Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Everything that came after was different

 


The Whitney Biennial has a very special place in my heart. It's where my beloved ex, now sadly gone ahead, changed my life forever.

I have this year's publicity promo on my desk, just as a reminder of that seminal evening.


Do you keep something on your desk to remind you of a special moment in your life?

Let us know in the comment column!

13 comments:

nightsmusic said...

I'm sorry for your loss. You don't speak much about your personal life unless I missed this so...I'm sorry.

E.M. Goldsmith said...

Sorry for loss.

I keep a picture of my daughter and I at Hampton Court during our time in U.K. when she was a moody 13-year-old. We had such a fantastic time despite all the eye-rolling as I insisted on showing her all the places I used to live. If I could have gotten permanent employment there, I would still be there. My daughter would still choose New York. She loves her place in Brooklyn. Although, in late October she is moving to Lyon, France for a few months. Can't wait to visit her there. Hoping to talk her into visiting my nephew in London and maybe going to a Liverpool match.

Life goes fast in this silly flesh-wrapper we find ourselves trapped in.

Sharyn Ekbergh said...

I have a photo of me and my mom sitting on her favorite bench near the Sandwich boardwalk. We are wearing the exact same color and style long sleeve tee shirts with sweaters tied around our waists. We didn't choose the outfits together. We're looking in the same direction and every time I look at it I remember how close we were and how much I and my siblings miss her.

AJ Blythe said...

I had to look up what the Whitney Biennial was (my thought it was a tribute to Whitney Houston far off the mark!).

So many. Photos, trinkets, things... they all find their way on to my desk because that's where I spend much of my time and I want to see them. Reminders of moments with the Hub and Barbarians, my oldest friend, my best friend, my parents...I tend to be a bit sentimental.

Kitty said...

My WORDLE word list is taped near my computer.
There are 7 words, each word is 5 letters,
and all of them are spelled with the same 5 letters:
A, E, R, S, T.
Every morning I use one of the words to begin WORDLE.
Twice I’ve gotten the word on my second try.

KariV said...

I have a table runner on my desk that my husband picked up during his combat tour in Afghanistan. It reminds me of war and loss. I have a picture of my kiddos from one of their earliest interactions. It reminds me of love and hope. Both items inspire my writing in different ways.

Barbara Etlin said...

Three Delft owls from Amsterdam, one bought on our honeymoon and the others bought on our twentieth anniversary.

BJ Muntain said...

I don't have much of a desk - just one of those little corner things. But it's right beside my bookcase, where the second shelf is taken up with two little urns, favourite dog toys, and pictures and figurines of dogs. My little memorial shrine. Missing you, Koko and Little Girl Dog. <3

Craig F said...

My desk is a mess, it has plans for four projects on it, notes so I can spell the names right and conjugate them properly in my writing.

I have pictures on most of the walls, though not prominently. Though I am sorry for your loss, mine was/is the kind that tends to end conversations, not start them

John Davis Frain said...

"It's where my beloved ex, now sadly gone ahead, changed my life forever."

Well, there are multiple options for where the next line would take this story, and they include opposite directions.

Someone can change your life forever by showing up ... or by leaving. The basis of all stories, right -- someone goes on a journey or someone new comes to town.

Color me curious, but I don't expect an answer.

Panda in Chief said...

Color me curious, as well, Mr. Frain.

Being a visual artist, as well as something of a pack rat, I have many memos on my desk, but also on my refrigerator. One of my treasured pieces of memory, is a Gary Larson cartoon, given to me by a friend who helped in the aftermath of the chimney fire with caused my house fire. The cartoon shows a family of goldfish, standing on the table beside their bowl, which has smoke pouring from the fish bowl castle in the bowl. One of the fish says, "Thank goodness we made it out in time. Of course now, we're equally screwed."

I have sketches from friends, a ticket stub from the tram ride up to the Great Wall, where I went during a panda expotition with my panda loving friends in 2017. I have a photo a friend took of me feeding Pinky panda (formerly an icon at the Smithsonian National Zoo) at the Dujiangyan panda base on the same trip.

In a word, I have way too much stuff.

Mary said...

I have a small replica of the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail, which I have hiked in its entirety. It's there to remind me that I can do hard things.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

I don't have a desk anymore, not that I actually ever used a desk. My kitchen table in my (sort-of) tiny house does the trick. Along the window frame next to my table/desk I have sticky-notes as reminders and sayings that serve great relevance like, "Don't wait until life is not hard to be happy."

It feels good to leave a comment here. It's been awhile.

Here's another sticky-note, "We have two lives. The second one begins when we realize we only have one."