It’s one of those gloomy December days–31 degrees, overcast.

The Ukraine war is still on; inflation is rampant; covid is again on the rise My book is out, sales are slow. Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is weeks away. My brothers are both ill in distant states

I decide to go for a run on the Charles.

The light is no good for photos, I’m thinking, as I cross a nearly deserted Memorial Drive.

But then a tree I’ve passed by hundreds of times reaches out to me. It’s decaying, but, I note, still strong.

I move closer; a new trunk seems to be growing inside it; young branches are reaching to the sky.

I pull my camera out of my pocket and take a few shots.

I amble along. Some trees look injured, dead; the bark is wearing off. I stop again, camera in hand.

Close in: abstract beauty

Back to my run…stopping frequently.

Many of the trees have amazing shapes

I wonder why they are so gnarly.

One holds a nest of leaves.

Another: a bird

An empty nest

There are milkweed…

Rusted weeds…

Bittersweet.

Reflections, shapes, colors in the water.

Later, when editing my photos, I discover a pair of ducks.

Black and white

More ducks;
a willow

A human touch.

Heading back: more stunning formations.

I return to the river path the next day, and the next, reassured to find changed light, new growth, life and hope as I–and nature– progress, slowly, with starts and stops, toward spring.

Anita M. Harris is a writer, photographer and communications consultant based in Cambridge, Mass.
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, also in Cambridge.

A friend told me recently that during Covid, with no students and many beloved businesses closed, she finds Harvard Square so depressing that she no longer wants to go there. I have a different take.

It is true that early in the pandemic the Square was desolate.

But since the Phase I reopening last summer, I’ve gone there almost every day.

After running on the Charles River, I often head to Henrietta’s Cafe for coffee, outdoors–yes, it’s freezing– but the wonderful staffers there have pretty much gotten me through the year. (Their number is sparser now: with limited seating and very few customers, several servers have been laid off, others work just one day a week instead of their previous five, and those who returned to college in the fall have not been brought back, at all). But those who are there graciously ask me about the book I’m working on, and even laugh at (some of) my jokes.

A few weeks ago, I took a longer look –camera in hand. Yes, Dickson Brothers is closed, the “Dewey Cheatem and Howe” office of public radio duo” Click and Clack” is gone, as are tea shops, coffee shops, and stores like Staples that I’ve frequented for years.

The Red House, once my favorite restaurant, still serves great food but mostly, since even before Covid, it’s a pot shop. Book stores-turned- clothing stores have been turned into banks; the former Au Bon Pain is now the Harvard Student Center; Legal Seafoods has been shuttered and sold; the iconic Out of Town News has closed, and the newstand that once stood on the corner, opposite, is now a milk bar.

Walking around, I tried to imagine riding a bike into the Square or eating at Charlie’s Kitchen in a plastic hut.

I was pleased to see that Cardullo’s has survived, along with national chain stores like CVS, Starbucks , Peets Coffee, and the Gap…

At Citizens Bank , I was welcomed like a long lost friend. (In the summer, they cheered me on when I showed up with the pool noodle I carried for social distancing…or, perhaps, they were just overjoyed to see a customer–or any human face) .

By now, the Charles Hotel has been remodelled–It still has its fancy modern exterior, but inside, the lobby has been divided into smaller, cozier rooms with a historic, bookish feel.

The Coop is under construction; as is the block where Curious George, Deluxe Tea, Urban Outfitters and Dickson Brothers used to be.

I found myself rushing to capture as much of the present as I could before it became the past. In the near-wreckage, I came across this mural signed “by Dennis.”

Around another corner, while I shot photos of pictures of the old Square superimposed on what will be walls of the new , a construction foreman yelled out, “You’re not allowed to do that!” I asked, “Why not?” He said, “Just kidding,” and insisted on taking my photo, with my phone (Covid be damned!), alongside a construction truck.

After that, I spritzed on some hand sanitizer and headed home –feeling not depressed but, rather, elated…. by the people, by the energy, and by the beauty of the changing scene: its light, its lines, its colors, its shapes. Snapping photos, I had become part of that scene, experiencing my own transformation, excited to see what the world will look like after Covid, after Trump, after this difficult winter, as we create new futures for ourselves and for one another.

