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≡ Stockbridge Stories ≡

 
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  • Telling Why
  • A Little More Info
  • Gone but not Forgotten
 
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In Stockbridge

It's an old house, set in the woods, or actually a series of buildings, in the style of the old wood frame hunting lodges or rustic "camps" that people used to build for themselves in New England, back in the early part of the 20th century.   Grandly called "The Residence," despite its rusticity, it has long been a place of multiple associations and emotions for me. Joy, guilt, fear and wonder, as well as deep happiness and contentment never fail to surface for me in and around the house in Stockbridge. These are feelings that are connected to different eras: childhood, young adolescence, early adulthood, and even the recent past. I haven't been back for a few years, but this summer Teddy asked me if we wanted to go back, and told me the house would be free all during the month of July. The question is, if Geoff and I went back, would we go to the quarry?

Our quarry adventure happened a couple of years ago, on vacation. Someday, perhaps, we'll plan vacations without thinking too much about the cost. But then, as now, we still map vacations around the houses of friends, places where we can sleep and cook so we don't have to spend too much money on hotels and restaurants. Now at least we have a car, but back then we'd find the cheapest rental car we could, and we'd be on our way.







 
The first few times we rented cars, we always got them from Enterprise, because it was the best deal we could find.  But we got so much grief from Enterprise -- they wouldn't put both of us on the agreement because we weren't married at the time; they didn't pick us up one time, even though they advertised doing so, and they told us to take a cab.  Then they refused to reimburse us for it when they said they would.  And somehow there were always ancillary charges that we hadn't counted on by the time the rental fee was charged.  So we finally got to the point where whenever we passed an Enterprise rental office in our travels, we'd flip them the bird. 

Now, most of the time, we drive our own little Subaru.  But when we fly somewhere and have to rent a car, we rent from Dollar or some other company.  It doesn't matter, though.  One is really just as bad as another.