Weekend Twenty-Five

We went back to the Cambridge House in Granby to retrieve our camera and have another one of those medicinal beers, as I now had the cold. It wasn’t until we were going in, that I noticed the buildup of icy slush on the handrail. We couldn’t stay long.

I began the day outside the cafeteria of the CT DOT as part of the Fall Fundraiser. I donated one of my dogs for a silent auction item so was invited to spend the day down there with them. There was also a bake sale, a book sale, a pet photo contest, a pumpkin decorating contest, and, for lunch, a chili contest. While it was an interesting day and received lots more praise, I only sold one dog. Cheap. My donated dog, however, fetched $50 and I got an official thank you from the DOT commissioner.

Earlier in the week we learned that our friend Pam Crouch had died suddenly. Well, it was certainly suddenly to us. Pam was a sweet lady and she loved us. We’ll miss her, so decided to drive to Richmond,VA for a memorial get-together.

But first we went to see Pippin at the Hartt School’s Lincoln Theatre. We had great seats. While the audience filtered in, we were entertained by several members of the cast doing magic tricks. It was a terrific show. I wish I had pictures, but they were not allowed. The play is cleverly written, the set was well done, and everyone was excellent in their roles.

The next morning we began our voyage south to Virginia. The forecast was for snow, but we didn’t see any until New Jersey. But then we saw a few accidents along the way. We made it through just fine.

After a rest at my friend Norman’s house, we drove to Talleysville for a Halloween party at a friend of Norman’s, named Ryland Fleet. The first thing you notice after a short trek through the woods are the domes. It was twilight and the light from the fire was reflected off the metal surface providing a lovely Halloween effect. Music filled the air.

You had to walk up a couple of levels to access the interior. One dome contained a shop filled, nay, crammed with every kind of metal working machinery I imagine there is. Everything immaculately clean and orderly. There was a staircase up to a sleeping loft above. The other dome had living space with a kitchen area and a bathroom. The only art on the walls is a large painting by Bootsy. Upstairs is a pool table and a sleeping area. There was tubs of beer here and there. There was a big pot of hot Brunswick stew and warm biscuits, and a selection of other munchies. The domes were connected by a hall with one section of wall being the door that closed hydraulically. Very Star Trek. Ryland and Terri live in a more conventional though no less hand crafted house nearby. There was variety of buildings and tents including one large canvas with a band and heating stove inside. The band was soliciting for contributions for them to launch a cd. They were pretty good so we signed up.

On Sunday we did a little sightseeing after breakfast. Norman showed me the work of a neighbor artist, whose sculpture was vilified by the populace and moved from its spot by an arts center.

Deepwater Sponger by Charles Ponticello at Rockett's Landing

Connecticut by Paul DiPasquale, on his new perch

Then we went to see the Squash A Penny in downtown Doswell. This is owned and operated by Ryland’s ex-wife Suzanne. It’s a fantastic warehouse of stuff, yet strangely organized, sometimes taking on the feel of a museum rather than a store.

Norman and Suzanne

Across the street, in the old Doswell bank building, they have more stuff plus a contemporary art gallery. There was an original Herschell-Spillman carved carousel horse for $2700 that we had our eyes on.

In back there is an informal sculpture garden. In a nearby shed, Ryland and Suzanne’s daughter got married the following weekend.

The memorial was held in the old Hand Work Shop (now the Visual Arts Center of Richmond) on West Main Street, and there was quite a crowd. Pam had lots of friends from work, neighborhood, “the pool,” and old friends, like us. Many went to the mike and said a few words of remembrance. We got to see friends and stay with Norman for a couple of days. We drove home on Monday. The weather was fine, but we could see lots of trees fallen along the highways and snow on the ground. Reports say 13 inches fell.  Leaves were still in the trees.  Heavy snow.  Snapped trunks and limbs.  Whole uprooted trees.  When we got home, there was no electricity and it was cold. The power had gone out Saturday night.

Pictures of Pam:

And some bad shots I took at the memorial:

Marie with Jay

Norman and Kathy

Billy Rice

Caroline

Continued on next post.