Early mornings

I’ve always liked to get up early. When I was younger, it meant time with my father and the Boston Globe sports page. I have distinct memories of Robert J. Lurtsema’s classical music radio show, and if I came down early enough, I could catch his “bird songs” at 6 a.m. My father always read quietly, carefully sipping his instant coffee — Folgers, I believe — and we would debrief the latest Red Sox game during the spring and summer mornings. I regularly needed consoling about a team that could seemingly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with maddening creativity and predictability.

Watching Poly wake up reminds me of the power and comfort of rituals. When Rachel and I head to the Caltech gym at 6 a.m. on many mornings, we see our Operations staff opening buildings and gates, turning off sprinklers, and setting up the traffic cones. On our way home, others are arriving to start their morning routines in their classrooms or offices. Like me, they seem to enjoy the quiet and a chance to greet the day with a familiar cadence. A little later on, the first students begin to arrive. On the South Campus, they are doing a little early-morning studying or quietly sitting in their favorite spots. The North Campus is louder as the race to find the playground balls brings intricately choreographed games with equally scripted rules that have been passed down through generations of 7-year-olds. When morning drop-off begins, more students arrive in various states of revelry — some carefully coiffed and others looking like the unmade bed they left behind moments before. We begin.

Robert J. Lurtsema passed away a number of years ago, and the “wild” parrots of Pasadena have replaced his bird songs, but the early morning is still my favorite time of day. I make our coffee, read the paper — online now — and wait patiently. The “dawn in me” that Thoreau describes in Walden always brings optimism and peace.

Happy New Year.

JWB
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