Lunch With Norm and Bruce

Disclaimer: This is a LONG post ... you've been warned!

This is one of those posts where I almost don't know where to start. There are so many different facets to the whole "Lunch With Norm" story that it almost seems like there are several different stories in one. I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

It's probably no secret that I've been crazy about Norm Abram for years. I've always loved watching his PBS program The New Yankee Workshop as well as This Old House. I'm drawn to his humor, his genuineness, his passion for his craft, and his incredible talent and knowledge. He's adorable in his own quirky, unpretentious way. And those plaid shirts ... how can you not adore those plaid shirts?

Dave has been equally enamored by Norm's incredible talent and knowledge of tools, carpentry, and woodworking. There have been many mornings and afternoons spent watching one show after another when we would happen upon a This Old House marathon.

Norm, of course, is a lifelong New Englander (the PBS shows are based out of Boston) and many of his projects were influenced by furniture on display at Old Sturbridge Village. In fact, it might be the shows that highlighted OSV that sparked our desire to make a few weekend trips to Sturbridge years ago while we were still living in New York.

Well, to fast forward a bit, we are now living here in Massachusetts and are within about 30 minutes drive of Old Sturbridge Village. As a special treat, Dave bought me (us) a membership for my birthday and we've loved being able to pop in for a visit whenever we've wanted.

Since Dave purchased the membership, all the emails about upcoming events are sent to him. One morning in September, he received an email from OSV saying that they were going to host a "Lunch with Norm Abram and Bruce Irving". Bruce Irving, former Executive Producer for This Old House and renovation consultant, had just published a book called New England Icons and Norm had written the foreword. The event included lunch in the Oliver Wight Tavern, a discussion with Norm and Bruce about what makes New England so special, with an intimate book signing opportunity to follow.

Dave didn't hesitate -- he figured this was going to be a sell-out event and purchased tickets for us to attend that very day. Of course, he couldn't keep it a secret and spilled the beans as soon as he got home. Needless to say I was thrilled and we both happily anticipated the event.

The week leading up to the lunch was a bit stressful. OSV was without power for the entire week after a freak snowstorm hit our region on October 30th. The day before the lunch their power was restored and we found out the lunch was still on. Phew! However, we hadn't printed out the confirmation or anything in advance and as we were getting ready to leave, realized we needed to do that. A series of mishaps followed -- the printer was out of paper and once it was reloaded, it had several stalled print jobs that it insisted on completing before printing our confirmation. And then there was the Daisy incident that occurred when Dave ran into town to get cash from the ATM ... we won't go into that but she's not allowed in the car again -- EVER.

All this to say we got a late start. The lunch was planned to begin between 11:30 and 12:00. Norm and Bruce's talk was scheduled for about 1:00 - 2:30 and the book signing was to follow. While our hope was to be there when the doors opened, we actually didn't arrive until about 11:45.

We parked the car, hurried into the building and were surprised that there weren't signs indicating which way to go for the lunch, and no one at the entrance to seat us. We knew where the luncheon was going to be held, but there didn't seem to be an easy way into the room. We were approached by a woman who was also looking around for the luncheon (her name was Pat and she had come all the way from California to be there!) and finally Dave just decided to open the side door leading into the banquet room and led the way.

Lunch was already underway (it was a buffet) and so Dave quickly looked around for empty seats ... there were 3 seats open at a table in the front of the room -- the rest of the seats at all the other tables were taken. Dave (my hero!!) went up to someone at the front table and asked if the seats were taken. We were assured they were not and quickly sat down. A waiter came right over and suggested we help ourselves to the buffet so we barely said hello to anyone before we stood back up.

The buffet was lovely and the room was beautifully decorated in a primitive and quaint New England harvest-time theme. We soon realized that we had come in the wrong entrance when we saw a reception table near the buffet (and realized when we left there was indeed a sign pointing the way to the correct entrance -- we had just parked closer to another walkway and totally missed it!) We filled our plates and headed back to sit down to a lovely lunch. As I was walking back to our table I looked up and was startled to see Norm Abram coming towards me. I don't know what I was expecting -- I mean, this was a lunch with Norm after all, but somehow I just wasn't prepared to see him standing right in front of me. I think I stopped dead in my tracks, gave him one of those deer-in-the headlight looks and muttered something that resembled a weak hello.

Dave and I sat back down and started to eat, made polite conversation with the people already seated and then, at what seemed to be at the same time, we both looked over at Norm. We were sitting at Norm's table. How on earth did that happen?

It eventually dawned on us that our table was "Reserved" -- for the OSV President, the Director of Operations, the Marketing and Communications Director, Norm and his wife Elise, and Bruce. There was one other guy sitting there that must have arrived just before us and grabbed one of the unoccupied seats. It just happened that these were the only remaining seats available. So -- Dave, Pat, and I just got incredibly lucky!

