Catching Up with the Raymonds

I haven't posted in more than a week, which doesn't happen often. But last week was a special week. I just didn't know what to write. On Monday, one of our friends died unexpectedly. Dave was 34, married with an 18-month-old kid, and juggling work and school. When I planned and coordinated events in our last church congregation, he was often the first one there to set up and the last one there cleaning up. We will miss Dave. Our friend, Ellen, got some pictures from his funeral.

That sad event overshadowed the rest of the week. I can't even remember what else happened last week without looking at my calendar.

This week has been better. An artist came to an empty lot by our house and sat there with a few dozen cardboard boxes, an exacto knife, and some glue and tape. A few hours later, he left an amazing cardboard model of Boston and Cambridge, complete with a sidewalk-chalked Boston Common and Charles River. There were about 20+ skyscrapers that looked like tiny versions of the real ones along the river. The artist chalked a note saying, "Welcome! Please take a box!" So we helped ourselves to the Longfellow and Harvard bridges, and a few skyscrapers from the Financial District. Over the past few days, I've seen bunches of kids gathered there with Matchbox cars. There are fewer and fewer skyscrapers every day, as kids leave with cardboard office buildings under their arms.

I didn't get a picture of the model in all its glory. This picture is from three days later. No one has taken the Prudential Tower yet. Let's hope it's claimed by tomorrow when Hurricane Earl comes to visit.