With Jeanine in Minnesota and no projects on tap, I decided to spend the afternoon in Quincy after learning about the August Moon Festival being celebrated there today. I arrived just as a group of performers began a Chinese Umbrella Dance on stage. In Chinese culture, the umbrella symbolizes prosperity, good luck, and protection from evil spirits, making it a perfect fit for a harvest festival. I regret having eaten lunch before arriving, as there were many yummy-looking foods at every turn.

Before succumbing to the temptation of fried dough and/or ice cream, I decided to make a brief walking tour of downtown Quincy, where I discovered Peace Field, a nearly 300-year-old residence that was home to two presidents.

Closer to the town center, one finds the very stately town hall building and an elegant statue of Abigail Adams.

The longer I studied the statue, the more apparent it became that the proportions were exaggerated. Unless Abigail is wearing 16-inch heels, the bottom half of her body has been elongated. The typical adult human head is 1/7 to 1/7.5 of total height for both men and women. I fear my head may be on the larger size to carry around such mundane facts.

On the drive home, I stopped at the Quincy Quarries Reservation to check out the latest graffiti art. I am not a fan of people defacing natural objects (or buildings, for that matter), but somehow, in this setting, I find the result to be quite captivating.