Roving Reporter: It Takes Two

Last Sunday, hundreds gathered along the river to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox with music, poetry, and an improvisational sax serenade from an illuminated sun-moon boat floating down the Charles. The Revels RiverSing drew an eclectic crowd of families, friends, and lovers—so our Roving Reporter went to talk to pairs of revelers about, well, each other.

Nita D. Sembrowich ’79 and Michael Higgins

Roving Reporter: Can you tell me how you two met?

Nita: We live in a co-op in Riverside and that’s how we met. Michael always says we met by the garbage cans. I moved in in ’94 and you moved in in...’86?

RR: Why did you decide to live in the co-op?

Michael: We had some control over our destinies.

Nita: We didn’t have to deal with landlords.

RR: And Michael, what would you say is your favorite thing about Nita? I’m putting you on the spot here.

Nita: Something civilized.

Michael: Something civilized? I’d say ... her presentation on Sunday mornings.

Nita: That’s all you can think of?

Charlie A. Rowe and Chris H. Rowe

RR: How old are you, Charlie?

Charlie: I’m four. About to be five.

RR: You’re very tall.

Charlie: That’s because I’m about to be five. Guess what! In a couple days, a tree is going to be taken down in our yard.

RR: Oh, really? Why?

Charlie: It’s sick. We were worried it was going to fall down in the tornado. I mean, in the hurricane.

RR: And who’s this guy?

Charlie: (laughing) My dad! I have a cousin who when she smiles looks just like you. But without curly hair.

RR: Chris, can you tell us something memorable about Charlie?

Chris: You go back more than a month and it all starts to blur. He rode his bike for the first time about a year ago without training wheels. He didn’t ride a bike with training wheels very much; he just sort of rode away. Charlie, can you tell her what you were doing while we were riding our bikes today?

Charlie: I don’t remember what I was doing.

Chris: What did you do if you got to a bump in the road?

Charlie: Oh! I jumped my bike over it.

Chris: Jumping bumps—I think that’s his favorite thing.

Charlie: Pretend I’m going to be on my bike—and here’s a bump. (Jumps). I jumped over it!

Alvin D. Reed & Robert L. Stephenson

RR: What are you two doing out on the river?

Robert: We’re kayaking and paddle boarding.

Alvin: I don’t know what you’re doing. I’m kayaking.

RR: And how do you know each other?

Robert: I’m his Big Brother [in a mentor program]. I guess that makes him my Little Brother.

RR: Alvin, what did you think of Rob the first time you met him?

Alvin: I don’t know.

Robert: You liked me!

Alvin: Sort of.

RR: And Rob?

Robert: I saw a smart, bright kid who needed somebody to kick it with. And a lot more adventure.

Alvin: And now I’m in the middle of a rock pit, dude!

RR: What’s the weirdest thing about Rob?

Alvin: I think it’s your cat.

Robert: But it’s not mine! It’s my roommate’s! We have a Bengal living in our apartment. It’s half-Asian Leopard Cat, half tabby cat. When I tell girls I have a cat, they’re not happy. They think I’m some weird cat guy.

Esther G. Kennedy ‘13 and Chris H. Stock ‘14

RR: What are you doing here?

Chris: Well, I’m trying to find my PAF and I literally ran into Esther.

Esther: We’re on the Nordic Ski team.

RR: How is the Nordic Ski team?

Chris: We had some of our best results last year.

Esther: The athletic director here is still not sure we have a ski team.

(Unprompted)

Chris: Don’t you think Esther here could beat you up? She’s a rock climber, so she’s got giant lats.

Esther: He came up to me at the beginning of the year and said “I wanted to introduce myself, but I was worried you would beat me up.”

Chris: ... Ski team is a good time.

Ryan B. Anderson and H. Bill Bedard

RR: Tell me about Ryan.

Bill: Ryan is a mask-maker, so he works with a puppeteer in White River. We’re of one butterfly flock. Flock? Is that the right word?

RR: So, give me the dirt on Ryan.

Bill: He’s actually kind of nice. He’s not really a dirty guy. Our time together as caterpillars—well, I remember this one time together, drinking nectar. It was a tulip. I’m wild about tulips.

RR: So where are you from, again?

Bill: White River Junction. It’s in Vermont.

RR: I’ve passed through there.

Bill: So has everyone. But no one stays.

(Farther up from the river)

RR: Ryan, tell me about Bill.

Ryan: There was one time that Bill and I, while migrating south, found a field of beautiful flowers. And let me tell you, there’s nothing like butterflying around on a midsummer’s day in a field of beautiful flowers.