Lovell family, c. 1999

Couldn't resist sharing this older photo, with refrains of Psalm 68 as I post it. We're perhaps a tad rueful with three kids now away at school--this photo a touchstone to realize growth, hope, God's mercy...

‘Back out of all this now too much for us….’

The trouble with all of this—this grief and this acquiescence to its too-sudden reality--is that Antoine de Lassence was simply an absolute treasure to know, and that nothing (and least of all, words like these), nothing can really help to capture or restore that lustre he brought to our lives.

At this seemingly unbearable moment, words only suffice as feeble tokens of both our brokenness in that loss, as well as our wonderment in the beauty that Antoine really brought to life, to the lives of those who knew him--passionate, charming, engaging, magnanimous, bemused and enigmatic at times. He always seemed to relish experience upon experience, further making this loss so unbearably arresting, this grief so bitter.

And so I must at this moment, stand with family and community friends and force out these thin, paltry words in this most inadequate fashion—to at least thank God—of all creation and every mercy—for Antoine, for the joy it is to have known him and his dear family in Paris—our own family loved him so very much. There have been so many tears—truly our only comfort is that he is enfolded in the arms of his loving God. We miss him terribly—we will all love him forever, now and when we're together again.


Antoine, Matt Lyon, Tra Tran

26th Anniversary: For Allison

Itinerary
Not so long ago we two met--so far flung
from our first homes and our first hearts,
rose-bowl boy and dust-bowl girl spun round
in all new splendors, salt marsh grass, moonlit surf—
we kissed and loved forever. We lay that night on granite,
Squam Rock high above beach plum, salt spray—our talk rising
like your lips when we kissed. We sang out our songs full-throated
that night--our love cascaded: lullabies, mother’s milk, whispering hush--
school bus mornings, college loans. Together we two
have loved forever together for years now—hospital halls, the roses
of the nursing home in toddler's hands, memorials, Wisconsin nights,
the roustabout churn of the Mississippi, humid Houston table talk,
Oklahoma bloodlines. We’ve known true heaven in glimpses:
the Los Angeles coliseum, an OKC youth group, a West Gloucester sanctuary,
our Rockport seaside—God’s love there kissed us forever. Your arms are my solace-
I will love you forever, fully and forever enfolded together in God’s arms.

Sundry stuff

A hurried posting of older family photos--Allison, the kids, grandparents--I promised last year after the funeral that I'd post some of Grandpa golfing--well, here's finally one at last...



And here's Allison twenty-odd years ago after swimming 100 laps for a charity fundraiser at the Glendale Y--congratulated with an embrace from my dad, proud as punch.



Another from some Pleistocene past: Allison appraising some slouching rogue at the Topsfield fair...



And here's a video wisp of our time in Yosemite three years ago...

Amazing Grace

Last night we celebrated son Sean's 22nd birthday--March 8th. We drove to Salem to see the film Amazing Grace, and ate a late dinner afterwards. Here are some photos that Jessie took--the birthday boy, Cam & Kim with Allison in the background, Robbie w/Dad. Little brother Robin (nonplussed by the movie) nearly fell asleep in the theatre as we prepared to leave...!






...And from earlier in the week, the photographer Jessie and one of her shots of the beach across the street...





Little Robbie wrote the following snippet in brother Sean's birthday card. (By way of context I suppose it helps to know that Sean has a heart for VN and spent two entire summers in Hanoi, learning the language at the university there. At one point in the past few weeks, Cameron and Sean jokingly hatched some money-making scheme that involved buying a factory in VN.) Brother Robin wrote:

"Seany, you are the bomdiggedy bombedy-diggity-bomb. You really have a way with words--unlike me. And I just wanted to say that as you get older, I'll always be by your side. When you go through hard times, I'll cry with you. When you are having a good time, I'll laugh with you...but when it comes to that factory in Vietnam, I'll be sitting in my apartment in a skyscraper with my babe and laugh at you when you get arrested. Happy 22nd Birthday! Love, Robin."

A Few Video Clips

The kids have thrown together a few music video clips--and though the technical qualities vary, they capture bits of our lives we're happy to share with many of our family members and friends far away.

In this video, Jessie writes: "my family is so talented- here is Sean, Mom, and Jessie singing this beautiful hymn, accompanied by Jessie on piano. Photos and video clips play in background."



