A Bench at Brookline Reservoir

The weather was nice, and I drove by the Brookline Reservoir (mentioned in an entry back in May titled “Brookline Reservoir”) on the way to Boston. Spontaneously, I decided to stop and to find that particular bench that I adored. Five years ago, a friend and I walked around the reservoir for the first time. The bench was brand new. There was yellow tape around the new bench set on the concrete. I took a picture to include in the album to give it to my friend as a parting gift.

The bench aged. On it, there are two plaques. The wordings are not as visible as five years ago, but they speak a lot.

“IN LOVING MEMORY OF
DR. MARK H. RAPAPORT
HE LOVED WALKING HERE WITH LEA”

“DEVOTED HUSBAND AND FATHER
HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
PROUD CITIZEN OF BROOKLINE”

A Sunday Morning in the Boston Public Garden

The last time I went to the Boston Public Garden to take pictures, I used a film SLR camera, and I learnt an important lesson. Wearing sunglasses without putting a polarized filter on the camera itself does not produce ideal pictures. Silly me. I was excited that the pictures would come out great because things looked so beautiful when I looked through my sunglasses into the camera lens.

Anyway, there were still plenty of good pictures for the album that I put together for my friend who was leaving Boston. His first reaction after seeing the album was, “Nice! Now, I don’t have to buy any souvenirs for my parents in Hong Kong.” I was speechless! Well, unfortunately, I do not have an electronic copy of the album. Therefore, I have decided to take a new set of pictures with a digital camera.

After numerous rainy weekends, the weather finally turns sunny and warm. It was such a beautiful morning in Boston today. The Boston Public Garden was quiet and tranquil. The swan boats were parked together in the pond near the bridge. It seemed as though time had stopped for a minute.

The geese and some homeless people were still sleeping on the grass while an early risen squirrel was running up and down the tree. I wonder what it feels like to sleep in the park overnight under the stars. Will I be scared? The territorial geese would probably peck me till I go away!

Some old men walked in groups chatting away. What could they possibly have so much to talk about? Bragging about their offspring, perhaps? Younger folks jogged. One guy sat on a bench under a willow tree grading papers. I love the willows. Even though people call them weeping willows, to me, they look so gentle. Their movement in the wind calms me down for some reason.

An old Oriental couple, probably Chinese, passed by me. They were wrinkled; they had gray hair. They had probably shrunk due to old age, but they looked so cute walking along side by side. Even though they did not hold hands, it was still a touching scene. It reminded me of a De Beers commercial where a young couple (with a big diamond ring, of course!) walking by an old couple. That’s precious love right there. Oh, so sweet…

Boston Public Garden Entrance

Swan Boats

Bridge and Swan Boats

Bridge

George Washington

Flowers

Willow Trees

Geese and Squirrel

Brookline Reservoir

On the way to pottery class every Saturday, I pass by Brookline Reservoir on Route 9 east. On a rainy chilly day such as today, the pink flowers on the trees look particularly sharp. On a sunny day, there are a few people walking / jogging around this reservoir. Few years back, I was one of them.

Perhaps, it was on a weekday after work. Maybe not... Gosh, involuntary selective amnesia. Anyway, it was during a late afternoon in the summer. I do not remember how we ended up at the reservoir. It was possible that we were just being spontaneous: drove by the place and decided to take a walk.

Around this not-so-big reservoir, there are benches. Almost each bench has some engraving stating a donor’s name and who he/she wants to honor. There is this one that I do not remember verbatim what is on the bench, but it reminds me of a scene in the movie Notting Hill: For June, who loved this garden – from Joseph who always sat beside her. June Wetherby , 1917 – 1992.

Brookline 水塘

每逢星期六往陶瓷班的途中，都會經過九號小路東旁的Brookline 水塘。在像今天陰涼下雨的天氣，樹上的粉紅色的花朵特別鮮明。在天晴的時候，有不少人在步行或慢跑。幾年前，我是其中之一。

也許，那是閒日下班以後。也許不是‧‧‧啊，非自願的選擇性失憶。無論如何，那是一個夏天的黃昏，已經不記得我們怎樣到水塘去了。有可能是基於我們突然有興致：車子駛過水塘便決定去走走。

在這不太大的水塘旁邊，有幾張木長櫈。幾乎每一張都刻著捐贈人的名字和被紀念的名稱。我不記得其中一張上面寫甚麼，但它令我想起摘星奇緣的一幕：給心愛這花園的June，常常坐在她身邊的 Joseph 立。June Wetherby , 1917 – 1992.

2005 Blizzard

After almost 24 hours of constant snow fall...