The Nor'easter was worse in other parts of New England, but Boston got its share of rain and wind today, plus a bit of snow. Anyone who has ever been in one knows that the most important detail is the icy wind which exacerbates the precipitation, and today was no exception.
I take seriously the union action we attended at my daughter's place of work yesterday, so I couldn't stomach the REI coat I've been wearing for a few years. But you know, maybe I would have soldiered through today, except I am finally sick of only having one functional pocket in the outer layer--yeah, I know I could have returned it, but since REI wasn't going to repair the coat, I couldn't bring myself to do that. I needed two pockets today--see: Nor'easter--so I decided to swap out the ultra-modern materials for the pea coat my father-in-law wore when he was in the Navy in the 1960s. My husband declared me cute; I declared me warm.
As I said, I take labor seriously, and another result of yesterday was that because I had to go to an appointment in Newton and couldn't drive the car--long story--I wasn't going to call a Lyft. I arranged for a cab, and miraculously it arrived when it said it would. Which was great, except the privilege (!) of doing the right thing (!!) cost me over $50. Um...what? So rather than take a cab back, I walked to the nearest bus station and took public transportation to an easy spot for my husband to pick me up. It was a little bit scary to walk on the wet pavement, but you know what? That coat kept me warm.
Today's big event was a reception at the Museum of Fine Arts for Napoleon Jones-Henderson, an artist whom I call a friend when I want to flatter myself but is really a very good friend of a very good friend. Regardless, he is an extremely generous person, and I am honored to be in his circle, and to have been invited. While I waited for the hour to roll around, I decided to play with Mastodon. That's a little better than BlueSky, but after five minutes, the usual emptiness rolled over me, and I muttered to myself that I was wasting my time when I could be doing anything else, like reading. So I did.
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| 1970s cool |
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| So-We-Too (Black Men Rise) by Napoleon Jones-Henderson |
We cajoled my son the art student to leave the house and join us...and we had a great time. It was a small affair, but I was fascinated by Napoleon's discussion of how he developed So-We-Too (Black Men Rise), how he came to get involved in textiles, and most importantly what the artist's community AfriCOBRA has meant to him. How wonderful to have a community of artists where you can collaborate not just on works but ideas. And it occurred to me that that is why I always feel so empty on social media: all of these people, many of whom are like-minded, many of whom are also creative, but we all keep so much close to our chest, whether for fear of criticism or competition. That is, perhaps, the biggest disappointment of the internet: instead of providing a space where we can collaborate, it is instead all too easy for us to exist in the space even more vulnerable than before. Not all of the internet--I have found a handful of spaces where people genuinely want to collaborate and create, and not just promote--but not nearly as many as there should be.
Oh, and did I mention that Napoleon's primary medium is textiles? Let me tell you, he approved of the coat, and the whole discussion made me think that I don't agonize over my clothing and choices enough. Well, some goals are easier to fulfill than others.
Deb in the City
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