Bytes from the Bean by Joe Manning 7-19-9912:00AM / Monday, July 19, 1999
"This is still an ideal place to live. We have the mountains. You have the change of seasons. You can see the change of scenery on the mountains. Of course, we get accustomed to this and don't notice it as much. But those people who left North Adams miss the mountains. That's the first thing they mention when they come back."
Ben Apkin, from Steeples
I drove into North Adams on Thursday, the 15th. I was excited, because I had no plans for the day other than several little errands to run. It's always interesting to just hang around and see what happens. When I got into town, there was a thick fog in the valley. Coming down the Hadley Overpass, I couldn't see the mountains or anything else above 100 feet or so. North Adams looked like a city out on the Kansas plains. It made me realize how much the mountains mean to the area.
A photographer is always looking for good shots. I had been waiting a long time for an opportunity to photograph the city through the morning fog from the Sand Bank. So I drove directly to River Street and hurried up the steep path. This is not easy at 7:00 in the morning when you haven't had breakfast and you are my age. I huffed and puffed all the way and had to stop three or four times to catch my breath. The weeds are very thick up there in the summer, and they were covered with dew, so my clothes got pretty wet. But when I reached the top, I knew it had been worth the effort. MASS MoCA looked spooky in the mist. You could see a faint image of the clock tower, and just barely make out the three smokestacks of the power plant behind it. I was hoping that the sun would start burning through the fog, which would have been a nice effect, but after fifteen minutes, I couldn't wait any longer. I was too hungry. So I walked back down and drove over to The Bean.
Tony Talarico had his 85th birthday on Tuesday, the 13th. He e-mailed me the other day and said, "You will see a difference in me, because I will be a year older. How about that!" I emailed back and asked, "A year older than what?" He answered, "I don't remember." Tony usually arrives at The Bean about 7:45, after working out at the Holiday Inn exercise room. I bought a corn muffin and put one candle in it. When he showed up, we all sang "Happy Birthday." Someone remarked, "One candle for every 85 years."
My friend, the chiropractor, sat down with us and munched on an egg and bagel sandwich. He told me that a famous actor at the Williamstown Theater Festival called him up and wanted some treatment. The actor said, "Meet me at the Adams Memorial Theater." The good doctor confesses to be out of the loop when it comes to who's who in the world of celebrity. So he asked the actor, "How will I know you?" As the doctor said, "I didn't get off to a good start." Later, he met the actor, who escorted him to a dimly lit area backstage. After the actor reclined on a sofa prop, the doctor attempted to massage his neck, but couldn't get his eyes accustomed to the darkness. "It that your neck or your thigh?"
As I often do, I checked into MASS MoCA when it opened at 10:00. With my membership card, I can get in free, so I get my ticket and put the sticker on my shirt. That way, I can go in and out all day whenever I choose. Sometimes, I hang out there in a quiet place and write. As I headed through the gate, MASS MoCA staff member Doug Bartow was about seventy-five feet up in a cherry picker taking pictures of the entrance. I waved and he told me to stand up on the brick wall that surrounds the upside-down trees and pose for a shot. I sat in the café area and watched the visitors come in. There was quite a crowd. When I was leaving, the sounds of singing and dancing were coming from the second floor of the building across the courtyard from the MASS MoCA offices. A new musical called Quark Victory is in rehearsal. Produced by the Williamstown Theater Festival, it will be presented at MASS MoCA soon.
When I got to Marshall Street, I looked up and saw a Goodyear blimp flying directly over MASS MoCA. When I was a kid, I lived near a small airport in Clinton, Maryland, where blimps often landed. My grandfather took me there once, and I was allowed to tug on the ropes that were used to pull the blimp down to the ground. Blimps were kind of scary for me back then. I thought they looked like something from outer space. I wonder what the crew thought of North Adams.
At 5:30, the North Adams Public Library held a reception to unveil Cheryl Murphy's painting called "The Generations of Hope." Cheryl is the artist who runs Day Six Gallery at Heritage Park. She grew up in Blackinton, moved away to become a teacher, and returned to her roots several years ago. She is offering prints of her painting for sale, with some of proceeds benefiting the Library Building Fund. This is a generous gesture on her part, and her painting of North Adams from the Hadley Overpass is beautiful and spiritually moving. This is something you shouldn't miss. Run down to Day Six Gallery when you get a chance or find out more about it at the library.
About 40 persons showed up at the reception, including Tony Talarico. When he left The Bean in the morning, he attended his weekly breakfast with several of his long-time buddies. They make the rounds of the local restaurants, eating in a different one each Thursday. This week, it was the Moonlight Diner in Williamstown. Tony's friends had a surprise birthday party for him. Instead of a cake, they had a blueberry muffin with one candle in it.
On Thursday, July 22nd, I will be speaking at Papyri Books about "The Hidden History of North Adams." It starts at 7:30 PM. I will discuss my proposal to establish a tenement museum in North Adams. I will show my pictures of several well-known tenements in the city and talk a little about their history. There is a tenement museum in New York City. It has a website, which I highly recommend.
http://www.wnet.org/archive/tenement/
Please come and see me. Audience participation is encouraged. Papyri Books is at 49 Main Street. Call 662-2099 for more details. See you Thursday
Visit Joe's website at: www.sevensteeples.com.
Email Joe at: manningfamily@rcn.com. |
