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NEWBURYPORT — What is a gam? On the pages that open Chapter 53 of "Moby Dick," Ishmael asked and answered the same good question ("gam" being an old nautical term for enlightening and entertaining social exchange, afloat or ashore).
The Waterside community gam to be held Sunday, Aug. 14, at Market Landing Park (once the Middle Shipyard where the community could build a ship for three pence per ton) promises to be a whale of a good time! Spouting about this and that — coming to know more about the Waterside's past, present and future — and buoying the spirits with an afternoon of revelry and revelation.
Keeping things rather fluid, here is the flow: After a resounding percussion "sound check" at the changing tide (high tide at 12:54 p.m.), the gam will be hailed by four bells of the afternoon watch (2 p.m.). For the devoted enthusiasts, plans are in motion to observe the moonrise at 7:53 p.m. and perchance the Perseids meteor showers.
Anticipate "cairn-building" to mark that we have come this far, with one of the more notable (local, regional, national, global and cosmic) milestones in history being the 40-year milestone of the Apollo 15 crew's "technical debriefing" on Aug. 14, 1971. Which surely prompts the good question: "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we (fill in the blank)?
Some remarkable local "history in the making" will be made by the incoming crew of students and educators preparing to launch Phase 1 of the Gulf of Maine Institute (GOMI) Place-Based Education (PBE) program as part of the Newburyport School District's curriculum, as the next leg of the journey following last year's successful pilot project aka "the shakedown cruise."
As in days of yore, advance notice of the "ships' manifests" and the gam's "roster" will be issued beforehand. Come to know more about gams and gamming in general and this particular gam at Comity.org. Then, oh say you can see yourself joining in the fun and profundity. Hope to see you then and there!
