Lord Timothy Dexter to Come Home Again
in a Motion of Comity

for a "surprising enterprise" on October 30, 2004
& the Annual Harold Harnch Halloween Parade on October 31st
{Impressions by the press ~ high tidings from the Merrimack Current's Mouth of the River}
{Newburyport News in Brief ~ press release published by the Daily News}

In an enterprising & surprising adventure ~
Saturday October 30th at the Newburyport Public Library ~
the central place where history comes to life ~

when Lord Tim brought the first "figger" from
his "mouseum of grate caricters" to life
to remark the 215th anniversary of George Washington's visit
to Newburyport on that date in 1789.

Time will tell what the strange, wonderful & philosophic Lord Tim has planned ~

All generations welcomed to join Lord Tim in the Newburyport Public Library Children's Room at 3 pm as he prepared for the arrival of "Jorge Washington the grate herow" promptly at 3:33 pm ~ After a "meet and greet" reception at the library ~ revisiting portions of the Tracy House where the nation's first president was received by the community 215 year ago ~ the entourage was to proceed down State Street to the Old South Church on Federal Street ~ the Meetinghouse where Washington met with an ecumenical session early that evening, long ago ~ This event was not a re-enactment per se but an entertaining & enlightening exchange ~ an interactive conversation about the past, present and future & a foreword for forward thinking words & deeds ~ So, set your compass & mark your calendar for a grand occasion to remark history and "history in the making" ~ And remember ~ All's Well that Ends Well ~ so in turn, Lord Tim was to join the community in the Annual Harold Harnch Halloween Parade to celebrate All Hallows Eve, Summer's End & new beginnings on October 31st.

 
All's Well that Ends Well
 


At Summer's beginning ~ in anticipation of the Once in a Blue Moon opportunity in a Motion of Comity with Yankee Homecoming 2004 ~ Lord Tim strolled past the Dexter House on High Street in the form of Newburyport native Paul Jancewicz ("boddey & sole").

Disappointed to find the grounds devoid of the "wodden figgers" from his "mouseum of grate caricters" ~ Dexter would ask the good questions: Can you come home again? What is progress?
 


[Lord Tim was to later inspect the only "wodden figger" to survive intact ~ along with an appendage or two ~ presently on display at the Cushing House.]

Earlier that Spring, the ambi-Dexterous form had posed with the bronze statue of George Washington at the Bartlet Mall ~ a more durable "figger" indeed. However, his Lordship proposed this would not "doue" for the doings at Summer's End ...

When Lord Tim would come home again for the Full Hunters Moon & the second harvest ~ bringing history to life with the first "figger" from his "mouseum of grate caricters" to remark the 215th anniversary of George Washington's visit to Newburyport on October 30, 1789.
 
Standing at the fireplace mantle in the reading room of Newburyport Public Library ~ once the twin parlors of the Tracy House (Dexter's abode from 1791 - 1796 where Washington took respite in 1789 ~ his Lordship recalled his days as a merchant adventurer when his ships the Mehitabel & Congress would trade at distant ports.

"I will take the helm in love" & launch new beginnings with the turn of the wheel at Summer's End & Second Harvest, he vowed.
 

His mission would presage a missive penned for the library's sesquicentennial celebration planned for September ~ one amongst many anniversaries the community observes this milestone year.

 To commemorate the anniversary, items were placed into a time capsule to be sealed for fifty years. Atop the myriad keepsakes and the Newburyport Bank's endowed passbook deposit scholarship (to support the lifelong learning of future generations) is the notable message: The library should be a central place where history comes to life.
 
This would take a community in the work, even with his Lordship at the helm. And as Lord Tim would lament in "A Pickle for the Knowing Ones," ~ it is hard work being a Lord, harder than tilling the fields ~ and especially frustrating with proffers plenty & coffers empty. For without his largess ~ Dexter might be magnificent, and perhaps magnanimous, but not munificent.

The Knowing Ones ask the good question: What would Dexter do?
 

Seeking a window of opportunity for budding enterprises ~ Dexter & the Knowing Ones would make overtures to new & old friends that Spring ~ planting and cultivating seeds of thought to later harvest by the Full Harvest Moon1 ...