Jessie again, here singing some Joni Mitchell songs, writing: "I can't do it as well as she did, but here's me giving it a try. Also, at the end is a little ditty of mine. Enjoy :)"



And here are some carols from Christmas, 2006:

Stu Hackett and the Nashville West

A blast from the past--a photo of a band I was once in: Stu Hackett and the Nashville West. The band was enormous fun and enthusiastic--Stu a magnificent man and stellar philosopher--driven by love for God. Stu and Joan had a home that to my mind was always warm and open to us--our practices seemed to include homemade cookies most the time. As Johnny Cash (Stu's favorite) once wrote: "Where are your mountains to match some men?"

Margaret Ann

Another sad time. Our darling, dear friend Margaret Ann Johnson battled ovarian cancer for the last few years--she's now sheltered and secure in the arms of the God she loved so deeply.

We can only treasure her life--to all her friends she remains the magnificent, dynamic woman she always was for us; she urged us to gaze upon and cherish God and the beauty of this world--the ocean and the beaches of Massachusetts, glorious skies, other vistas and cultures, friends, students and children, the treasures of conversation and laughter.

Here's a photo from a stay on Nantucket--you can almost make out Margaret Ann's vibrant passion for life in those deep, green eyes.

April in Paris

Daughter Jessie's flying to Paris today (Good Friday) with her RHS friends. We miss her already! Here are some photos for family to peruse on the West Coast.

Roberto

A quick posting of a photo of our youngest son, Robin Lovell--hopefully one of the last winter photos this year!

Lanesville photos

Here are some delightful photos of our Lanesville Congregational Church community, past and present.

Robert Calvin Lovell, 1925-2006

A sad time for us: my dad died February 14th, St. Valentine's Day.

He remains for me a magnificent man, a winsome, engaging, good-humored loving father, grandfather, husband--with a heart of love for God, overcoming so much throughout his life: his brave service as a Corpsman with the 1st Marines in WWII (Peleliu & Guadalcanal), and before that, as a boy of 13, his mother's early, tragic death by her own hand. We miss him enormously--we realize he's now with the God he yearned for.

For now, here above is a fuzzy photo from around 1948-9--we'll try to scan others over time--& especially some capturing his joy at golf!

Allison today found something we wrote just a few years ago, about Dad:

"He's never seen our new place: the blue, grey, green glints of granite ledge peppering the woods behind our house--or the walk down to the bright sea, the waves wheeling where Milk Island juts out from the Saratoga marsh near the seawall. Dad's never been to the beach there with us, with the kids darting in and out of the surf, throwing themselves down to the warmth of their beach towels to rest. I've ever told him how much their eyes, and skinny legs, and laughter in the seabreeze all remind me of his--how much my own fingers brushing sand from their hair remind me of his hands and constant love--or how the blues and greens and greys of the ocean, and of the granite ledge all around us, remind me of his hazel eyes, always..."

Meggie Lovell

OK, after much clamoring from family--this posted photo of our dog, Meggie:

Scanning photos

While hunting for old photos of Lanesville, we came across some old snapshots. Here first are two of Allison, Rachel & Wendy Wyman in Manhattan, 1983.

And below that, though uncomplimentary of both of the Lovell guys, is a photo my friend & forever 'best man' Jimbo Rotholz sent up with its hilarious caption! And finally, a photo of Allison with some guy in California, long ago...


Allison in Central Park with Rachel, 1983.


Wendy & Rachel Wyman in Greenwich Village, 1983.


My 'best man' Jim. Jim's wisecracking caption to this unflattering photo of a father & son: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth have been set on edge." -Jeremiah 31.22.

Feet of clay shuffle into something akin to splendor

Happened upon some old photos of our wedding at Lanesville Congregational Church in Lanesville, Gloucester MA, May 16th 1981--nearly 25 years ago!:













(Photos: courtesy our dear friend Mark Alesse.)

Another whirl of days

After a half year away from this blog, I thought I'd try to breathe a bit of life back into it. Much has changed--Cam's now in far away Amherst, a UMass freshman--Sean's nearly a senior now at, after spending 3 months this summer in Hanoi--Jessie's back at Rockport High School for her junior year--and Robin boy is at Rockport Elementary--they all seem to flourish in everything they're doing right now.

Allison's still working part-time, and brings so much splendor to our lives--the confluence of never-ending duties and errands, with the beauty of her singing, her laughter, her savvy counsel, day in & day out. I found a fun photo on my computer from last year--here it is.

Allison Lovell. Rockport 2005.

Time with Jim and Sheryl

Allison and I are having a great time in California with a wonderful couple: brother Jim and his wife Sheryl, all while celebrating our amazing Dad's 80th in Laguna.

Here's a photo of Robbie, Allison and me from an earlier trip to CA last year:

Robin Lovell & the 'Rents'. Laguna 2004.



John Lovell. Gloucester 2005.