“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in the winter.”
By John Burroughs
Although there are no flowers blooming at this time of year, we can now see the lights that people are putting up on their property. The residents of Keystone should be very proud of their lights, which I believe are called jewel tones. Ruby red, sapphire blue, and emerald green, they are positively beautiful. Hubby bought clear lights and will put them on the porch railing. He also has a gorgeous electric angel that he will put on our rose trellis.
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Last Monday, Nov. 30, Hubby and I were in the parking area for the Winery and the Venezia Restaurant. There were quite a few cars in the lot, and we figured there must have been a big Christmas party at the Venezia. We were half right. There probably was a big party there, but there were a great many people already gathered at the UMass Boston party at the Winery. This was a special evening. We all were there to honor the newly-retired Gail Hobin. Gail had worked at the university for more than 31 years, retiring as asst. vice chancellor for community relations. I have known Gail for probably most of those years through her appearances at Pope’s Hill meetings and meeting her at various neighborhood meetings. I also saw her often at various UMass functions.
When we walked into the Winery, Hubby and I met the new president of the Pope’s Hill Association, John Schneiderman, and his lovely wife Janice. Jan and John asked us to sit with them. They were at a tall table with high bar stools. I was afraid that I was too short to sit on a stool, but John said he would help get me on the chair. (I was so proud that I was able to get on the chair myself.) We chatted for a while. The person taking Gail’s place at the University is well known to the four of us. He is Phil Carver, the former president of the Pope’s Hill Association. Phil also stayed chatting with us for a little while. I was delighted to see my longtime friend Richard Livingston. Paul Nutting, my friend from the Parade of Seniors Luncheon, was also there chatting with a great many people. How glad I was to see my neighbor Dee Esposito and her friend Donna Fickett. (Usually I see Dee in the warm weather as we chat over our mutual fence.) We spoke for quite a while. We laughed as we talked about the cats in our neighborhood and how friendly they are with us. They love to be petted. Then we were delighted to have Chancellor Keith Motley come along. Our friend Harry Brett was taking photos all evening long. He took a photo of the chancellor and me. I still laugh thinking about that photo because I am shrinking so fast that I can now fit under his arm.
When Chancellor Motley got to the microphone, he told us how wonderful Gail had been in introducing him to the various neighborhoods. In the 13 years since he came to UMass, he and Gail have expanded the areas in which they have visited to speak of the opportunities for education at UMass. “I even made it to Cambridge,” said the chancellor. He spoke about how proud he is of the strides the university has made since it opened 50 years ago with 1,698 freshmen. There are now 4,000 students in just the graduate program at the University. I believe there are about 17,000 students on the “peninsula” now.
When Gail came to the microphone, she received a long-standing ovation. She kept her speech very short. When she ended, she came back to the crowd and sat with her pals from UMB. We were all delighted that UMB retiree Carol DeSouza had come back to honor her pal Gail. I asked Carol to say “Hi” to her friend and former co-worker Linda O’Brien. (Linda was out of town and unable to attend.)
Then I learned that Gail’s Mom was at the celebration. She had been sitting right behind me, but I was too afraid to move around on the high stool and didn’t see her. I went over to greet her Mom and introduce myself to her. Harry took some lovely photos of Gail and her Mom. Gail certainly will have some great photos of her retirement party. It was a wonderful evening. By the way, my friend Paul Kenneally played the keyboard beautifully for us all during the evening. I told him that I would say “Hi” for him to his good friend Eileen Burke.
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On Thurs., Dec. 3, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I were at the Keystone Senior Apartments. Thanks to a kind invitation from Ruth Villard, I learn that the Black Catholic Choir was to give a concert at Keystone that evening. Ruth knew that two of my cousins sing in the choir. When we arrived, we saw that quite a few of the residents were already in the meeting room. We took seats in the back of the room and had a chance to chat with my friend Claire Perry. We no sooner had sat down then my cousin Kathy came up to greet us. She told us that her brother Philip was at his own church, practicing for their Christmas concert and was unable to come.
Soon the concert began. Ruth brought three flameless candles to a small table near where we were sitting. She pushed the switch for the first candle—“for all the things that are going on the world.” The second candle was “for all the things that are going on in Massachusetts.” The third candle was “for the things that we endure.” She then introduced Barbara Couzens from Carney Hospital as a special guest. Thank goodness Barbara mentioned that the Carney Senior Supper was Dec. 9. The next morning, I was on the phone with Doctor Finder, hoping that we weren’t too late to make reservations.
Then the choir filed in and began to sing. I didn’t know the first few songs. Daughter Sue believed they were: ”Behold, the Handmaid of the Lord,” and then “My Lord, What a Morning!” The next was (perhaps) “Behold Your Love.” Then we came to the songs we knew: “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” “Holly, Jolly Christmas,” “Caroling, Caroling,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”, ”Jingle Bells,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” with two choir members dancing, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and, finally, “Glory Be to Jesus.”
Thursday evening seems to be Prayer Night for the black residents at Keystone. Rev. Barbara Doolin spoke with us for a few minutes.Then Pastor Dickinson gave his talk. He stressed that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” We all agreed. At the end of the evening, Ruth returned to the microphone and invited all to enjoy the refreshments. The choir disbanded and cousin Kathy came and sat with us. We had a great time chatting. She stayed with us for quite a while. Then she said that she had to leave. She had a long drive home. (She does, indeed.) We were so happy that we were able to come to the concert.
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I must mention that Fr. George told us that on Tuesday of this week, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception holiday, the Catholic Church will begin the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The year will run to Nov. 20, 2016. The church asks that we be attentive to being merciful to others during the year.
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With our family glued to the TV set to see the Patriots’ games every week, I thought that this would be an appropriate, humorous ending, slightly changed from a wonderful one by Erma Bombeck: “Any man who watches two football games in a row should be declared legally dead.”
