sky writing

after the verdict yesterday in Minneapolis, a huge storm this afternoon in NYC. 

outside my store, torrential rain came down in sheets, then stopped as quickly as it had begun.  

in the nearby west village, i was told heavy hail followed. 

by dusk, a big, blue-gray heart floated in the sky above, maybe even a double heart.

at least, it appeared as a heart to me when something made me turn to look back toward the river before heading east for my commute home.

look for a sign, my best friend has always told me in my moments of uncertainty. 

and hearts are always my signs. 

i pray for continued healing for the grieving family of George Floyd and for all communities suffering ongoing trauma, loss and fear.  

i pray that the heavens will help us find the way toward love, it's right there, before our very eyes...

meatpacking,
looking east from little west 12th street...

 

on Martin Luther King Jr Day

On this day of remembrance, looking back to the crisp December morning in 2017 on which i traveled by train to Washington DC to discover the bright, bronze-hued National Museum of African American History and Culture.   i was joined there by a talented designer i had worked with a few years prior while curating local finds for the lifestyle store created for Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown.

Jennifer and i shared the journey through the museum and the full range of emotions accompanying it, a physical, emotional and spiritual pilgrimage of sorts from which it was impossible not to emerge changed. 

One aspect of the experience i responded to most were the quotes by legendary African American writers, poets and leaders engraved into the walls of the now iconic David Adjaye designed structure, from Maya Angelou to Langston Hughes to Martin Luther King Jr himself. 

In the grand interior Contemplation Court meant for quiet and reflection, Dr King's words echoed through the force of water raining down into a cylindrical pool from a skylight above:  "We are determined ... to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." 

We look to the future again this week, looking forward to new hope, to change, beginning with the upcoming inauguration and the first Youth Poet Laureate, and youngest inaugural poet ever, Amanda Gorman, to share her words, and her vision when she reads a poem written at the invitation of Joe and Jill Biden, "The Hill We Climb."   

The mighty legacy of Dr King and so many other courageous men and women, flows on...

national museum of african american history and culture
(photos, mine) 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. today...

from And the Pursuit of Happiness, Maira Kalman
http://www.mairakalman.com/books/adult/and-the-pursuit-of-happiness/#1