Daily events

Merwin is getting better and better with his camera. The top photo shows our volunteer Korean dogwood, a very nice kind of dogwood because it blooms later than the usual kind. We had a Korean dogwood in this same spot, but it had to be cut down after developing an incurable scale. But it left us with this volunteer. This tree is visible from my recliner and also from the kitchen and my study. The bottom photo is a closeup of the delightful blossoms. I like the lesson of the tree: death, yes, but then renewal in offspring.

Dear Friends and Family,

Again it has been some days since I have written. It's all the usual. On the health front, Dr. K had doubled my Hydrea, and just yesterday, looking at my bloods, she tripled the dose. This is 1500 mg twice a day just until my next blood results. I am fortunate in that I have not had the negative effects from this chemo that many people have. I have been feeling better, less lethargic, less pain, so the Hydrea is helping.

Highlights: Laury came over and we spent some time on the copy-edited version of our Measure for Measure. I read her interview of Arin Arbus, the artistic director of Theatre for a New Audience, and thought it was quite wonderful. Of course, I wish I could have been the one to conduct the interview, as I had planned, but since I could not, I am appreciative that Laury and I have a wonderful collaboration, we are almost like each other's second self as far as Shakespeare is concerned, as well as good friends otherwise.

The best part of the week so far was the writing group meeting here. Starting at 10:00 a.m. worked well for us. We chatted, discussing terrible developments at NCC. While Toby, Kathryn and I have retired, me since 1999, we all all interested and connected. The newish President arbitrarily fired temp employees. These decisions are usually initiated by departments, so the English department lost several people they wanted to keep. The anti-union movement has reached our college. So at the same time that Pres. Obama extols the role of community colleges, the funding is just not there. NCC gets supposedly 1/3 from the state, 1/3 from the county and 1/3 from students. The state and the county have dropped the ball. Anyway, we all read wonderful and diverse pieces. I read my opening for the chapter on Macbeth in performance that I am writing with Laury for Continuum Press, and got lots of positive gasps and wide eyes. I begin with the Astor Place Riots, 1849. Now the really hard work, choosing from among the hundreds of Macbeth performances on stage and screen the exemplary few that tell the story.

After our reading, we went (all but Joe who drove me there) to Kiraku, which has become my favorite restaurant, and had a convivial, joyous time. We decided on our next two meetings, at least one at my house again. This is easier for me.

My dear friend and colleague Nick met at MIT with Pete and the programmers there, and all went swimmingly. I don't know the details, but our sites will merge in some way. I feel that hamletworks.org will be safe under the roof of MIT. Next Nick goes to Prague (I had been scheduled to go too) and will present our site there. All these developments make me smile.

Loads of love to all,
Bernice