September

We're on the cusp of autumn in New England, and I'm excited for it. Though I wish our summers could be longer, the fall has historically brought out creativity in me. For this and many other reasons it is a favorite season, and I think most New Englanders agree, even those who spend the winter months in Florida.

So I've decided to make a "New-Month's Resolution", it's a tradition of Ashley's that has rubbed off on me a little bit. The thing about September though, is that this month has ALWAYS felt like the beginning of the year for me. As an academic, yeah it's the start of the new school year. But it also clearly marks the beginning of a new season whereas January 1st happens in the dead of winter. September is a big deal for me, so I want my goals to be good ones that I can take with me into the months to follow.

My first goal is simple. I plan to do all my shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. In words, this goal sounds a little lame, but it's not. Whole Foods' business model is one that people should be proud to incorporate in their communities. For 8 consecutive years, Whole Foods has been on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. They promote sustainable farming, and pride themselves on selling natural foods free of toxics. If their food costs more, it's because it is worth me, and I'm willing to pay for something I believe in.

Goal number two: Staying in shape. Ashley and I have joined Bally Total Fitness, and I plan to make the most of my membership. It'll be good to get back to lifting, but I'll probably try out some different classes like yoga, plyometrics, hula-hooping... y'know, stuff like that.

And finally, I plan on surfing every hurricane and tropical storm that makes it's way up the east coast. I plan on putting a lot of miles in on my new 6'6" and hopefully I'll be picking up a new longboard for some quality noseriding at Nahant.

Laura Upstairs

It's a stereotype of sorts, maybe a little slice of the American dream, to move into a new house and be warmly welcomed by the cookie cutter couple that lives next door. One day there's a knock on your door and there they are, partially obscured by some gargantuan gift basket filled with fruit, pasta, vegetables, margarita mix and the rest of the elements of the food pyramid. Six months later, you're borrowing cups of sugar from each other and playing drunken Pictionary together one weekend a month.

Laura intercepted me in the shared stairwell of our newly shared house as I was moving in about a month ago. She welcomed me to my new home with a shy smile the obligatory basket full of food. I was taken aback by her gesture, and accepted the basket excitedly. After I introduced her to my family who were in the midst of moving me in, she mentioned having a lot of extra stuff she was getting rid of that we could have if we wanted it. We talked briefly, and she explained that I should take a look sooner than later because she was going away tomorrow. Anxious not to leave all the moving to my family, I made a quick trip to the 3rd floor with her to see if she had anything that Tim and I might be able to use. I ended up taking a small rack that I could use to get the most out of my minuscule closet space.

I mentioned the experience to Tim, and how she was pretty determined to get rid of all of her stuff. As it was, I didn't really think we needed anything else, but maybe Tim could find something. We found her later, and I introduced them to each other. She showed us around her apartment as if we were at some sort of liquidation sale. Still, something was strange. She even seemed to want to get rid of things that she liked. There was no clear line between what she wanted to keep and what she would leave out on the sidewalk if we didn't take it. Even some of her clothes were up for grabs, as she said they were too big for her now.

I just met this woman. She was nice. I liked her. But I didn't know how to react to some things. When I asked her how long she was going away for, she said she didn't know. "Maybe a couple weeks... or a month, if my dad will take care of me." I think she said her father lived in Acton. Anyway she offered only the vague explanation that she had been sick, but I didn't want to pry. In retrospect, it seems like she somehow wanted to be asked.

Tim and I took a bunch of items off of her hands, but when Tim returned to the apartment, I stayed and talked with her for a while in her kitchen. How did this 35-40 year old woman come to live alone in this place in Lynn? What did she do for work? Who was her family? We talked about anything but the answers to those questions, and her apartment offered only the faintest hints. An old "guy couch" as she put it. A photo of her and what might have been her niece. A few plants that Tim and I took. An ashtray filled with cigarettes on the porch. When I finally left, I was convinced that she had some sort of terminal illness. Still, I wanted to see her again and get to know her, maybe bring some zany color into her apparently quiet life.

Days later, I came home from work to find a note from her that Tim put on my desk. It said she'd be staying in Somerville for a while with someone, and that we should get lunch sometime if I was free. She left a number, which wasn't the same as the number I had already programmed in my phone as "Laura Upstairs." I wanted to call her. I was going to call her. I wish that I had called her.

Laura killed herself a week or so after she was gone. Days later, a moving truck was there and a couple people were upstairs taking away the rest of her things. I paused in the driveway that night and stared up at her porch where I locked eyes with someone who evidently knew her... or not at all.

Tales from the MUP Hut

So much is happening I don't know whether to shit or go blind. I'll be brief.

My parents are redoing the house I grew up in. Siding, roofing, doors, windows, front steps, shrubs, and even the entire kitchen. It's pretty cool to go home each week and see what's changed.

My cousin Jamie headed back to Korea with the Air Force a couple weeks ago. We had a little cookout in Salisbury with my aunts, uncles, and grandparents to see her off. That morning I hilariously bumped into Jon, Kevin, and Alyssa at Stop & Shop in Amesbury whilst holding 4 pounds of hamburger meat.

After work the next day, I bolted to Beverly to see Ashley's kids at Camp Mitchman put on a stellar production of The Aristocats. It was adorable and hilarious. I was amazed to see what Ashley and Emma were able to do with a rag tag group of hooligans. Well done, fiend!

Marmaduke's birthday was on the 29th. I drove home and joined the rest of the family getting dinner at Not Your Average Joe's in Newburyport. We ate out on the patio, then surprised Gram and Daba at the concert out on the waterfront. It was a fun night!

Last weekend, Ashley and I snuck away to Maine. On Friday night we headed up to North Conway and where we grabbed dinner at Friendly's. As we walk in we notice the night manager... Don freakin' Bryant! Hah! Last time we were up there hiking Mount Chocorua with Jamie and Julia, we stopped at the same place and cracked up over this guy's name tag. "Friendly. You bet we are Don Bryant!" Still funny. Don't ask. Theron, our crack-up of a server, even got ol' Don to make a cameo appearance at our table. The awkward factor was minor, but we ramped it up a notch by getting a stellar photo of Ashley and DB.

The weekend was amazing, although it seemed like it might rain the whole time. Saturday night we crashed in the MUP Hut, Mean Uncle Paul's cabin that he built in the woods. Unfortunately, this meant we had to trek two mattresses down a muddy, sluggy path. Of course this was accomplished barefoot on my part, while Ashley found yet another use for those orange Crocs she bought for color wars at Camp Mitchman. Sunday turned out to be gorgeous. We went swimming tubing, rope-swinging, and soaked up every possible drop of sun.

Monday was our monthiversary. We celebrated with sushi at Bangkok Paradise where I finally asked our friend what his name was. Ben! Funny guy that Ben fella. We capped the night off with some painting and photos.