One thing I love about working near Union Center is all the local groups. Folks around here just love to get together for everything from a good cause to a good meal, to sing in the choir or play a game. Let’s visit some of them now.
Sonneteers from way back
The Purple Pride loves words so you can imagine how comfortable I feel visiting their weekly meetings. They spend their time together writing, reading and analyzing sonnets. Other folks around here, when they first hear what The Pride does, always react the same, “Only sonnets? Not all poetry?” Nope, just sonnets. These word lovers can parse a sentence and squeeze the sweetest juice, even from a single syllable. Spare, evocative, poetic: their bywords.
The Stubby Grass Guild - A Service Club
Nicknamed Mixed Greens by the many who love them, this guild is committed to doing what needs to be done, no matter how unsung or unseen. Expect to see these folks getting down and dirty, helping clean up unsightly garbage, rehabilitating run-down buildings, or digging natural disaster victims out from the rubble. They hold their scheduled weekly luncheons in old-folks homes and orphanages.
Haute Couture on the Avenue
High fashion is what this group is all about. The Haute Couture Club meets every Tuesday for lunch, and daily during Fashion Week. Not only do they gab about the latest things to hit the catwalks of New York and Paris and around the world, they wear fancy duds of their own. Even people who hardly care about the world of high fashion are eager for a peek at this clutch of clothes-crazy critters.
Olive oil and lemons, fish and wine: What's not to love?
Clube Mediterranean is nothing but fun. The photo above is the raucous C.M. gang at one of their recent weekly meetings in the Latin Terrace Quarter just east of the Union Center. You can imagine how coveted an invitation to one of these gatherings is where they sample the latest Spanish or Portuguese meats (the chorizo is to die for), and cheeses, fish dishes and olives, washed down with rich Iberian or Italian wines. They really make their mark with their block parties. About four times a year, this olive oil and lemon crew get permission from the municipality to close a few blocks. Out go the cars, in come the grills, the bands, the eating and dancing. We consider ourselves lucky to have these guys around.
Dignified Denizens. Pass the cognac.
In contrast to that last group, The Stately Seven gather for dignified discussions of world affairs or domestic policy, followed by refined tastings of cognac or single-malt scotch. You’ll find them in overstuffed leather chairs in wood-lined libraries, floor to ceiling with books, and voicing thoughtful reflections on many a weighty matter. Newcomers who first meet members of this group think them shy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Get them talking about the things they care about and watch the passion flow.
