I’m back in California after staying with my sister Deanna and her family for a few days in their home near Boston while I read from Mamalita at two Borders Bookstores and the Beverly Public Library. Being home with my own family is wonderful, but it means I’m on a coast opposite from my sister. That’s never easy.

But we have great memories, one of which was attending the annual Holiday Pops Concert performed by the Melrose Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1918, the Melrose bills itself as the “oldest continuously performing volunteer orchestra in the United States.” The company is headquartered in Melrose’s downtown Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, a splendid building dedicated in 1912 to honor veterans of the Civil War. The Hall’s grand pipe organ, dedicated in 1919, commemorates those who served during the World War I. (more…)

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