”Like poetry in motion,
Snow falls to the ground;
One flake, and then another,
But devoid of any sound.
Winter manifest herself
With snow and freezing rain
That looks like pearls and diamonds
Wrapped around my windowpane.”
By Terri Johnson
Boston has been rather fortunate in not getting too much snow so far this winter. We still have some ice on our street from the little storm from last week. Hubby has, reluctantly, put his little Christmas tree away for another year. For weeks, he has been sitting in the living room, keeping one eye on the tree and one eye on the TV. He keeps fixing our outdoor cat Louie’s box. He even bought a reflective pad, which radiates heat back to the animal. Louie’s fur is warm to the touch so the pad must be working.
***
Christmas was such a busy time. We had just begun to slow down when we were invited to attend the Seniors’ First Night Celebration for 2015. Eileen Collins had said that there would be a large bus from Keystone taking the seniors into the Seaport Hotel Trade Center, a mammoth hotel on the waterfront. It was an easy ride in town because there was less traffic on the roads without the school buses, parents and teachers driving around. We saw the mobs of buses and vans leaving seniors off at the front door. (The newspapers estimated that there were 2,500 seniors in attendance.) Eileen, along with daughter Sue, ran for an empty table. (There were very few empty tables.) As we made our way to our seats, we were welcomed to the event by Eileen O’Connor, the ace photographer for the City’s Elderly Commission
We took our seats and saw the blue, plastic top hats at each place setting, along with a noisemaker. Joining Eileen Collins at our table were Maureen Reedy, Marie Schalmo, Marilyn Ferrara, Peggy Gorman, Mary Carney, plus Hubby, Sue, and me. We saw the pretty decorations used to decorate the huge hall. There were long, white, diaphanous curtains, with silver decorations on them. In front of the curtains were two pieces of sectional furniture, where a few people could enjoy a separate conversation. Several groups took advantage of these little nooks so Hubby immediately followed them there and took their photos.
Then it came close to noontime or “midnight,” as the city was calling it. Mayor Marty Walsh was on stage. The mayor commended the Seaport Hotel for sponsoring the Seniors’ New Years Eve celebration for 18 years and the hotel received a big round of applause for its astounding generosity. Mayor Marty then led the countdown to “midnight.” We all clapped and blew our noisemakers at the stroke of 12. Each of the seniors received a hot turkey dinner, with a roll and butter, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and peas and carrots. For dessert, we were each given a wrapped brownie with a bottle of ice cold water. After we had eaten, we saw that there was another group of people from Keystone: Ellen Peterson, Beth Runkle, Ann Adams, Jean Buonopane, Linda Flaherty, Gerry Cardinal, Barbara McDonough, Helen Suprin, and Della Melchionda.
It was just then that our friend from the Elderly Commission, Jane Boyer, came by our table. She was delighted to see us. We asked if she could take a photo of all of our tablemates in front of a huge silver Christmas tree. That way, no one would be missing from the shot. The group proved too large for the camera lens so poor Jane had to take the photo in thirds.
The members of the Elderly Commission asked each of us to sit at our table until our bus was called to ease congestion at the main entrance of the hotel. When our bus was called, we went out into the biting cold with our hats and noisemakers. It was a lovely way to spend a biting-cold afternoon.
***
On December 7, Hubby, Sue and I drove to the Paris Cabaret in Stoughton, where we would enjoy a dinner-theatre presentation. We thanked pal Eileen Collins, who had kindly bought our tickets for us. She had told us that the wait staff would be the performers for the afternoon. We were first treated to Sunday dinner. Everyone was very pleased with his or her meal. Hubby had asked for roast beef, for which he had to pay $5 more than the rest of us. (He said it was well worth it.)
Then we were treated to the first of two presentations, “That Holiday Feeling.” All four of the wait staff had terrific voices. Each of them had a time on the stage when they told us what they remembered of their Christmases when they were younger. We even had a sing-a-long, with papers to help with the words (“Let It Snow,” “Silver Bells,” and “Must Be Santa”). As soon as the first show was done, the performers came down from the stage and began to clear the dinner dishes. In no time, they had the place cleaned and the room ready for the second show.
The second show was “Welcome to the Sixties.” The same performers wore more formal attire for this segment. The gal who runs the dinner-theatre, Paris Kampanelas, even sang a little for us. From what I understand, there is a school at the dinner-theatre for youngsters to train to perform on stage. Two little girls in fancy dresses kept running to the stage to pirouette and dance when the four performers were not on stage. Paris also mentioned that there were two dinner-theatre productions in January, plus a special one in February, on Valentine Day at 6:30 p.m. (That sounds like fun!)
As we all walked out of the Paris Cabaret together, we were speaking about the good food and the great voices of the wait staff. We looked to the left as we were walking toward our cars. There were the most beautiful colors in the sky. Hubby had his camera with him because he was taking photos of our group at the dinner-theatre. We have the most beautiful photos of the Stoughton sky. By the way, if you are interested in going to this dinner-theatre, call the cabaret at 781-297-7469. You may need a “1” before the number.
***
I must mention a present that I received from my friend Agnes. I opened the box and looked. It was like a shawl, which would be very handy during this cold weather. I examined it. It had pockets on the inside of the shawl near the front ends, which surprised me. I finally figured out how to wear it. It was an old-fashioned “serape,” straight from a cowboy and Indian movie. The shawl part goes around a woman’s back and her hands go in the pockets on the inside, near the front, holding the shawl together. The serape is wine-colored and made from a felt material. It is quite warm and very useful, What a unique gift! I’ll be much warmer watching TV.
***
On Christmas Eve, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I drove to Merrymount in a wild rainstorm. Cousins Margie and Janet have open house on that evening every year. We already knew that daughter Jeanne and her family were not able to come because the brook beside their home was overflowing its banks and was coming into their cellar. They have two pumps and had to have both working all evening. Son Paul and daughter-in-law Alex were not able to get to Merrymount, either. The rain near their home was terrible. Margie and Janet welcomed us. Their brother Bobby was there with his kids. His son Kevin and wife Dara brought their boys, Ryan and Adam. Lisa and Harry were there with their kids Katie and Danny and his wife Victoria. Donald and Tara were there with Elizabeth and Christina, David and Courtney, along with their daughter Olivia “skyped” from Korea, where they are stationed, and spoke with all of us.
Margie and Janet’s friend Jean McDonagh (spelled the correct Irish way), her husband Michael, their son Michael Jr., and their daughter Maura, with her husband and their sons were there. We had so much food to eat: pigs in a blanket, ham salad, chicken salad, meatballs, baked ziti, all types of cold cuts and cheeses, chip and dip, olives, and several types of pickles. For dessert, we were treated to cream puffs from Lyndell’s in Somerville, thanks to Jean McDonagh. I think I heard Jean say that she stood in line for one and a half hours to get two dozen cream puffs. (God bless her; everyone relished his or her puff.) There was so much food that Margie and Janet packed big bags of leftovers for each family. We ate for a couple of days on the leftovers. We thanked Margie and Janet for inviting us. It was great to see some of the cousins and their kids.
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I loved this saying: “An expert is a man who makes mistakes quietly!”
