The initial telephone call inquired about my interest in working on a “home on a pond in Westchester”.
It was many months later the prospective clients came into NYC to meet with me to talk about their project. As it turned out, while the site did overlook a pond, the pond was adjacent to the Long Island Sound and the very distinctive property had fantastic and dramatic water views!
Here are 2 ways to start the New Year;
Make a list of resolutions from a place of resignation, recognizing that you will likely fail at keeping.
Or,
INVENT the FUTURE!
When I was young Christmas was a very magical time!
Even to gullible children, the idea of Santa Claus was kind of freaky, but hey, the guy brought gifts – a lot of gifts! What’s not to like?! And then overlay the birth of the baby Jesus, born to the Virgin Mary (what is a virgin anyway?!), the Three Kings, the shining North Star; all put together it was pretty confusing – but then there were the lights, the decorations, Christmas cookies, time off from school and presents! It was wonderful!
Christmas takes on a very different meaning, and becomes a very different experience as an adult. We have figured out who Santa is, and are likely still confounded by the Virgin Mary.
Then there are obligations, expenses, incredible expectations, and unfulfilled hopes, wishes and desires. Being around children with their unabashed exuberance is one joyful way to re-experience the magic of Christmas, but there is another way; witness the wonder and unbridled fantasy of the season’s Fifth Avenue windows at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. The theme this year?, ‘Holidays On Ice’ – a curiously surreal mash-up of some of the years red-letter-days, as seen though the lens of a winter-wonderland. Fantastic!
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In an effort to help my daughter appreciate the opportunities in her life, I am forever seeking ways to educate her about the challenges that so many people, especially children, experience outside of her own privileged existence.
Last week Andrea Elliott gave me and many other New Yorkers a reality check with a five-part series of articles in the New York Times entitled “The Invisible Child”. It drove home the importance of philanthropy and helping others.
So this past weekend my daughter and I decided together, in this season of giving, how we should allocate funds to a short list of charities focusing on children and their families.
Some media forecasters predict that in the ‘future’, while we will still have printed matter, it will increasingly be seen as luxury goods – especially books.
For me, large format picture books have always been a luxury, a luxury that endures time.
I purchased a lot of books in 2013, and since the gift giving season is upon us, I wanted to share the one book that I would recommend as the perfect gift for yourself, or others who enjoy visual culture and armchair travels – Before They Pass Away.
