So while things were hopping on campus this past weekend, the town of Wellesley also had its own festivities, as Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend took place. Does it seem strange to you that there'd be an entire weekend of festivities like this the week before the Memorial Day long weekend? It does to me, too. Especially when the event's home page touts that the whole thing is "Dedicated to those who serve."

In fact, the weekend is kind of like Memorial Day and the 4th of July all rolled up into one big thing, which would explain why there's no actual celebration on the 4th itself. Turns out that the impetus for doing all of this now, and not on either of those holidays, is that too many residents are away at the Cape or the Vineyard to do them at the proper time. As snooty as my hometown is, we at least know when to celebrate our holidays!

I suppose this deflates the theory that the weekend actually celebrates the end of the academic year here at Babson. Given the poor town-gown relations, it was a logical guess.

We did partake in parts of the weekend. Sarah has this thing about public meals (they apparently form a cornerstone of community life in Maine), so we partook of both a pancake breakfast and franks-n-beans supper. They weren't too bad, to be honest, though the choice of citrus-flavored beverages at the breakfast - Gatorade or Tang - left something to be desired.

There were fireworks, too, and they were pretty good for a town of this size. Probably more big boomers than you'd want in a show that's not near the water, but still very well done.

So the weekend wasn't a total loss. It also verified that I would not want to live in Wellesley for the long haul, which I pretty much knew, both from the "community" and from the simple economic indicator of house prices.