Penultimate Friday

It is early on this second-to-last Friday in Aspen this summer.  Yesterday was a relatively slow day, or so it seemed.  Although full of activities there was less rushing around due to overlapping appointments so I was able to hang around and wait at the various locations.

To catch up we'll have to start with Wednesday afternoon.  Every Wednesday Maya attends Mr. Kantor's "studio class".  This is a group class which included all of the 40+ students who are studying with him this summer.  Each week three or four students are selected to play the piece they are working on after which the other students offer opinions, comments and suggestions.  It's like a big intervention.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that Maya played the 3rd movement of the Bruch violin concerto.  Here's a view of the crowd.

After we returned from the music campus I believe Taryn went for a run, Jamuna was babysitting and Abe and Maya relaxed (honestly I'm not sure what they did), and I took off on the bike toward the fruit stand.  I though it was going to be a long ride but the shortcut I took made it seem surprisingly short.  I picked up some peaches, a couple of tomatoes, green beans and an over-ripe cantaloupe.  When I go back I heated up some chili that Mom Mom had made, steamed the green beans, and cleaned myself up.

I had a few bites and then the fun started.  I rode over to the Paepcke Auditorium which is right next to the music tent to attend a lecture about lasers and anti-lasers sponsored by the Aspen Center for Physics.  I enjoyed the lecture very much.  While I was there the rest of the gang had dinner then drove over to ACES for an astronomy lecture.  As soon as the laser lecture was over I raced over to ACES to join them.  I thought the lecture was very well done even though it was too early to include any actual stargazing.  When that was over we loaded the bike into the van and dropped by Paradise for fuel.  Robyn was playing in a quartet.  We made it "home" before 10 PM.  A great evening was had by all.

As you can see everyone was seated nicely in these folding chairs.  Since I arrive late I plopped down on a plush sofa against the back wall.  Nice.







Now yesterday.   Our first appointment was a tennis lesson for Abe which didn't start until 11:30.  That allowed for an easy start to the day.  Abe was up early for a viola lesson but that was rescheduled to today.  Like the little angel that he is, he practiced anyway.  I took a walk around the neighborhood with the big camera, aiming for the cemetery thinking there might be some interesting compositions to be had with long shadows and the like.  I was a bit too late so will go back another morning.



Along the way I caught up to a cluster of monks on their way up Cemetery Lane.  I asked them if they were going to be creating a mandala like last year and found out that they had just completed their work and that yesterday was the blessing ceremony.  I was surprised to hear this as I did not know they were in Aspen yet. I learned that there are two groups who come to town - one that sets up in town and this group that works at the Aspen Chapel.  Those Buddhists are so competitive.  I'll have to get a few photos of that non-denominational chapel as it is a beautiful piece of architecture.  Anyway, we were all disappointed not to have seem the mandala before it got tossed into the river.

This photo obviously shows a few of the monks just a head of me and more farther up the road.  It is also interesting to me because it shows what appears to be a lot of road traffic.  The road can be busy at times but this was unusual.  And, notice the random inclusion of the "for sale" signs.  If you click to enlarge you'll see a third sign just ahead of the monks.  At least in the areas we travel I estimate that one in fours properties are for sale.  Abe and I have been discussing starting a business to install and maintain for-sale signs in Aspen.

Abe had another tennis encounter with Torre (not Tory as previously reported).  I sat on the grass reading Back of Beyond (CJ Box).  BTW, we entered Yellowstone on page 75 and now we're almost to Two Oceans Plateau, so named because this area sits atop the Continental Divide and water on one side of the area flows to the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side to the Pacific.  Jessie, a nice old dog, sat with me.

As soon as I returned with Abe I took Maya and Taryn up to a rehearsal with Tamara.  While they were working I roamed around the music campus.  I saw a dog named Maggie swimming around the big pond following/chasing a duck.  Apparently Maggie had been at it for 15 or 20 minutes before I got there.  It was a sight to see.  The duck seemed to be teasing the dog by swimming just a couple of yards ahead of her the whole time.  I then had lunch at the small cafeteria, sitting with Charlie part of the time.  I ate too much. After lunch I watched the duck-dog show a while longer.  When Maya's rehearsal was over we all walked back up to the pond and the show was still going strong.  It had been going on about 90 minutes and we were all starting to wonder if either the duck or Maggie would give up.

Later in the day we just hung out at the duplex waiting for Prema to arrive.  Taryn took a 5-6 mile run to the post office and back, I pumped up all the bike tires, and the squad stayed busy with various important tasks. Later we all went into town for dinner, walking, shopping, and yes, ice cream.  For the record, I do not have ice cream every time we go there.  Sybarite5 was playing.  They are all AMFS alumni, and they are great.