My City Exes

I've been in many relationships in my life. The longest was Singapore; I dated him for 18 years. Edinburgh for 4 years, Delft for 2 years, London for 8 years with a 4 month break in the middle when I dated Milan, New York for 8 years, and now I'm seeing Oakland.

Visiting my exes are always hard. A fuzzy warm feeling, with a wee bit of both bliss and regret, sad when they aren't the same anymore. Mostly, I still love them and I miss them even though I've moved on.

Walking uptown in New York yesterday, I went to see Nadav Kander and chanced upon several galleries in the same building. I miss chance encounters, serendipity that results in pockets of culture. An art gallery owner asked me, "What art do you like?" And when I stumbled to respond, he said, "Keep looking for it, I started as an accountant and just kept searching." He and his wife did not believe that my walls at home are empty and white.

Today, I was wandering around Bryant Park and saw a storefront of books. When I walked in, I realized is was an extension of the NYC Public Library. The first shelf I walked up to just so happened to be 2 shelves of pottery books. I teared. I miss the access to inspiration without trying too hard.

New York, I was hard on you when we were dating. Perhaps I was a little unappreciative but I promise, even though we will never be together again, I'll come and visit you often.