It’s been raining here, so I haven’t got out much, but when I did I dined with old friends, and I won’t show those photos. So far I have only a few pictures of Cambridge, MA, and here they are.
The city (once a town):
A panorama of Harvard Yard. Click twice to enlarge. The group of people in the middle are tourists (mostly Asian) waiting to get their photo taken with the statue of John Harvard.
The center of the picture above:
. . . and across the street from the Yard is the Coop, Harvard’s official bookstore. In truth, they don’t have nearly as many books as they should, but a surfeit of Harvard memorabilia to fleece the tourists. I don’t have any Harvard tee-shirts (though I have over a hundred college tee shirts); I looked at one in the Coop, but it cost $35!
There was this book, though, and perhaps it bears reading:
Why Evolution is True has historically been on sale at the Coop since 2009, but now the biology section is PATHETIC, and my book is gone. But looking for it alphabetically by author in the tiny, tiny evolution/genetics section, I found Matthew’s last book on prominent display:
Out to lunch in Harvard Square, we passed the house of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a house also used as George Washington, headquarters:
This historic yellow mansion in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was home to one of the world’s foremost poets, scholars and educators. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived here from 1843 until his death in 1882 and produced many of his most famous poems and translations here. Geneneral George Washington also lived in the yellow house and used it as his headquarters during America’s Revolutionary War, planning the Siege of Boston here between July 1775 and April 1776.
Here it is on Brattle Street, which is flanked by many fancy and famous mansions. Longfellow must have made a good income from his poetry.
. . . and a statue of the poet in an adjacent park:
A nearby Quaker meeting house. I went here once in graduate school, as my adviser’s assistant was a Quaker, and she invited me to go. I went since I was curious about how the services went. They were very strange to me. The preacher (or whoever was in charge) asked us to introduce ourselves and explain why we were there. I was flummoxed as I hadn’t expected to speak, but I stammered a few words. Then there was a long period of silence until finally one member stood up and said what was on his mind. Then another person spoke, and so it continued. (You’re encouraged to say whatever you’re thinking.) This creates a sense of community without too much mishigass, so it was an enlightening experience.
However, as you see, the Quakers are “progressive”. This isn’t so bad but I’m told by one of them that they are also anti-Israel.
Finally, breakfast at my friends’ house, where I’m staying. They eat healthy, as you can see. No, this is not my breakfast; I had two pieces of cold pizza and a mug of coffee:
As I brushed my teeth this morning, I noticed that the faucet looked like a face—not just the face, but the face of a Fat Bear:
How about a picture of the BioLabs’ rhinos, if you get a chance? I used to work there (as a very lowly secretary, albeit for a VIP scientist), and haven’t seen them for decades.
I disapprove of cold pizza for breakfast – not because it’s pizza, but because it’s cold. Room temperature is okay, though.
My ex was raised Quaker and I sometimes went to meeting with his parents. I found it oddly taxing, since I’m far too fidgety and easily bored to endure prolonged ‘stillness’.
I haven’t been to the Biolabs yet, but when I do go, I’ll photograph the rhinos (I’ve sat on them).
Me, too! I miss those rhinos.
An excellent, short travelogue from Cambridge. Thank you. Enjoyed your clarification on your breakfast! I really do miss the days when bookstores were predominately defined by their cache of books…Barnes and Noble locally here in Newport News has steadily gone from a bookstore to a house of crap that also sells some books. The entire science section has been reduced to about five or six shelves also without even a single paperback of WEIT. I once asked about marketing local either born, educated, or living in the area in a “read local” table, but was told that B&N corporate policy forbade such an initiative….And now the Harvard Coop where in the 1970’s I bought a copy of Dirac’s “Quantum Mechanics” from one of the multiple shelves displaying general physics books! So it goes.
Is it because people are buying ebooks?
They’re cheaper and I find them easier to read (you can adjust background colour and text size). You can also search them.
Ah, competition between the titans : Why Evolution Is True vs. As Gods – who would win?! (Being silly there – for fun!)
I’m reminded of the dialogue in Good Will Hunting that ends with the question “What are the right books, Will?”
🤔
Splendid post.
Nice pictures, so familiar! Does the COOP still have the section where you can buy remainders from Harvard University Press? That was always a goldmine of inexpensive books, some of them excellent. I got some of the late Ernst Mayr’s books there, and many others. We graduate students sometimes went there en masse to scout for books. Do people still do that? Do they regard an expedition to scout for scholarly books as a social event anymore? We did.
Good photos. I only visited Cambridge once: to interview for a job for which I had no business even sending an application. At the time I was trying to become a sort of population geneticist. I have a vivid memory of Dan Hartl (co-author of “The Principles of Population Genetics”) staring at me over his desk wondering why he was wasting his time talking with me. Later I emailed the guy who was running the search to ask when they might offer the job to one of the applicants. He replied, “Don’t pack your bags.” So it was a good experience: helped me learn my place. Beautiful campus, loved the town too. Thanks for prompting those memories.
Nice photos! Thanks for sharing your travels!
Pizza, the breakfast of champions! 🙂
Cold pizza is the best breakfast!
I don’t know why. It just is.
I am anxiously awaiting “Crick: A Mind in Motion” (Matthew Cobb). His 2015 book, Life’s Greatest Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code was a great read and clarified the role of Franklin and her feelings about the DNA discovery. I hope to read more about the friendship of the Cricks and her when she was being treated for cancer.
“If Cats Disappeared from the World” is a gorgeous, bittersweet book! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! Japan loves its kittehs.
Another Japanese book I recommend is “We’ll Prescribe You a Cat.” All the individual storylines are related, but the end surprised me.
And another: “The Travelling Cat Chronicles” combines Japanese folklore with a modern, bittersweet story.
Jerry, you wouldn’t have liked the merch at the US Open (tennis) shops. The least expensive t-shirt was $48, and the “official” Ralph Lauren collection t-shirts were $78! Yes, people bought them. Alas, I did not. Some other prices: Cocktails were $24 each, a glass of champagne was $42, an official Ralph Lauren Polo regular shirt was $138, and of course I love the official shoes the ballkids wear. A bargain at $298.