Home, sweet home


Home, sweet home.

I am back at home after a brief vacation.

Last Friday I arrived in Phoenix to stay with my dear and beloved friend Joyce.  (She was a parishioner in Pittsfield MA)

We enjoyed two very relaxing days together, despite the unusual rainy and cold weather in Arizona.

We did not need to “do” anything, we simply enjoyed being together.

Michael and Joyce

















Nevertheless we took one trip:to the Museum of Musical Instruments:



http://mim.org/




There amongst many other things we viewed John Lennon’s piano - on which he composed “Imagine”.

John Lennon's piano





John Lennon apart,  Joyce and I enjoyed a bit of shopping, a lot of talking, and the worship of God at Joyce’s parish: “St Barnabas in the Desert” in Scottsdale/Paradise Valley.

See

http://www.saintbarnabas.org/




After Church and lunch with Joyce I took a flight from Phoenix AZ to Tampa FL (the flight arrived in Tampa 20 minutes early!!, and then I stayed overnight at a “La Quinta” Inn near TPA,


After a good night of sleep I drove up to Lutz, FL to connect with former Cambridge parishioners: - Dr. Michelle Holmes – a breast cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School, her husband Derrick  Z Jackson – a “Boston Globe” columnist;  and their younger son Tano, (who has just graduated from college, and is about to train as a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.)


Michelle, Tano, Derrick

















(Michelle, Derrick and Tano were in this neck of the woods to attend the ceremony at which Derrick’s nephew was awarded he “Eagle Scout” badge)
.
We enjoyed lunch at the Spanish inspired restaurant in Ybor City, FL The Columbia”  (see

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/ybor.asp


Although I am very tired this evening, I am so glad that I can make and enjoy these connections!

Location: Ybor City, Tampa, FL 33605, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more