Adella and I came upon these cherry blossoms in New Haven on Sunday, when we traveled down for her to get some photos of urban architecture for digital photography class assignment.  These flowers were perfuming the air in a garden off of Grand Street that I had never before seen despite my years of travel in and out of this city.  It was a great find.
Here's my rose bud among the cherry trees.
I love New Haven for all the wonderful things it offers--open-air art, parks, museums, music, architecture, history--and the people it embraces.  The people of the city struggle with poverty, crime, apathy, and the like, but the people are real.  My students remarked the other day that they don't hear much gossip or see the damage that cliques can cause or suffer from limited opportunities to do stuff.  On some level, kids understand just how much is offered them, how the world places itself at their feet, and many grab hold with two hands and make it work.  In the city, school is a sanctuary and a place of hope.  We have our share of knuckleheads, but they are a small minority who cannot cloud our vision of America as a place where you can make your life what you want it to be.  We smell the flowers.

Today's Flowers