Over Afternoon Tea

Tea is not only a drink but a ritual over which people have been relaxing, talking, and catching up on each other's lives for centuries. This blog is intended to serve as a virtual cup of tea, helping me keep in touch with friends and family in my physical absence.

You might be a nerd if...

About two weeks ago, my husband and I met my sister in downtown Boston. She attends a school about 40 minutes north of us, so despite busy schedules we generally manage to spend a day together about once a month. We had wanted to do some touring in Boston for awhile, so since the weather was warming up, we met by the T station.

We visited the site of the Boston Marathon (which she'll be running on April 19th) and toured Holy Trinity Church, then visited the Boston Public Library. The building was, as expected, gorgeous. Murals and marble everywhere, my kind of place. We got some tea in their cafe and then wandered around aimlessly. We drifted into a room advertising their manuscript collection. Various manuscripts, or copies of manuscripts, were on display in glass cases. After ogling their list of classics texts, I decided we need to get an appointment to go see them sometime.

Another case contained copies of early music manuscripts. I set about deciphering the Latin of one (the script, as usual, is more difficult to read than the Latin is to translate) and observed that it was hymns from the Western Rite Liturgy (Mass). I called my husband's attention to this interesting item and was deciphering more of it as he, with his musician's ear, began puzzling out the archaic music notation. Observing that the notes seemed to indicate an ison-like thing, I proceeded to pick it out and hold it as he chanted the melody. It was quite an attractive little tune and I was all for singing it over when I turned to find my sister laughing at me.

"What?"

"Only with you guys," she said.

Sometimes it takes an outside perspective for me to realize to what degree I inhabit the world of nerd-dom.