Only in Pittsburgh

.... Could I spend the day working (it was the Saturday shift) and end up covering a public meeting which reminded me, once again, about why I love Pittsburgh. For nearly two hours, nearly 100 people stood and told the mayor and a host of public officials about their love and need for Pittsburgh's public libraries... founded by Andrew Carnegie more than 100 years ago. Four of those libraries are slated for closure because of budget problems, but perhaps, given the public outcry, that will be averted. I was amazed at the cross-section of people in the audience and at the microphone... retired schoolteachers, young moms holding babies in their arms, philosophy students, nuns, a jazz trumpeter (who played "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the end of his comments, in tribute to those who had filed into St. Mary's Lyceum in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood to speak their minds), the young man from Holland, here getting his doctorate in neurological science, another young man who said he does "menial tasks" for a living, the 11-year old girl from Hazelwood who softly told the crowd she goes to her library after school to write her essays on the library's computer (she doesn't have one at home). Norman Rockwell should have painted the scene... but all I could do was write about it.

Anyway, after work I headed over to see the Pittsburgh Opera's "Falstaff" with the PG's music critic Andrew Druckenbrod, who had a spare ticket. Mark Delavan played the title role and Andy says he could be America's next Wotan, as James Morris eases out of those Wagnerian roles.... As it was, Delavan seemed to be channeling Sherrill Milnes (I saw Milnes do Don Giovanni in a Met traveling producting in 1972-3 while at college in Boston. Have never forgotten it) Falstaff isn't a great singing role -- he kind of gets drowned out in the last act... but it's certainly good enough... and that ravishing last act as staged by the Pittsburgh Opera was all magical, moonlit masquerade... exquite music, children's voices.... "Chimes at Midnight." there's a wonderful video on Post-Gazette.com showing Delavan having his makeup put on for the role. It is hilarious... If you do nothing else today, click on this link, you will love this guy (especially when he goes into Clint Eastwood mode).

P.S. Only in Pittsburgh could I go to the opera, and in the space of a half hour run into the three doctors who have changed/improved my life: my longtime, beloved family doctor and doctors Ray Capone and Dan Gagne... 'nuff said. Pittsburgh IS a small town, with very cultured doctors! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mother turned 80 yesterday, and my youngest daughter Annie and I drove down to Charlottesville, Va., to celebrate with her and some of my sisters, their progeny, et al. A long drive through the mountains, six hours total, even though I suspect that, as the crow flies, C'ville and Pittsburgh are at most three hours apart, if that. Nonetheless a great time was had by all. Here's a photo of some of us (Mom is at the far left) at cousin Carter Speidel's cross-country meet.

Sister Sophie ran her fourth Ultra last weekend. She gets a lot of cool stuff to wear from the race's sponsor if she wins or places at the top, which she frequently does. Here she is in her kitchen that evening after the UVA/Indiana football game whipping up some homemade chicken soup... shirt by SmartWool. You can't really see it in this photo, but I really WANT it.


And here's another photo of Mom's birthday dinner Sunday night at Duner's, a tasty tasty restaurant whose menu boasted lots of good things to eat. There was great people-watching to be had, typical Charlottesville: crunchy/hippie/counterculture people, horsey people, outdoorsy mountain bikers/hikers, good ol' boys, UVA profs and... us! (we defy description). Everyone in the restaurant sang happy birthday to Mom when they brought out a chocolate mousse cake slice with a candle in it!

It's great to have a mom whose birthday is in mid-October because I was able to get my fall foliage fix on the way down. Here's an old Victorian in Bedford, Pa, where my husband lived for two years when he was editor of the Bedford Gazette. Alas, it was getting dark so the photo doesn't quite do justice to the tree's colors... but that HOUSE!







Here's the venerable old Bedford Springs hotel (once the summer White House for James Buchanan, and where the Supreme Court met). When Gary was living there in the late 1980s, the hotel stood vacant, waiting for someone to fix it up. Well, someone finally did:








In some ways, the most beautiful part of the weekend was the trip on Sunday to Carter's Mountain, near Monticello. It was a gorgeous Indian summer day -- and while the view reminded me of the Napa Valley, the vast crowds who came to the mountaintop (not pictured!) reminded me of the battle of Dunkirk.. but never mind. The just-picked apples and cider donuts made it all worthwhile... I just had to take a picture of the donuts, still hot, glittering with sugar... oh my oh my.





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You can't really tell from these photos, but on one side of Carter's mountain, the view is of ridge after ridge of mountains... while on the other side, the view is of coastal plain, flat as a pancake. I have to wonder what the first settlers thought when they ascended this mountain and looked out on the other side....










At day's end, Sophie, me, my daughter Annie and her cousins Grace and Virginia decided to take the trail down Carter's Mountain... it was a gorgeous hike. Here are some pictures of them that I took before we headed down: