July 17, 2017

Beverly Farms, MA. Winter, 1979


My “best friend” Doris was visiting from New Jersey, and Dali decided we should drive to some beaches north of Boston to show her a Yankee New England coastal experience. Of course, Dali’s dog Harry came along, and I snapped this cloudy afternoon photo of the two of them, together as always, and as they always will be remembered. In September, 1978, when I was moving from my temporary stay with Dali in her North End Boston apartment to my own place in nearby Charlestown, we stopped at a supermarket parking lot...and an abandoned dog appeared. Dali checked around, summed up the situation, and loaded her frightening new pet into the car. Into my lap, if I recall correctly. From then on, and for years, they were inseparable. Almost until their deaths, which were just months apart. Jay still remembers running into Dali following a concert on the Boston Common and her saying, “It was great. Harry conducted.” Jay was confused, understandably, until he realized she was referencing Boston Pops conductor Harry Ellis Dickson, a family friend with whom she had first-name privileges. Still, the alternative is interesting to consider.

1 comment:

  1. I had totally forgotten about Harry ... the dog, not the orchestra conductor (though him too). But this entry conjures up distant memories of Dali and her ever-present companion Harry. I seem to recall that lots of people at WGBH were terrified of him and were convinced they would the top story on the news: "Mauled to death on camera during WGBH fundraising auction!" Well, it would be one way of getting out of having to work the auction.

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