Summer Weekend

So after all the hoopla of July, with the World Cup, the Tour de France and the British Open, along with all the church things, your Center City Correspondent had to think up a few things to keep him and Mrs. CCC busy this weekend. Luckily the weather cooperated so we were able to do just about anything we wanted.

On Friday we strolled over to the Art Museum and saw the Late Renoir exhibit. He used beautiful colors along with pleasant models to celebrate his life and the world around him. His paintings are accessible and don’t scare me the way some modern artists do. The exhibit covers his work from about 1890 to his death in 1919, and at the end of the exhibit, after seeing all these beautiful paintings, there is a short film clip of him at work painting. He suffered from arthritis which made his hands all gnarly. Try to imagine painting with your hand in a ball and the index and middle fingers in a V and your thumb at a 90 degree angle to them. Then stick a paint brush in there and try to paint. He truly suffered for his art. Afterwards we hit the local for a lunch and a few drinks, then home to plan the rest of the weekend.


We had originally decided to go to NYC on Saturday, but instead Mrs. CCC suggested we go see the Philadelphia Union play. As you probably know, the Union is the new soccer team in town, except that their stadium is in Chester, PA. So we drove down there, and I must report that that the stadium is a gem, in a beautiful riverside location, with the Commodore Barry Bridge running almost overhead. Very scenic. The game was interesting, ending up in a 1-1 tie against the New England Revolution. I realized as I drove home that any sporting event that I can’t reach by subway may be too much of a hassle for me.

After the excitement of the last few days, we stuck close to home today and watched the Phillies avoid a sweep against the Washington Nationals in DC. It seemed like more than half the fans attending the game were Phillies fans; at least they got to see a win.

A quick note about my recovery – I worked the last Phillies home stand as a ticket-taker to spare my knee the steps. It went pretty well. I just needed to ice my knee a few days to ease the pain and I was fine. This Friday when they return from their road trip, I’ll be back in the sections, hiking up and down the steps. Wish me well. I want to thank the Phillies for being so accommodating and bringing me back. If I wasn’t able to do that it would have been a real shame.

All for now. Enjoy your week.