Talk about living life with gusto.  Just travel with Mrs.Diana Hampe. It’s like being caught up in a maelstrom. On Friday, December 5, I boarded a bus bound for the Big Apple and arrived in front of the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) by 10:30.  That included a short stop at Mickey D’s for a hash brown.  Traveling with forty-six teenagers might seem like a punishment to many adults, but to a veteran English teacher, their background noise was music to my ears.

  Right off the bus, half the group went to Rockefeller Center for some ice skating and sight seeing, while the others ventured into the museum on a pilgrimage to see some of the work of Vincent Van Gogh.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to encounter these pieces under the same roof.  And for some of Mrs. Hampe’s students, it was the second part of a journey to experience great art that they started last spring in Province.  On a trip to the sleepy town of Arles, art students visited the sites that Van Gogh has made universal, and now coming full circle, these same students hiked to NY to get a peek at the real works of art. Want to experience passion in your life? Want to be filled with the joy of life? Just “Live, live, live.”

  Next, the bumpity bus took us to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. The thrill of climbing the majestic steps and the sense of anticipation building in your chest really makes one feel alive. I had an extra special treat.  Kendra, my daughter, joined me for lunch in the Petrie Garden amidst all the sculptures looking out on Central Park on a beautiful day.  It just doesn’t get any better.  Then fate intervened, and I had a one in nine million encounter.  Whisking through the museum shop, I heard a voice call: “Beth, Beth Sullivan!”  I turned in amazement and there stood Fran Magenheimer, a former Walpole teacher, who worked here ten years ago.  What are the odds?  It was a great chance meeting with a former friend with whom I never expected to meet again in this lifetime.

  The day was still young and there were two more exhibits to view.  The Italian artist Morandi was featured.  He experimented with space in his still life paintings trying to stretch items across the canvas and toward the front of the canvas without creating the perception of depth.  Reality was not his gig.  Just like in literature, one must be willing to suspend one’s sense of disbelief in order to appreciate this painter’s conceptualization.  Only those really free can sit back, relax, and open up to a new reality. It’s part of the journey.

  The last Met exhibit was a wonderful display of British prints.  Color, form, shape, movement, rhythm, and vitality sprang from these works.  Admittedly, a sense of near exhaustion was starting to pervade my spirit, but it’s always onward and upward with Mrs. Hampe.  So, we boarded the bus again and took a ride down Madison Ave. to look at the art of window dressing. “Look to the right at Gucci: Look to the left at Prada,” she called commanding students to appreciate art on a commercial level.  And always she insists on just one more visit on our whirlwind journeys.  “Take us to the Guggenheim Museum so the kids can see the architecture and the word and light show on the outside of the building.  It’s in all the magazines,” she pleaded with the driver. And so the bus tilted to the left as we all peered out the windows to get our last glimpse of great art in New York.

  You only live once is my motto.  Getting up at four in the a.m. and arriving home at eleven p.m. is worth all the effort if you see great art, eat well in a beautiful spot, meet family and friends, and enjoy your traveling companions.

  Just one more thing: I also watched Wall-e. All that and a movie too!