Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:55am
Good morning! This is a shot from the Conservatory Pond up at Mary Tyler Moore's picture window. Mary (we're on a first-name basis), has the penthouse and just above the middle window of this building is where the famous Red-tail hawk lives. You can kind of see the big nest above the window. I always find myself looking up at these buildings, and looking into the windows of the brownstone houses between Madison and 5th Ave and wondering about who is in there. Lots of times I can see into the kitchen and there is a cook in there, fixing coffee and breakfast for whomever lives there. I often walk along and wonder what the cook is making - does she (it's almost always a Latina) decide what to make or does the boss tell her? What's the good in having a cook if you don't get some creativity in your meals. It'd be kind of silly to pay someone to make you instant oatmeal or pour your bowl of cereal every day. Also - you really don't have time to put some tablespoons of coffee grounds into your coffeemaker? How busy are you?!
My other thoughts are usually about what is going on in the big tall apartment buildings on the Park. When there's a light on I catch myself wondering about what the person is doing in there. Are they looking out like Simba from Pride Rock - "All of this is yours, Simba, because you will be King someday..." Like is that what they're thinking when they open their blinds? Or does their apartment become like every body elses. Just a box with walls to fill up with your stuff. Angora slippers and a silk robe after day 2 of ownership are just your slippers and robe. Your stuff doesn't hold any special place in your heart - how could it? There are only a few things that matter to each of us - everything else just sort of fills the space up and becomes white noise.
Think about what it is that you actually derive pleasure from standing and looking at in your place. I can tell you, there are a collection of very few things I actually care about and that I admire. Here is the list of things that I find beautiful in my home - as far as I'm concerned someone could rob me and take everything else and I wouldn't really care.
1. The framed photograph I gave Brian for his birthday last year - it's professionally framed (it's a beautiful job) - and it's a photo Brian took when we were atop Mt. Cadillac in Maine on our camping trip. It's of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.
2. The cover art on the favorite books I've read sitting in my bookshelf. I like to stand there and look at them.
3. The little lamp and fresco my Dad got for me 2 sequential Christmases. In particular I love the oil lamp. I pick it up maybe 3 times a week when I'm sitting at my desk working to admire the colors.
4. The Czech glass set my Mom and Dad brought back from Prague.
5. The Corkboard in the kitchen with all of Brian and my ticket stubs and cards and stuff that signifies where we went and what we saw - the memory board. I often stand in there and eat snacks and stare at the board - remembering all the fun times we've had and planning what we should do next.
6. The framed photographs I have up behind the couch of my trip to Africa.
7. Brian's San Francisco - Rodo-boulanger le ciel de graciela poster. I don't know why I like this but I have always stared at it - kind of odd. The weird thing about it is that I like to type out the letters on my fingers when I look at it. To me - the poster says home - the home that the two of us have together.
8. The lavender lacquered wooden box that I keep important things that Brian got engraved with my initials. More than looking at it - I like the feel of it.
What is important to you? What would you miss the most if it were gone tomorrrow? Email me or post in the comments because I am curious and would like to write a post about it.
Have a wonderful day!!!
