Day 359, March 9, 2021

Smells Like Spring

Tonight's soundtrack: Sly & The Family Stone, Tokyo Jazz Festival 2008

Today smelled like spring. It was almost imperceptible for me, just a general freshness to the air that reminded me of a glass of ice water. Franklin was hyper alert, and when we walked down to the river at lunch, he switched into instinctual mode and you could see the scents in the air pulling him as inexorably as a spaceship drifting into the reaches of a black hole. His head rose up into the air and his feet followed until he was about to plunge headlong into the icy Sawmill River to see what existed on the other side.

Spring is magical in New England, though technically we are not there yet. My kids were all born in snowstorms in early March, so I don't officially count on the arrival of spring for another few days. Regardless, spring is all the more magical for its long time coming. 

While Franklin investigated all the smells on the riverbank, I just stood soaking in the full warmth of the sunlight penetrating my pants. It was marvelous to feel so warm and just stand still for a moment. 

It is a paradox that in the shift to online work and work from home, that we have lost the regular intervals of pause and contemplation. Without regular trips across campus for a cup of coffee or to visit a colleague in another office, we need to create moments where one is allowed to pause and look out the window, walk the dog, eat a clementine, or stand in a ray of light. 

It is looking more likely that maybe sometime this summer the vaccines will make their way to most of us.  That's an exciting prospect. I wonder what those tentative celebrations will look like.

It think they will feel something like today, the freshness in the air, the melting snowbanks filling the streets with rivulets of water, the soft earth under the icy path, the wild look of a dog suddenly possessed with the desire to run, the sound of the river playing against the stones like fingers running along stair banisters. And of course, feeling the warm sun against your face, seeping through your clothes, until you feel almost as wild as Franklin and if there were only a few less constraints, you might go leaping across the river and bounding up the bank on the other side and disappear in to the distance.

I bet it will feel just like that.

Take care,

Leo

From Our Friends:

From Mass Humanities:

The New Bedford LGBTQ Winter Film Series will run digitally this year! Fans are suggested to watch the films prior, which are available on most streaming services and platforms. There are several DVD copies of each film located at the New Bedford Free Public Library – all you need is a SAILs library card and a quick phone call! The series kicks off with a discussion about the HBO biopic about legendary blues singer Bessie Smith on Sunday, January 31 at 3 PM. Speakers present will talk about the Harlem Renaissance, blues in general, and the impact of Black LGBTQ+ people in the arts. To join the events, follow the New Bedford LGBTQ Winter Film Series on social media for appropriate links and passcodes. The full series includes: Bessie on January 31, 2021; Love, Simon on February 14; Brother to Brother on February 28; and Tucked on March 14.  All films are to be watched on their own, and the Zoom event will be a discussion with guest panelists. Mark your calendar now so you don’t miss out!

Click here to learn more

Join the conversation on March 18, 7pm-8:30pm, with the fourth session of our online MS+MA event with Mississippi Humanities where we will bring together poet laureates from both states for a conversation about the role of poetry in public life. With the words of presidential inauguration poet Amanda Gorman still resounding across the nation, we'll hear poems and thoughts from Mississippi poet laureate Beth Ann Fennelly and her student, Michael Martella, plus Worcester poet laureate Juan Matos and Amina Mohammed, Worcester's youth poet laureate. Questions? Please contact Ashley Ayala at aayala@masshumanities.org.

Click here to register