But, today, it would be good for me to include a photo of someone spinning. Because I feel myself to be spinning ideas for the weeks and months ahead.
Sadly, no spinner crossed my path. Though I did see this woman – she had fixed a pair of pants for me and I went to the shop to pick them up. She’s a stitcher, no? (She dresses well, as does her husband, Sr. Monetti, of Monetti's Tailoring. Yes, they're Italian.)
Might I say then that I have been stitching together ideas for some longer pauses from work?
My spinning and stitching is ripply and uneven. I have a lot of unknowns to deal with which stand in the way of making grand plans, paid for in advance with a credit card.
But, sooner or later, there will be a finished product (many! Oh I hope so!).
In the meantime, I’ll share a rare semi-political thought (Ocean, as you know, avoids politics with as much care as you might avoid the H1N1 virus): I woke up to Ed telling me early before dawn (too early before dawn) that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. My reaction was simple (I was groggy, so forgive the language): no shit? No shit.
I thought back to my UN school days and my last graduation ceremony, which took place in the great hall of UN's ECOSOC. I thought, too, how gratifying it is to learn that diplomacy still has its fans, even if they live in a country that spends the better part of winter without sunlight.
Later, when I awoke for real and clicked on the computer/news, I thought how sad that anyone should wake up to find out he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, only to be then scoffed at by those who had other ideas about where the prize should go.
Then, I thought how the Nobel peace prize and the literature prize invite snarky commentary. Because we all feel ourselves to be adept at judging the merits of people who emerge victorious therein (as opposed to winners in the natural sciences, about whom we stay silent, because we cannot even pretend to understand fiber-optic cables, let alone the significance of telomerase).
Finally, I thought how good it is that I do not have millions to give out in prestigious awards. I think I would be somewhat shocked to learn that my decisions were scrutinized and commented on with such ill will toward me and the benefactors.
So, bottom line, I’m glad that I have a week-end of moonlight tasks at the little shop on the corner. Perhaps only in little shops on the corner can we be left alone to do well by others. I intend to be supremely nice to all customers who come in.
[And to my daughters: I'll have the honor of being nice to them as well. That should be easy. One is flying in tonight for a visit. The other? I'll be seeing her soon as well.]
I woke to my wife giving me the same news. My first, just-awake reaction was: "For what?" She responded: "Maybe I just dreamed it, although I thought it was on the radio."
ReplyDeleteBarry (not the Alvarez)