We went up to Middlebury Vermont today. I haven’t been there since 1993, when I attended the intensive summer language program there, before heading out to China for the first tiem. It was a beautiful summer, as I recall. I have very clear memories of being overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the northern Vermont summer countryside where everything seemed full bloom. It was remarkably fecund. I listened to music that summer, like Don Drummond’s ‘Man in the Street” and Sonny Rollins’ “Saxophone Colossus.” My younger one is interested in languages. Middlebury has a focus therein. So, at her request we drove four hours up into Vermont to consider the campus but not much more, touring colleges, during Covid.
I thought I had my exit off the New York State Throughway all figured out. I’d avoid Rutland and crossed right over after maximizing my time on the three lane I-87. Instead, I got off near Saratoga Springs and wasted a lot of time cutting across the state only to reenter I-87 further up the line. Regardless I was glad to have a chance to drive along the main street of the fabled resort town It looked, all of a sudden, like Middletown CT., or perhaps Newbury St. in Boston. My wife agreed. But we'd no time to stay and soon we turned right and move out beyond what there was to see.
Middlebury took a while. Once we finally had it in our sights. I had to be mindful of the speed limits. The last time I was there in the Green Mountain State I earned a ticket in Bridgewater VT, doing 36 in in a 30. So, I abided by the Green Mountain laws, lest the prey upon my not-especially-green, New York State plates. We pulled into the Middlebury around 3:45PM. Some things I recognized but most of it was a blur. Then flashes of discrete memories came back to me. That walk up the hill. That funny reference to a song which I'd forgotten. Where did we actually live? We drove into campus, which is largely all cordoned off. The riverfront, where I assumed we’d eat was under reconstruction and we drove back up to the campus to get out and explore.
We parked. We walked. We suggested it was beautiful. My little one agreed. I was enthralled by the deliberate plantings which someone had once upon a time undertaken. I met a new maple, the Paperback Maple and two new oak trees, the Bur Oak and the Swamp White Oak, which both looked lovely, there on the main lawn with no competition, growing unmolested to their natural fullness. But I wonder if my little one learned much about Middlebury. College today It was a quick perambulation and soon we were back in the car. I’d pushed her to sign up for the virtual webinar before we'd left. She’s going to get a text message reminder on Wednesday. Well, it's a place now, rather than simply a word or a website.
We passed on an early dinner there in Middlebury. Nothing looked particularly inviting. Everything seemed to be under construction or indoors. Ninety-minutes later, having driven south along the remarkable vistas afforded along Route Seven, we entered Bennington, where there is another small, liberal arts college that we drove around there up on the hill overlooking the town. Bennington has a Main Street. We assumed we’d dine there for sure, but nothing in this town looked inviting (or safe) either and less than two hours from home we decided to bail on a Vermont dinner and just head back home where the there was lots of left over lasagna and a pork loin just waiting to be cooked, resting there in the refrigerator.
Saturday, 08/15/20
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