Thoreau Mentions the Azores!

On another blog, I am recording my research into a play I am writing about Henry David Thoreau, Walden Pond and the circle of Transcendentalists who evolved around it.

In Thoreau's first book, "A Week on The Concord and Merrimack Rivers" (1849), I am shocked to find this on the first page:

I am bound, I am bound, for a distant shore, By a lonely isle, by a far Azore, There it is, there it is, the treasure I seek, On the barren sands of a desolate creek.

He knows his world, both near and far.  He would later live in a cabin by himself for two years and would be an important philosopher/nature writer who would show America the beauty of the natural world and plant the seeds for the current environmentalist movement.  My mother has always espoused this idea as well.  Every wildflower and weed is beautiful in its own way and Mother Nature should be honored and respected.

Random FB Poetry

Taken from a page called "Gosto de ti, e entao?"  And Bing Translate.

E o melhor lugar do mundo, ainda é dentro do teu abraço. É aquele que eu gosto de vestir. Que me protege e suporta. O que me acolhe o coração. O que me aquece a alma.
Dentro do teu abraço o mundo pára. E eu páro com ele.

And the best place in the world, is still in your hug. Is the one that I like to dress up. That protects and supports me. What is the heart. That warms the soul.
Inside your hug the world stops. And I stop with him. 

(No other author given)

Imperios em Hudson, Massachusetts!!

So, every year, on the last Sunday in June, they do a HUGE Portuguese celebration at the Clube. I find myself nearly fainting, packed into a wide & sweaty line of people, patiently waiting in the heat for a huge bowl of bread soup.

It's a famous tradition.

And maybe made the biggest impression on me when I was a kid. "This is what it means to be a child of the Azores!!"

This year, my Mom & I were out for a drive, when she suddenly remembered. (Another case of Portuguese-Immigrant-Amnesia). "it's the day of the Imperios!!" she shouts, and suddenly, we are transformed from being bored Americans out for a Sunday drive to Portuguese People!! Obligations, language, songs and tastes are released from memory and we hurry to make sure we don't miss the parade & feast!!

My Mother, you understand, is an older lady, whose energy level matches her exalted age. She is usually very quiet and sleepy. But with one quick call (they didnt have internet then, and dont need it now!), her whole mood became excited & animated the closer we got.

Last year, in the parade, there was a cow pulling a "traditional" cart filled with hay. It squeaked so much that you would have thought they were tugging the first Portuguese Dinosaur in captivity.

The rest of the town is usually baffled by the sudden traffic jam on a Sunday afternoon. A elder townie lady got out of her car and asked our group what was going on. I responded enthusiastically that it was a Portuguese Heritage Parade! She only blinked. And asked if the road we were on cut through to River Street. (If Boston can be taken over for StPaddy's Day & Italian Festivals, why can't those groups be at least appreciative of other "ethnic" celebrations? I've seen it here my whole life, and maybe it's a regional & generational thing as well. NY'ers may resent everyone else, but at least we are respectful of other people taking their turn at parades)

There are usually a bunch of people carrying flags, little girls dressed up in white gowns and a few marching bands. (Note the guy with the green saxophone!!)

The parade goes from the edge of town to the Portuguese Clube, on Portuguese Clube rd or something like that. Parking is never plentiful enough, although the same number of people seem to come every year.

There's an ice cream truck selling "American" stuff, but there is also a stand selling Portuguese Merch (tshirts,CDs, futball flags, etc) and a stand selling traditional food including Malasadas!! (if you buy a dozen, don't get them all sugared, they'll just get soggy & sticky. We always buy a dozen, and eat one or two there!!)

The building was "sponsored by" some guy who runs a cement company, i.e. the most "successful" immigrant, or maybe just the one who wants to show off the most. Or even the one who is the most generous, maybe. It's got a hall for weddings, a restaurant for "futball" games and a gym for everything else.

Behind the big building is another, smaller, dining hall. It has a large kitchen and capacity for maybe 60 people at long tables. THIS is the Imperios Banquet Room!!

The tradition from the islands is to celebrate the saints, each island has a different saint, so there won't be competing festivals on their Saint Days. Some people go from island to island just to go to the festivals (and to visit & have fun too, of course). The rich people in the town contribute money to buy some meat, the WOMEN cook it up into an amazing and simple broth, which then gets served over bread and a few sprigs of mint. It is served, in various seatings, to the community for free. To drink, there is a choice of red wine or a sugary punch.

There is even a word for what the little old ladies drink, asking for punch first, and then a little wine to top it off. And then a little more wine... You'd think it would taste weird, but it's funny, yummy and distinctive (I would never think of mixing the two, but when in the midst of little old Portuguese ladies....)

Oddly enough, the tradition INCLUDES the suffering of waiting in line, crowded together on a hot day. In Hudson, they have generously provided a covering for shade, but can't seem to organize a numbering system or a way to keep people in line in the Air Conditioned Gym (100 feet away!!). It happens everywhere & Everytime I go! I'm always afraid that the little old ladies (or I ) will pass out from the heat! (And trust me, passing out before the little old ladies would be pretty humiliating!!)

Not to mention that the traditional broth is always served in the summer... I wouldn't be surprised if anthropologists analyzing this in the future would describe it as an endurance test recalling the heat of the homeland. Although the islands are usually more temperate than New England....