Hello agian, RUSH community - we have two RUSH events scheduled, both on the Northampton side of the river (since we had two in a row on the Amherst side - this is fair play!) The first is on Sunday afternoon May 18, at the home of Stan and Joanna where we have met before and had a lovely potluck outside in their yard in the sunshine - so we will expect a return of that fine weather and food on May 18th.  Here is Stan's message:

"Let's say that  our potluck will commence at 2:00 PM and singing at 3:30. Please ask folks to label their food offerings so people with food allergies and preferences can be advised. Also, I would like to encourage RUSHers to bring several copies of their favorite songs that are not in Rise Up Singing. Joanna and I live at 1 Bardwell St, Florence, on the corner of Bardwell and North Maple. People who live close by might want to walk or bike here and others can carpool. Our phone number is 585-9070. "

If you like yahoo maps you can look their place up at maps.yahoo.com by typing in "1 Bardwell Street, Florence MA" or directly by
http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=42.338831&lon=-72.672165&zoom=15&q1=...

Then, Marci has again offered the facilities at the Common House of her cohousing community, where we met not so long ago.  This will be on Saturday June 14th, with a potluck at 6 and singing at 7.  

In the poll I sent out a while back, a substantial number, around a third, of people preferred Sunday afternoons, and the rest preferred Saturday evenings.  So we can try going back and forth, to see how that works.  These two are an example of it.

Marci's [newest] directions for how to get to her common house go like this:

"Directions to Rocky Hill Cohousing Common House  (100 Black Birch Trail)-
From downtown Northampton: Take Rt 66 (West  Street) west approximately 2 miles until you reach the traffic light at the intersection of Rt 66 (now called Rocky Hill Rd) and Florence Rd. A word of caution- as you travel west on Rt 66, at the top of the hill in the old Northampton Hospital area, you will see a fork in the road, leading off to the right. Ignore that, and stay left and continue to Florence Rd. Make a right at the traffic light, pass the Bible Baptist Church on right, and make a right onto Black Birch Trail. Drive approx 2/10 of a mile, passing the first set of houses on your left. Travel through the stop sign (after stopping, of course) and the common house will appear directly in front of you. There is handicapped parking directly in appear directly in front of you. There is handicapped parking directly in front of the building for those who need it. Park either in the loop road close to the common house, or on Black Birch Trail to the right, close to the side!
 walk/bikepath, before you pass through the stop sign. Please do not block the driveway into the community, on the left side of the common house and please try not to park on the grass either. Enter the common house through the main entrance, found on the left side of the building, facing from the road.

"From Florence Center: Take Pine Street pass the Arts and Industry building to Florence Rd. Make a left, travel a  mile or so until you come to a 4 way intersection (Burts Pit Rd). Continue  straight through, and take second
left onto Black Birch Trail.  Drive approx 2/10 of a mile, passing the first set of houses on your left. There is handicapped parking directly in front of the building for those who need it. Park either in the loop road close to
the common house, or on Black Birch Trail to the right, close to the sidewalk/bikepath, before you pass through the stop sign. Please do not block the driveway into the community, on the left side of the common house
and please try not to park on the grass either. Enter the common house through the main entrance, found on the left side of the building, facing from the road.

"The common house is completely wheelchair  accessible. Please email or call Marci Linker at 584-8817 if you have any  questions. If you call after 6pm on the same day, please call the common house at 582-6897."

The maps.yahoo.com address to use is 100 Black Birch Trail, Northampton MA, or
http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=42.307907&lon=-72.672438&zoom=14&q1=...

We had some great fun at the last RUSH, at Ruth Hooke's house, since it turned out to be a birthday celebration, with great surprises!

See you on May 18th - Roger