
“I wanted the dancers to look out from their own experience whether they’re falling or holding each other or even sitting next to each other. For me that’s a deeply human experience.” Aileen Passloff
Judson Memorial Church is bursting with pride. Governor Hochul, in a press conference at Judson, announced funding for abortion providers! That’s $13.4 million to 37 providers covering 64 clinical sites.
I’m confused. I have been reading Noah Gallagher Shannon’s terrific essay, What does Sustainable Living Look Like? Maybe Like Uruguay.
Mr. Shannon interviewed Urguayans like Ramon Mendez, the director of energy, who claims that the energy system is based on physical, social and geopolitical aspects. The country has decreased energy consumption by 20 percent.
Mr. Shannon writes, “All around the world, developed nations have locked themselves into unsustainable, energy-intensive lifestyles.”
Why am I confused?
Because President Biden has just stated, “Energy—particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean—should serve as the tool for cooperation, stability, security, and prosperity, not for conflict.” Huh?
This was said to celebrate Lebanon and Israel agreeing to end their maritime dispute.
Judson Memorial Church celebrated the blessing of the animals. Rev. Micah Bucey invited all living, deceased and stuffed animals to be blessed. When I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico I stayed with former Judsonites and their wonderful cats, 2/Too and MaGee. Micah blessed their photos. It was a loving, slightly batty (Judson, after all) service. It was capped with a reading from SONNY, the story of an elephant, written by Them Fogarty, illustrated by Ted Dawson. Lee Guilliatt created the stories.2/TT
I walked 9,543 steps yesterday. A friend led another woman and me over hill and dale to the Brooklyn Navel Yard for a Craft Brew Fest. For $35.50 or $45.50 you were given a tiny plastic glass. You walked through the air conditioned interior to an enormous backyard. There were different stands offering beer samples, alcoholic and nonalcoholic. Of course there was LOUD music. The crowd and vendors were good natured. At four p.m. the party closed down. A nearby road led to the ferry. After a hot day it was a pleasure to be on the Hudson.
A swanky vendorDig in.Have an alcoholic gummy bear
Hi Everyone, As you know, I took a break. Ten days in Michigan. What a state. Its calm, clean lakes surround you. Everywhere there’s a forest and the clouds are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
Have you been to Holland? It’s an enchanting town on Lake Michigan. It was founded in the mid-nineteenth century by the Dutch who were fleeing religious persecution. What a journey. The Dutch crossed the northern Atlantic, landing in New York City and continuing to the St. Lawrence River that runs through Michigan.
Holland reminded me of the Hamptons many years ago, before they were polluted with glitz, new snobbery and wealth. Five hundred plus people on Lake Michigan’s beach were quieter than my YMCA swimming class. No radios, no sound except quiet Michigan voices and very happy looking kids.
John Bellairs came from nearby Marshall and wrote the wonderful children’s story, The House with a Clock in its Walls. Another favorite writer, Elmore Leonard, came from a Detroit suburb.
My friend and I went to the Cooper Hewitt Museum at 2 East 91st Street.The design museum is part of the Smithsonian. Compared with the bigger museums, it’s downright cozy. Botanical Gardens demonstrates nature through the display of thirteen botanical models.This also includes a display of 18th century decorative arts.
Do you like doll houses? I do. There’s a modern interpretation on the third floor. Imagine a New York City building outfitted like a doll house. It’s wonderful and it’s based on an actual building.
We ended our visit by going to the museum’s cafe and taking our lunch into the quiet, green garden.
How’s this for a doll’s house?The doll’s house is based on this apartment house.
One of the rewards of summer is the Sunday fruit, vegetable, fish and flower market we have in Stuyvesant Town. In addition to stocking up on homemade and fresh food, it’s an opportunity to chat with vendors and neighbors. Many a recipe is exchanged.