There was a slide show playing on a screen in the front of the room (actually, right in front of our table ... being in the front, we had perfect seats!) and we watched that as we ate and then the conversation started. We were all introduced, Pat told about coming from California, we told about our recent move to Massachusetts ... Dave mentioned seeing Norm when he appeared at Chase Pitkin several years before which led to a discussion about Wegmans, their new store in Massachusetts, and so forth. I had the chance to talk with Bruce about his book, how he was inspired to write it, and to share with him that it was everything I felt about New England.

We were able to listen in as Norm and Bruce talked about how they were going to present their talk ... I just couldn't believe we were actually sitting there and privy to their conversation!

Norm and Bruce were soon introduced and went on to give a wonderful talk about the special aspects of living in New England. Bruce started -- sharing about his inspiration for the book, his work with This Old House and with Norm. He did a few readings from the book ... it was wonderful. Next Norm came up and gave similar accounts -- what he loved about the book, what sparked his interest in the topic and why it was such a meaningful project that he was happy to be a part of. He spent a long time talking about his connection with Old Sturbridge Village which I particularly enjoyed.

They then went on to share some thoughts about some of the different chapters in the book -- talks about fireplaces, skating ponds, steeples, and stone fences. What struck me throughout the entire discussion was how personal it was to each of them. In talking about fireplaces, Norm shared about the fireplace in his boyhood home and how he included four fireplaces in his current home ... with only one of them ever being used and one that wasn't even finished. When talking about the stone fences found everywhere in New England, Norm shared that he's still getting rocks popping up through his lawn.

Their talk was eloquent and prepared, but didn't come across as rehearsed or scripted. There were jokes and laughs, but heartfelt thoughts shared as well. I know both Dave and I were mesmerized.

Finally, they opened up and took questions from the audience. This was not a huge crowd but we couldn't help but laugh as one person after another seemed to be seeking advice on how to manage something on their property -- from leaking roofs to woodpeckers. It was delightful.

All too soon we finished up the discussion and everyone headed for the museum's bookstore where Norm and Bruce set up to sign books. Interestingly, we were told that if we had questions for either Norm or Bruce, this would be the best time to ask. You can imagine how long the line was to have books signed -- and how long the wait was when each person took advantage of having a chance to have a personal conversation with them.

Even so, the line moved quickly and we had a chance to say hello again and have the books we'd purchased signed.

There was a photographer there taking pictures who said she'd email one to us (hopefully she will!) so we didn't ask to have a personal picture taken with either Norm or Bruce. I managed to take a few snapshots while in line for the book signings and after they finished their talk. That was enough. The memories of the day are something that can't be captured with a photograph.

There are just a few thoughts and observations I do want to be sure to include. First -- Norm is just as charming, personable, and genuine as he appears to be on his TV programs. There is nothing artificial about him. I sense he is, after all these years, still a bit uncomfortable with his fame. And he impresses me as a person who appreciates -- people, history, craftsmanship.

Norm is taller than I expected. Maybe the camera shortens people as well as adds pounds, I'm not sure, but he is probably about 6 feet tall and he is much thinner than he appeared to be on TV.

He wore his signature plaid shirt -- and I had the feeling that it wouldn't have mattered if he was giving a talk in front of an audience that expected him to wear plaid or not -- that's what he would have been wearing.

Bruce has a wicked sense of humor. Not knowing him before the lunch, listening to him and then talking with him personally, it was obvious he enjoyed a good laugh. What also impressed me was how much knowledge he had of building, construction, architecture, and how much research he had actually done to complete this book project. Impressive. Quick wit. Genuine.

And so now -- the pictures. I debated about interspersing them throughout this post but decided to just put them all at the end.

I do want to just say for the record that I am one lucky girl. My husband surely knows how to put together a special day ... and I love him for it. Thank you Dave for such a wonderful day!

The Oliver Wight Tavern where the Lunch with Norm and Bruce was held. 

A view of the buffet with the beautiful fireplace as a backdrop -- loved the fall decor.

Norm Abram

Norm talking with the guy who sat next to Dave at our table. Bruce behind him, Ed Hood of OSV to the right.

Bruce Irving, author of "New England Icons" on right, talking with luncheon guests 

Oops! Who knew? 

Norm talking with guests after the talk.

Norm listening to guests.

Norm and Bruce at the book signing ... contemplating the qualities of a Sharpie pen?

Norm checking the Sharpie out ...

The back entrance to the OSV bookstore ... 

Norm and Bruce busy signing books

Norm taking a breather ... I caught him in a bit of an Earl shot.

Bruce taking a break from signing.

The book -- what started it all!

Really nice thoughts from Bruce ... we were quite taken by his personal touch.

We bought this book for Dave ... it looks wonderful and we're both eager to read it.

NORM!!!

And this ends my post -- FINALLY! you may be saying. Yes, this was a long one but I really just wanted to record my thoughts and impressions from the day. Thank you for indulging me!