Limping in a speedy town -- My trip to New York

 Woman waiting at the airport

Black marker on Moleskine paper

8 x 10 inches

Barbara Muir © 2015

Reading the paper

Black marker on Moleskine paper

8 x 10 inches

Barbara Muir © 2015

I hurt my knee in January.  Badly. Since then I've
been waiting for a diagnosis, living on extra
strength aspirin, and working on staying cheerful
and upbeat. But I don't get an MRI until
the end of this month. (I am lucky that I can
walk, and stand, but my leg does hurt -- sometimes a lot.)

So... when the decision of whether or not to travel
to New York came up -- to show in my wonderful
gallery there -- The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery --
 I was both determined and hesitant.
 I'm so glad I went.  My gallery set up a special
chair for me at the opening.  And the opening was
so much fun.

 Steven and me in the lights of Times Square

As a teacher, and a reader, and a lover of life and
art -- my deal is learning.  Here's what was good.

1. We lingered.  In a city of 81/2 million, 
filled with art, theater and excitement the temptation
is to hurry to see more, more, more. But seriously
who is keeping a tally on how much we see?  No one.
On the first really warm day we sat under an umbrella
beside a gorgeous fountain in the café in Rockefeller
Square for a good part of the afternoon drinking wine
and eating delicious panini.

2. Our slower pace lead to friendships -- with the
couple we spent 2 hours talking to about art and
life in the MoMA over lunch, and the wonderful
Malawian artist, Franco Mbilizi from Chicago
who we met at my opening, and enjoyed a short trip
 to the MoMA with, and coffee, and dinner.

Franco Mbilizi talking about art

at dinner in NYC.

3. We saw more of less. Our hotel was close to
the MoMA and Central Park.  So I could get
to both leaning heavily on Steven. We had to be
choosy, so in the MoMA I saw a Bjork video
our friend insisted we see, and made sure to
see the Monet water lilies -- which always
blow me away, and at the Met works by Derain,
Matisse and the paintings I know I love.

Fishing Boats, Collioure, 1905
André Derain (French, 1880–1954)
Oil on canvas; 31 7/8 x 39 1/2 in. (81 x 100.3 cm)

4.  We did things differently.  We've seen the
horse carts every year taking visitors to the
city through Central Park, and never gone on one.
This year we did, and it was lovely, so slow and
romantic, and we both fell in love with the horse --
King.

A night ride through 

Central Park NYC with King

5.  We enjoyed every minute of what we could
do.  A negative fact in part of your life can make
you doubly determined to seek out pleasure.
So we did.  Every cup of coffee, every lovely
blooming tree, and arrangement of pansies around
the city trees, every beautifully designed store window,
and buzzing restaurant reaffirmed our delight in
being in the city.

Have an enjoying-your-town day.