Stop. Explain. Start again. :: June 17th, 2003 ::
We drove back from Boston two days ago, through the warming sun and the clouds of pine pollen. My allergies are more present this year, and over the weekend they made their existence known in the form of a series of debilitating attacks that gave me sneezing convlusions, sudden and extreme fits of grogginess, and a general sense of malaise. None of it I would characterize as “fun.” I’ve now come to fear the yellow-green piles of pine pollen that collect on the cars and porches in much of the greater Boston area almost as much fear and disdain as I would anthrax or some other bioterror agent.
But the temporary fits with which I was stricken did little to detract from the weekend, which was one of the graduation and of course, celebration. We watched Jessamyn’s sister graduate from Northeastern (which is by all accounts a fine educational institution), with a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. The ceremony itself was slightly ridiculous, the speakers were unprofound, but the experience itself was quite exciting. Even when they are at their worst, I find graduation ceremonies interesting, because they represent an accomplishment, a moving forward of sorts, which is particularly compelling when it feels like most of life is comprised of only toil, and a fighting to simply remain in place.
So I will here extend one final congratulatory note to the new graduate, and wish her the best in all future endeavors.
Jessamyn and I are now back in Vermont only for a few days. Then we’re off once again to Buffalo, New York, where we will then part ways temporarily. Jessamyn is off to the American Libraries conference, and I’m staying behind in Buffalo to visit with families. I’m expecting a calm, however brief, trip, and I expect to spend quite a bit of time with cousins, aunts and uncles, whith whom I will be accounting for the things I’ve done since I last saw them a year ago.
