This Sure Doesn't Look Like Arlington, part 1

We made it to the King Mango Strut, one of my favorite
events around Miami. Look at this article with a bunch
of good photos you can access from the Miami Herald.
More personal takes on Miami later. . . .

Winter Came

It happens every year, but it's still impressive. It's also tiring if you need to shovel a driveway or a car out from under the snow. But, once that's done, it's one of the most beautiful and peaceful scenes you could ever imagine.

This is a view down my street in Arlington taken today in the afternoon. This morning, I walked down this street, took a left, and had a coffee and croissant at one of the best bakeries in the area--Quebrada Bakery. Chatted with a couple of neighbors and looked over Saturday's NYTimes. Heaven.

The day before, one house over going in the opposite direction, I
attended a great little Christmas party. There, I learned that my
neighbor is a very accomplished violinist. She may be the music
buddy I've been looking for around here. She suggested going to
see an opera put on by the MET and broadcast live on HD at a
local movie theater. That could be fun!

In a couple of days, I'll be in Miami and photos like these will
seem like a fantasy. But my sons and I can tell stories about
the snow and enjoying our quiet time inside. (They were happily
stuck at their grandmother's place over the weekend.) I hope
to have some contrasting pictures of our Miami trip later.

Coincidence -- maybe

So today I went to two Christmas parties. I was psyched to get out. The first one was the annual Christmas party held by my old boss at Harvard Business School, Tony.
Very friendly gathering at his house in Needham, as usual.
(Main drag in Needham pictured here.) One of the guys I talked to at the party had met my CEO at a conference. Not too unusual, because he works at MIT and my company is so tech-oriented. But still bit of a coincidence.


Then I go to this other party in the Back Bay on Beacon street
held by a new friend of mine named Jane. (See the facade on Beacon
Street close to her house.) So, one her many talkative and smart guests
(my kind of people) turns out to be a classmate of Tony's from Harvard
Business School. THEN, an old friend of mine--whom I knew years ago in
Lowell--named Kate Carpenter turns out to be an old friend of Jane's.
Kate was also one of my ex-wife's childhood friends. That
was really far out. And I live next door to Kate's brother-in-law, Cole.

Complicated? Yes. Coincidence. Who knows?

This very enjoyable evening seems to tell me that getting out and mingling
can do wonders. It was great fun. We're definitely going to get people
mingling at my place with a fondue party here next February.