I'll pipe up here, in case anyone else wants
to contribute to the
cause. Doc spent just north of $400--I think it added up to $435--
on the roses, compost, and irrigation supplies. I think with Gail's
rose bush he's half way there.
Xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street santa monica
ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
-----Original Message-----
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:weeklong-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of McDonald G.
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 11:40 AM
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your
mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love,
Gail
________________________________________
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres(a)cvctx.com]
Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all
the moving parts
together so perfectly.
This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief
chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a
few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to
those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there
for the next planting project.
It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very
fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds
were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even
saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding
chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was
warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of
these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass
was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into
a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-
lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date,
as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely
sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line
(first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades),
enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do
it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly
shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched
in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their
particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old
gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the
irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the
length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at
intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular
rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food".
Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red
bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was
great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last
summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the
rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune
was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young
original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced
her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated
it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's
pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different
roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety
of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find.
Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered --
time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old
iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks
who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to
add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out
there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended
up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile
Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I
believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then
"Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of
Shakespeare in the morning.
Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy
grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in
the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a
wheelbarrow.
This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your
neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school
senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-
wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to
UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for
one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will
and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while
piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it
was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for
Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I
suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way
and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff
and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately
pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty
straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over
the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked;
Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized,
the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond"
moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all
stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future
memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the
meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult.
Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow
to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the
center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about
the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of
course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the
Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not
much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment,
as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael
Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way
across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in
pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or
strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the
sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had
to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that,
really.
We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at
Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of
the Stein poem sent by Mary.
What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of
making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it
felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses....
I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
Yep. You said it, buddy.
cheers,
cs
On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning.
Look for Clayton's
chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan,
Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah
Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz
(Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs
and a
reading of Mary's rose poem.
We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of
the
antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in
place.
Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send
me
a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6
sponsorships.
We had great weather and great fun.
Doc
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Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
www.shakespeare-winedale.org
cell: 512-363-6864
UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
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