I had clothing and shelter but needed food. Man cannot live on homemade chocolate cookies and muffins alone. Plus, my supplies of both were dwindling. To increase my foraging range, I took a look at the bike that Bryan Bell, from the Class of 2011, had given to me during our orientation a few months ago. He was right. It was a beater. In fact, it was the definition of a beater. It was the beater to beat all beaters. It was a 1960s, green-colored, steel-framed, steel-rimmed, Raleigh 10-speed. Remember those? The chain was rusted stiff, neither derailleur functioned so it really was a one speed, and the seat was permanently stuck in the lowest position. On the upside, the front brake appeared to work and both tires held air despite the cracks. With plenty of oil, a pair of pliers, and some elbow grease, I loosened the chain up and got it functioned again.
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| Peter Park and his cool (functioning) old bike |
I headed out for provisions on my one-speed bike that masqueraded as a ten-speed. I made it all the way to the end of the driveway and aborted. The front brake pads may as well have been made of the same steel as the rim. They were not very effective. The bike was relegated back to the basement and I walked. Nearby, there was an expensive little market where I bought the essentials. Over the course of the week, I would learn about two Whole Food stores, a Trader Joes, and a Shaws (the closest thing that resembles a regular grocery store), all within a two-mile radius.
It didn’t take me long to set up my room back at the Doebele House. My roommates would show up one by one. Peter Park was the first, who was the former Planning Director from Denver. I remembered his diverse interests from the orientation that included better codes, transportation systems, partnerships, public engagement processes. He had been around a couple of highway removals before, one in Milwaukee and one in Denver, so we definitely had some common interests.
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| Andres Lepik (left) and me in our kitchen. Andres turned out to be quite the chef which is very cool. |
Andres Lepik was the second. He was an architecture curator in Berlin as well as at the Museum of Modern Art and New York City. He was interested in how one would curate a show in the future when, increasingly, architects and other designers do their work digitally. What would hang on the walls when there was no paper? Would there even be walls? What would a show look like? Would there be any physical models? Would museums become somewhat virtual places that people would visit over the internet? Andres seemed like a very creative person so I was sure he had some ideas and I was curious to see what he would come up with.
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| Chris Calott, a professor, architect, and developer |
The final roommate to arrive was Chris Calott. He is a practicing architect and developer, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had worked all over the US and Mexico and used to be a professor. He really gets the Hispanic and Native American cultures and does a variety projects with varying densities and mixes of land uses. Chris has an encyclopedic knowledge of architecture, architecture history, and contemporary trends and debates which makes for great conversation and opportunities to learn. He interests for the Loeb Fellowship were diverse but his focus is on finance mechanisms for affordable housing. In addition to having diverse interests, my three new amigos all seemed compatible and capable for having a bit of fun.
Class selection would be happening in a couple of days, so Jim and Sally had to brief us on several subjects and get us organized for the year. They reviewed the material that they had previously covered during the orientation and went into more detail on schedules and responsibilities. We would be involved in organizing weekly seminars (some public and some just with the Fellows), weekly dinners during which we would arrange guest speakers, the odd symposium, helping out with studios, and our course work. Every week was going to be packed. There would also be three trips, one to Maine, one to Vancouver, and one to India. Jim and Sally reviewed the purposes of the trips and the dates.
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| Jim inviting the students and faculty to our three-day event |
Jim and Sally had big posters made with the nine Fellows' names printed in huge letters advertising our "introductions" to the GSD. Jim made a very nice speech to the students and faculty, inviting them to attend our introductions. The idea was that, for three days in a row, a lunch would be served to whoever showed up to listen. Each day, three of the nine Fellows would describe their work and interests at the GSD. Somehow, I was selected to go first on the first day.
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| Jim and Anna Heringer (also a Loeb Fellow) enjoy Andres' reaction to an historically significant and rare book from the Francis Loeb Library's extensive collection. |
Jim and Sally also arranged a spectacular tour of the Frances Loeb Library, apparently the best architectural library on the planet. Over several hours, various librarians took turns showed us tiny samples from their huge collections. It was absolutely fascinating stuff. Any one of us could spend our entire year in the library looking through the collections. The librarians were given the heads up, by Sally and Jim, on what our interests were and they had chosen artifacts accordingly. They nailed it. Every one of us will be going back there as often as we can. We also were briefed on all things computer by the GSD’s top computer expert, a really helpful guy named, Hal, which I hope was a coincidence. Lastly, we attended a lecture on the history of the Graduate School of Design which was helpful because it allowed us to understand why the school was so big on modernism and landscape urbanism for example. Its current leanings and teachings have roots that go right back to its founders.
