ICA, Boston. July, 2016

Hundreds and hundreds of little creatures. Rooms of them. All from the creative mind of artist Geoffrey Farmer. My friend Patti and I were lucky enough to see his installation here at the Institute of Contemporary Art just days before it closed. And you'll be seeing more of it right here in days to come.

Gloucester, MA. July, 2016

After the rain.

Gloucester, MA. July, 2016

The storm approaches.

Boston. May, 1984?

And with this photo of my friend Simon and our pal Marty, we bring to an end some two weeks of recently found photographs. A definite '80s vibe going on here. Marty is rocking something approaching a full clone look. And Simon, well let's just say that Farrah Fawcett comes to mind. What babies we were back then. Sigh.

Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. Autumn, 1980?

Why am I off-center in this photo? Because my late friend Dali wanted her dog, Harry, to have some spotlight. She and my friend John and I were staying with my former student and current friend Jacques in his family cottage for a nice, fall weekend, including a ride in Jacques's boat, as seen here. I remember feeling so comfortable that afternoon in the boat. I also remember that in the center of town was a small booth with a sign, Information, above the door. Dali, mischievous as always, went up to the woman in the booth and asked, "What's the capital of Delaware?"

Stratford-Upon-Avon. July, 1969

Picking up on yesterday's Shakespearean post, here I am on my first trip to Europe. Of course, this English major had to go to Shakespeare's alleged birthplace. I remember staying in a very twee B&B, and attending several performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. (Just to put things in perspective, I also remember that Shaft was playing at the local cinema.) Do you suppose I was the first (or last) person to pose with imagined sullied hands here in front of Lady Macbeth's stature in the Shakespeare memorial gardens? (It looks as if I was sporting a haircut -- and color! -- made popular back then by Twiggy. "The sun did it.")

South Orange, NJ. Autumn, 1969

One of the great gifts I received by attending the high school that I did was a love for Shakespeare. Not that we studied him at all well in class, but the Drama Club put on a different Shakespeare play every fall, and those of us who were in them came to know the plays really well, felt comfortable with them and their language, had lots of fun with them. Macbeth (I was Fleance, son of Banquo AND the "third apparition"), Julius Caesar (a citizen), The Merchant of Venice (a follower of the Prince of Aragon) and, shown here, Hamlet (I was stage manager.) As I type this, I realize that I peaked, as far as onstage time, in my freshman year and headed steadily downhill afterwards. Oh, well. This photo from our Hamlet features an old classmate of mine who is now a convicted felon serving time in federal prison. Which one do you think it is?