Tara Escudero, a participant of New England Climate Summer

People were cheering, passersby giving smiles and thumbs up. I wish this happened every time I picked up some groceries.

It must have been that Jackie and I were on our bikes, lugging enough food for over 30 people in trailers behind us, going over the Merrimack River. This is just one of the many times so far this summer that I have been motivated by people I don’t even know.

I have only had mere glimpses of the city of Lowell in my few days here, but I have been met with generosity, color, kindness, and great weather. Crowded urban landscapes are spotted with parks, fields, and homemade ice creameries along the river. Our gracious hosts atPawtucket Congregational Churchare situated at a corner roaring with traffic across from a McDonald’s, but the church boasts a large, quiet, comfortable space. Community members have been in and out all week from small children to senior citizens at the various meetings and programs that the church also hosts.

Chip Hamblet is the chair of the church’s finance committee, but has also taken it upon himself to meet and exceed all of our needs, including some honey from his own beehives and a barbecue tomorrow at his house that I am looking forward to. Jim McMorrow is the Sexton, or caretaker, and has also been looking out for all of us, including mailing some postcards for me when I couldn’t find a mailbox on the street. The amount of generosity I have witnessed and received just these past few weeks has really been astounding.

Chip and the Pawtucket Church community agreed to house over 30 people for almost a week with only a few days notice. Because of their quick generosity, Climate Summer was able to complete their training in a large comfortable space with WiFi, and to explore yet another New England city. Through long hours of trainings on anything from how to edit video footage to building relationships, the community of Lowell has offered a home when I really need it.

*For more updates on New England Climate Summer, check out their blog "Pedal Posts from the Road" at http://climatesummer.wordpress.com/.