Knowing well that when one door closes another will open ~ if the idea has merit & luck would have it.
 
Sometime later ~ pensive under a verdant stand of old growth arbors on a sultry Summer's day ~ with the moon waxing for a Once in a Blue Moon opportunity on July 31st ...

Dexter vows that when the trees know2 that it is Summer's End ~ he will be home again in a Motion of Comity to bring history to life and mark new beginnings.3
 

By a tree in another arbor stood George Moore as "George Washington Himself" ~ who is to personify the nation's first president on the occasion to remark the 215th anniversary of Washington's visit to Newburyport.

A retired minister living in Newton, New Hampshire, Moore has immersed himself in the role of Washington (as both General and first President) for some 18 years. Highly commended for his characterization, Moore considers one of the high points of his career to be the portrayal of Washington at the anniversary celebration of Mount Rushmore.

A more enduring "figger" --- Indeed.
Overleaf ~ revisit the October 30th occasion
 
 
1Expect his Lordship to be in good form and "absolute balance" for his upcoming adventures. The Spirit Awakened, Dexter's next exploit is planned in a Motion of Comity with the Youth Commission and is sponsored by his "oulde frinds" at the Newburyport Bank. The bank's board of directors fully approved the supposal on the morning of September 28th ~ Keeping Pace with the Heavens, that would fall on the morn of the Full Harvest Moon. It was good tidings to learn from President Richie Eaton that the bank would give this endeavor currency ~ in every definition of the term. Lord Tim & the Knowing Ones remain eternally grateful.

Remaining on this side of the veil for All Hallows Eve & Samhain (Summer's End) ~ Lord Tim was to join the community for the Annual Harold Harnch Halloween Parade on Sunday afternoon October 31st ~ to mark new beginnings & set the Plan in Motion for future adventures.

2The phrase the trees know is inspired by a poignant song with that title and refrain ~ written by Elisa M. Welch in 1994 and recorded as the 11th track on her debut CD album, "The Wheel" (c) 1999. Elisa describes herself as "a countercultural ethnomusician specializing in Left Coast Neo-Celtic Folk." This song was first heard broadcast on the local radio station noted below.

For, while residing on the West Coast since 1986, Elisa has local ties ~ growing up in North Andover and spending summers at Seabrook, then Salisbury, then Plum Island. She still returns to visit family every summer ~ given her "various brothers" now live in Newburyport. (Yes, one of them is Henry Welch of the Henry Welch Band fame ~ a great group that with regular gigs at the Grog, to the delight their fans) ~ Here is hoping that on one of those occasions, Elisa might perform locally.

As for her original opus recorded on "The Wheel" CD ~ Elisa notes that ~ while some songs are more universal (or Celtic) in nature ("Imbolc" and "Samhain") ~ many lyrics were inspired by her West Coast experiences ~ with "Beside Yourself" composed after the Loma Pireta earthquake of 1989 and "The Trees Know" written after time spent communing with a ring of redwoods in Mendocino.

Of course, with her New England roots, Elisa well understood why the Waterside movement quickly embraced "The Trees Know" to remark its spring and fall benchmarks ~ and had often requested the song be played on "Top of the Morning" radio program co-hosted by former Mayor Mary Carrier and Finan O'Riordan ~ aired live Sunday mornings from 8 until noon on WNBP 1450AM ~ along with several other album favorites4.
 
3Affirming this promise during the Once in a Blue Moon opportunity ~ when building a cairn along the banks of the Merrimack River with today's generations of the Waterside people to indicate we have come this far ~ Lord Tim conveyed he may come back (once again) from time to time "toue see houe you all goue on." Pray do come home again, Lord Tim, for the doings at hand need your "Dexterous" touch.
 
4The original song entitled "The Process" was particularly a apropos back in 2002 and 2003 ~ while planning and documenting the Annual Public "town meeting" Forum ~ inspiring the Waterside community to "sing the big note." Given Comity hopes to revive the process once again ~ it will be on the hit list.
 
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