Hi, friends:
This past weekend, a guy I know shared some advice that I just had to pass along. We were talking about ice-breakers at parties and how some people are just better at small talk than others. He said that the best tip he ever got was from his doctor: If you’re talking to someone and ask what they do for a living, no matter what they say in response, just nod and say, “That sounds really difficult.”
It’s so insincere, it made me laugh. That doctor clearly understands something about people and the art of flattery. Another friend cut in, adding that it’s no longer considered polite to ask “what do you do?” at a party. Better to ask: “What do you like to do?”
This is why I hate small talk. I don’t like to have my questions vetted before I ask them. That said, asking people about what they like to do opens all kinds of possible conversations — and it’s also a running theme in the cover stories for Hampshire Life.
Take, for instance, the members of a local chapter of New Horizons Band, a group of senior citizens who spend their spare time learning music and new instruments. They’re not professionals — one woman compared their sound to a fourth-grade band — but their sense of humor about mastering the music (or trying to) is part of what makes the story a compelling and relatable read.
Also in this issue, you’ll find a new column by Steven Kantrowitz, a chef who recently moved to Northampton from Hartford, Connecticut. By day, he works as a culinary arts instructor at Holyoke’s William J. Dean Technical High School; and when school’s out, he’s likely to be experimenting with new recipes that incorporate a grain, green, veggie and bean (hence the name of his new column).
Several years ago, Steven read “Eating Animals,” Jonathan Safran Foer’s memoir exploring his own history as a vegetarian and what we eat and why. “It changed the way I’ve looked at food ever since,” the chef says.
Art Maker Jeff Zamek combined his interest in working with his hands and head to become a potter, ceramics specialist and consultant. Turn to page 5 to find out how he fuses creativity with functionality.
Finally, most of us have at least dual roles. Bill Dwight has multiple ones. The Northampton City Council President also works the counter at the Florence Pie Bar, where I had lunch the other day.
I knew that he was something of a Renaissance man and film buff, but I didn’t know that he was also a photographer until I saw the pictures he posted on Facebook of last weekend’s Summer Stroll in Northampton. They’re great — and they really capture the freewheeling festivity of the night. See for yourself: Bill’s photos and commentary are on the back page.
I went to the Summer Stroll with my two kids and had a great time. We left with a stroller stocked with street-festival swag — a giant T-Rex animal balloon, a beach ball and bubbles — and with generally high spirits.
Hope you have an awesome Friday. Maybe I’ll see you in downtown Northampton at one of the sidewalk sales happening this weekend.
You can also support some of your local potters by checking out the Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour July 29-30. Potters will partner with Valley chefs to highlight the connection between handmade art and homegrown food, from Westhampton to Worthington.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Brooke Hauser