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May Day in Kingston
Sunday, May 1 2011
Yesterday Gretchen had gone down to the KMOCA gallery on the Rondout to see a special week-only exhibit of photographs taken by autistic "spectrum" children (this is becoming something of an annual event). Feeling the need to stay home to oversee Eleanor should she decide to chase cyclists in spite of her shock collar, I'd stayed home. But today Deborah would be staffing the gallery again, so I arranged to meet up with her, Ray, and Nancy at the gallery. I also brought the dogs (Sally and Eleanor).
We hung out for quite awhile as occasional people came through to look at the photographs. One couple had their autistic spectrum child in tow, and as they were leaving, his mom asked of him, "What do you say to the gallery owner after seeing the exhibit?" and the kid obediently (and with a bit of excessive formality) thanked Deborah while barely suppressing a frantic flapping of one his hands. After they were safely out of earshot, I observed, "Gretchen does that with me sometimes." "Does what?" Deborah asked. "Urges me to perform some social grace that comes naturally to most people," I replied.
After we'd been at the gallery for quite awhile, Ray, Nancy, and I all decided to go to the Uptown Kingston Indian restaurant (As for Deborah, she had to mind the gallery and couldn't join us.)
We were the only customers in the restaurant and the food was as delicious as ever. The three of us were well fed on only two vegan curries, two orders of nan, and two bowls of mulligatawny soup. After dinner we got coffee at Dreamweavers and then strolled around Uptown, which is presently rebuilding its wooden sidewalk canopies. This despite the fact that 90% of Uptown businesses would rather see the canopies removed (so says a sign posted in most Uptown businesses objecting to an assessment levied to pay for the replacement). According to Ray, the existing canopies only date to the 1970s.
Back at the house, Gretchen had returned from walking across the Hudson down in Highland via the Walkway Over the Hudson. She had done this with a number of other people in honor of Ellen Shapiro, the former owner of the Golden Notebook bookstore in Woodstock. Ellen had said that she wanted to walk across the Hudson on her birthday, which was today. Unfortunately, she didn't quite make it; Ellen died a couple months ago after a long battle with cancer.
Meanwhile, the hummingbirds had finally returned from wherever it is that they spend their winters. One actually flew briefly into my laboratory, evidently curious about a pair of red-handled needle nose pliers that I keep in a nearby tool rack.
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