Talking Cambridge and cities and life tonight with a local friend who also lived in Cambridge!

Nice to run into an old friend tonight in the cold, which reminded us both of our years in Cambridge, Massachusetts!

When I lived there, I was studying art therapy, and making art with homeless folks; he engineering and comedy—a winning combination! We spoke of the similarities between irish and jewish humor and life lament. That, I get! Great conversation! Made me feel at home, and more myself, as all true conversation does or should do.

The multi-ethnic funky irish jewish italian comedy song writing scene, and just being human there, was enough to talk about all night. How to be human together, i suppose was what i also learned in that place. Good to consider from time to time.

Harvard Square has changed (“the tasty” (hamburger joint, and haven for the homeless and artists, which often hang together), and many other great authentic haven spots are gone), but i spent many years working with the homeless there, and still have a heart for that area—so many street performers and comedians, and people just being people! Plus, the homeless have at least three newspapers! Always a good sign. I’ve lived in many cities globally but still miss that one. Let you be yourself, as long as you were willing to show up daily.

Cambridge in general was a funky fun place to live and grow in. My artist friends lived mainly above diners, dives and clubs; my homeless friends right on the metro gutters which blew pastoral warm air upwards at night, at least enough to sleep on and by.

Later, i lived with some dear jewish friends in Brookline, but i still miss Cambridge’s way. Always activist, always multi-ethnic, always pushing for the next level of how to live together well. And even the bus drivers had read Tolstoy and Maimonodes! Shakespeare was a given at any level of education. You never had to have had lots of school to be well read.

I met lots of poets in Harvard Square—Robert Bly, who I talked about death and Jesus with; Galway Kinnel, who i spoke about nature and cities with, Allen Ginsberg, who I asked about how to sing your poems in an impartational way (which he did well, i always thought!); and several others i still ingest and consider, as momentary teachers of life. “Kingdom can come through many sources, and be filtered!”

Can’t beat that combination of liberated, literate, educated and down to earth which occurs there! I still think Cambridge, shines a bit brighter in terms of truth than Boston proper. Though I like both.

I went to Lesley college for expressive arts, we were able to sneak into Harvard’s library, but we always felt a bit second class, like artists sneaking into a scholar’s lare or lab. Still, it kept us honest, as arts should stay, and as is in Cambridge, still.

I return often, and miss my many carney performance friends (some of which went to NYC to perform on SNL etc) there who are still working the streets! So many great street performers still!

Anyhow, nice to talk to this jewish friend from boston tonight!

Interesting, that we both liked the same Irish comedy pub clubs—what’s up with the Irish and Jews and Italians getting along through humor, at least in terms of comedy! Always fascinates me! What’s up with Jews and Irish, Celtics and Italian always digging the same spaces at the end of the day!

I was doing art therapy training up there, but hanging with and doing workshops with homeless; the homeless population is always the best way to get the honest pulse of a place. That place had a good pulse.

Anyways, I always liked Cambridge, Mass-still feels honest to itself. Nice talking to my friend tonight about it, reminded me of how each place is special, and has it’s unique nuances and gifts, and is part of the grander narrative. And so are we, when just being ourselves, and appreciating where we’ve been.