–Anita Harris is an award-winning writer, photographer and communications consultant based in Cambridge, MA.
-New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a PR and digital marketing firm, also in Cambridge, MA.

I was horrified by the mass shooting in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue…all the more so against a backdrop of  the current climate of hate in the US.

But I was heartened at the showing of support from the individuals, religious people and politicians who attended or spoke at yesterday’s vigil for the shooting victims, held at the bandshell on the Boston Common.

While, of course, the same sort of thing could happen here–and it did, at the 2013 Boston Marathon–I found solace, for a time, in the eloquence and dedication to human rights–especially of Attorney General Maura Healey, Congressman Joe Kennedy, and State Treasurer Deb Goldberg–and of BU student  Ariel Stein, a Boston University student who has belonged all her life to the Tree of Life Synagogue, where the deadly shootings took place. “It is up to all of us to love,” she said.

I’m sorry to have missed talks by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker but as one who is generally skeptical about politicians, I felt very glad to live in a state and city that elects responsible leaders–even if I sometimes don’t agree with them.

(I’ve been sending letters and will canvas to encourage infrequent voters to vote in the mid-term elections–and hope that you will do the same.)

Here’s a link to a video of the entire vigil posted on You-Tube  by Combined Jewish Philanthropies.  

–Anita M. Harris
Anita Harris is a writer and communications consultant based in Cambridge, MA. New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a content, PR and digital marketing agency, also in Cambridge.

Had a great time at this year’s women’s march…Much good cheer; great signage, and a wide range of participants. At about 2 pm, half-way through, a police officer told me that the crowd estimate was 4000…but he believed the number of participants was twice that, and I’d guess even a few more. (Given that there were only about 10 porta-potties, I’d also guess that was many more than the organizers expected). The sound system left something to be desired (from my perch on a monument, I could see the speaker but not hear an understandable word) but I much enjoyed the creativity of the signage and enthusiasm of the attendees.

–Anita Harris
Anita M. Harris is a writer and communications consultant based in Cambridge, MA. She is the author of Broken Patterns, Professional Women and the Quest for a New Feminine Identity  

and Ithaca Diaries, Coming of Age in the 1960s. 

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a pr and content marketing firm  in Cambridge.

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Met my summer goal of running around Fresh Pond, this morning (with brief stopover at Starbucks, at Fresh Pond Shopping Center-and frequent stops to shoot these photos). Next time–all the way!

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing firm located in Cambridge, MA.

Cambridge Mayfair 5-05-13 1

Had just left the Hair Cuttery in Harvard Square ( Clarissa did a great job–I was her first client at 9 am on Sunday!); called my friend E who, it turned out was also in the Square, to do a quick run through  Mayfair before it got too crowded. As long-time denizens of Harvard Square, we started out a bit jaded . “Same vendors, same food ,Octoberfest, year after year,” E had remarked the previous day. But this time seemed different–many new nonprofits–J Street for Israeli Arab peace, the Cambridge Art Association, “Chalk on the sidewalk” opportunities with a number of Chamber of Commerce members sponsoring space, a few excellent street musicians…many international food vendors, and even a train to take kids around for $3.00.  E and I were a bit taken aback by the number of police bomb squad vehicles on Brattle Street–and by flocks of Cambridge police–highly visible in bright chartreuse vests–on patrol. Had not thought about possible danger but E pointed out that there could be copycat bombings, especially since the accused Marathon bombers three weeks ago had lived in Cambridge.  The police presence made me feel more anxious than secure…Still, E bought some beautiful scarves for $5 apiece and won $24 worth of Zip car miles in a carnival-like game.  I scored at the Commonwealth’s booth, where I found my name on a list of people who had unclaimed funds….Evidently, I’d left $400  in the old Coolidge bank when I moved to New York–and by the time I moved back to Cambridge, the bank had closed.  So–all in all, we had a great time. See you there next year?

Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing agency located in Cambridge, MA. 

Photos by Anita M. Harris; kindly request permission and link before re-posting.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and content marketing firm located in Cambridge, MA.