The New Semester

     We had a relatively easy trip back to Durham, albeit a day or two earlier than we thought. The scheduling of some extra meeting required Nan to be back by the 9th.  So we headed South on the 7th.  Weather was great, but with the dogs and stops every couple of hours it still took 11 hours plus. 
     The first big event of the semester was a concert by the Branford Marsalis Quartet.  Mr. Marsalis and his entire quartet are currently participating in an extended artist in residency program at North Carolina Central University here in Durham.  The concert was one of those incredible experiences where you get to enjoy the talents of four great jazz musicians.  The quartet is made up of Mr. Marsalis on saxophones, Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass, and Justin Faulkner on drums.  They played for almost 2 hours straight.  Some of the music was based on the songs found on a new album they recorded in October.  Marsalis explained that they really hadn't rehearsed them since October, but you couldn't tell.  Their first number was written by Calderazzo, which for recording purposes was called "Joey's fast number".  When pressed for a title by the record company Mr. Marsalis named it "Twister", which appeared to be news to Mr. Calderazzo.  In any event, the music soared.  I loved watching Calderazzo get into his solo's sometimes standing up(a la Jerry Lee Lewis) and playing away. One other high point was a drum solo by Mr. Faulkner.  At most jazz concerts that I've been to the drum solo gives the band an opportunity to rest.  They walk off stage and let the drummer bang away for 5 or 10 minutes.  In this case, the rest of the quartet stayed on stage and played a repetitive series of five or six notes while Faulkner and his drums became the center of focus and became one - it was great.  Another piece that both Nan and I found moving was one written by Marsalis in the style of the French jazz artist Sidney Bechet - very romantic.  One of the best concerts we've been to since being down here.
     Of course the new semester also includes getting back into Duke sports.  One of the first things we went to was the opening match of the women's tennis season.  Duke is ranked #3 in national poles and features the top-rated Freshman recruiting class led by the 7th ranked amateur Beatrice Capra.  The opening match was against William and Mary and resulted in a Duke sweep.  In order to entice students to attend, pizza was served during the break between the doubles ans singles matches. The second tennis match I went to was against Indiana, and again Duke prevailed with a sweep.  This time Bojangles chicken sandwiches were featured as "half time" treats. If we keep attending tennis matches, I think we can save on our food bill.

     It was a doubleheader sports day as I went from the tennis to Duke (#5) versus Maryland (#8) women's basketball game.  I got to go with my friend Spiro who has great seats in the front row just above the student section.  It was an excellent game in which Duke triumphed.  We were not so fortunate last night playing UConn.  The Huskies played great defense and shot a high percentage of 3s to beat us by 16.  Despite the loss it was a battle of quality teams.  We just couldn't find enough offense to stay close.  The place was hopping though, which is great for a women's game which only recently has begun to develop strong student support.
     There was an interesting article in The Chronicle, the Duke student newspaper, about how student attendance has fallen off dramatically at sporting events.  It appears that some of the students' seats are now available to the community at large.  The article has sparked an interesting debate in the paper about the level of funding the sports' program is receiving in light of the falling student attendance. Of course as long as the programs continue to produce massive revenues for the University, I doubt very much if there will be a reallocation of funds to other programs.  I can't help but wonder if this is something that is occurring only at Duke, or is happening at other schools.

Hectic Holidays Up North

      At the close of the Fall semester Nan and I headed back to our home for the holidays.  The weather cooperated and we made it home after driving overnight.  The next three weeks were filled with a variety of social engagements and family get-togethers.
      One of the first opportunities I took was to visit my friends in Schoharie County, where I worked for 16 and 1/2 years.  The day I visited was one which had been designated for a luncheon honoring all those who worked so hard and under such tough conditions caused by the flooding in the Schoharie Valley after the rain from hurricane Irene.  The coiurthouse is still not fully functional, as the first floor is undergoing major renovation because of the flooding.  My friend Tim Holmes, Supreme Court Librarian, had his Library completely destroyed.  Some of the Third District staff was present and it was good to see them as well.  The presentations gave you an idea of how devestating the floods were and how much work went into keeping the courts going.  It was truly very moving.

 
      Last year we had an artificial Christmas tree and this year we decided to have a live one(well actually this wasn't a live tree either because it had been cut down).  This year we went all out.  Nan is the best tree decorator ever.  When we got the tree, it represented the only thing in our living room.  Having redone the floors in the summer, we had yet to have purchased any furniture.  That was remedied by delivery of a sofa and comfortable reading chair the Wednesday before Christmas. It got there just in time to have someplace for the kids to sit.

     It has become a Christmas tradition for us to go bowling several days before the big day.  It is the only time all year that I for one go bowling and judging from our scores I don't think there was much practicing over the past year by anyone else.  In a way we were all winners: Erin got her high game ever, Krista got her first strike,  Spike went from the worst first game to the best second game, David collected the most total strikes, and I won total pin count. 

     Christmas Eve was spent at my sister's house.  We moved the start time up a bit so that Nan and I could sing at the Christmas Eve Service in Averill Park.  Joing us were Tony and Jane, some hiking friends and fellow "46ers".  It was Spike's first Christmas Eve with us, so we were all on our best behaviour.  One of my sister's trademarks, including the great food,  are the "bows" she puts on her gifts.  They're not really bows, but works of art.

      Here's David and his package with the bow representing rolling terrain and skiing.

     Nan's package represented her sliding downhill most of her hike of Coocheccarga with Sue and George.  Her snowshoes broke and she spent most of the hike sliding on her ... well you can guess.
     Singing at church in the candlelight on Christmas Eve was really nice.  It took me back to when I was a kid and going to church on Christmas Eve was part of the tradition.  We sounded pretty good if I do say so myself.
     During the week after Christmas, we visted with a number of friends including Chase and Mac from Hillsdale.

     We were looking for someplace to go dancing for New Years Eve, but they were all so expensive.  Then we discovered "Party With Marty" at the American Legion in East Greenbush.  Dancing with a DJ until midnight with our friends, Marie, Helen, and Larry was a great way to bring in the New Year, and the price was right - No Cover!

     Our trip north ended with a trip to the RPI Field House for a hockey game.  For over 40 years we had season tickets to RPI hockey.  This was the first year that Suzanne didn't pick up the seats(which worked out in a way as RPI is currently 3 wins 15 loses).  I just thought that we should go to one game "for old times sake".  Sue, Jim Miller, and myself went to dinner first at Brown's Brew Pub in Troy and then on to the game.  RPI lost, but we got to see a few of the old timers who haven't given up their seats.
    The New Year is underway and we're back in Durham, where we'll be for at least another year.