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| Jim and Jean Lauer (also a Loeb Fellow) discuss the sites on the walking tour |
Jim and Sally also took us on a bus ride into Boston to show us the ropes for the "T" which is what they call the transit system here. Once we got to Boston, we went on a wonderful walking tour and had supper at the famous Durgin-Park Restaurant. We saw wonderful streets, parks, and buildings some which great design and others that were horrible (like the modern City Hall building).
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| Eight of the nine Fellows in a park with Jim and Sally |
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| Bike Share Program in Boston |
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| Five Fellows and Sally enjoy Sue's wonderful cooking |
I suppose Jim and his wife, Sue, were worried that we hadn't managed to make it to a grocery store yet. They, generously, had us all over for a meal. Their place had a large back yard with a patio where we had a little reception. The patio was centered behind the house, a basketball area was to one side, and a lawn was to the other. The fairly complete tree canopy gave the yard a comfortable sense of enclosure. The reception was followed by a very tasty buffet that was waiting for us in their lower party room.
I brought my road bike with me with the intensions of tagging along with one of the bike groups for the odd Saturday morning ride. However, I picked the wrong group. These guys don’t go for Saturday morning rides; they go out to determine who the alpha male is over a 75 to 80 mile course.
I planned on cutting the distance in half and it ended up being even shorter than that. They were all A-riders and some collegiate racers. They all had trained hard over the summer and were eager to show off their watt-generating capabilities. I was a B-rider, twice their age, who hadn’t ridden in a while. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before I knew that I was going to get dropped like a rock and be lost in nowhere Massachusetts. I tucked in behind one of taller riders to minimize my effort but that was not enough. Furthermore, the road surfaces were uneven, pitted, and pot-holed. It was like operating jack-hammer while riding a bike. I was not enjoying the ride on any level. Ringing in the back of my head, I could hear two of Jim’s and Sally’s many pieces of advice; i) if it is not enjoyable stop and ii) try new things. It was at that moment when I slowed up and let the peloton disappear over the hill. I concluded that I would try the myriad of unfamiliar exercise options available through the extensive athletic facilities at Harvard, use my bike for more leisurely rides with my fellow Fellows, and get back into the road scene after my time at Harvard. I humbly and happily returned to the Doebele House, content with my decision.
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| Standing room only as students decide if the class is of interest to them |
Choosing classes was difficult. I was interested in dozens of the classes and the recommended load was three. It was even tougher because the numerous classes at MIT and other schools in the area were available as well. However, Harvard helped by having “shopping days”. During this time, the professors would introduce their courses and, afterwards, we got to select. The trick was to narrow things down prior to the shopping days and then get to your short list’s presentations. I ended up choosing five courses; two at the Kennedy School of Government, one at MIT, and two at the GSD. I decided that, if it got to be overwhelming, then I’d drop accordingly.
The first week was achieved on foot. The beater bike was arguable dangerous. However, I couldn’t make my schedule work by walking. The distances were too far. I couldn’t use my road bike either. Apparently, the Cambridge bike thieves are professionals and some of the most highly skilled thieves anywhere. Several sources said that if they can’t steal your whole bike, then they will settle for parts. Considering that my road bike’s brakes are worth more than the average bike in Harvard Yard, using my road bike for everyday use was not an option. Plan A was to fix the beater. I white-knuckled the beater to a reputable local bike shop. Upon thorough inspections, the beater was worse off than I thought. Many of the parts were beyond repair, some cracked completely through. Replacement new parts were no longer available so we’d have to search for compatible old parts. The bill to get the thing operating again was as much as a new bike and the old bike would still be a beater. I decided to buy a new cheap bike. Back to the basement went the beater.
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| Me with my heavy duty, utilitarian, campus bike |
I hoofed around the local bike store circuit. Eventually, I ended up at the farthest corner of the campus, the Radcliffe Quad where there is a not-for-profit, on-campus, bike shop with great service and some cool inexpensive bikes. Quad Bikes, as it’s known, is run by an ex-collegiate bike racer, named Mike, who hires a small team of student bike mechanics to help him out. Mike set me up with the perfect campus bike. It’s got seven speeds, fenders front and back, a heavy-duty rear kickstand, aluminum wheels for good braking in wet weather, a basket up front, and a mondo basket on the back. That bike can carry about six bags of groceries without any hooks or bungee cords. It weighs a whopping 46 pounds, including the three mandatory locks (one for the seat, one U-bar for one wheel, the frame, and the immovable object; and one cable lock for the other wheel).So, I was more or less settled in my room with a schedule, food, and wheels. Symbolically, my wife’s and daughter’s supply of cookies and muffins ran out at the same time. I was looking forward to diving in and was committed to make a go of whatever was coming.
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