September, 7th

Today I went to the Met with Marion and John Franklin. Marion is a retired teacher, and John is the head of Imago, an charitable organization centered around faith and the arts. They live in Toronto, Ontario, and I was very pleased that they could join me in this endeavor. Since they are away from home and without laptops, their guest pieces will be posted a little later than usual.

The museum was pleasantly empty today and John led the way to the Dutch Masters. We spent quite some time with the Vermeers.



Eventually we ended up writing in front of a Rembrandt, and it was quite pleasant. It was nice to write to write with them and I couldn't help but notice how much neater their penmanship was than mine.

This Strange Journey

The breeze is not to share, sails
stretch out, seize the wind,
a small claiming for the journey north.
You packed the bag with rice,
dried meat. We hear rumors of tea
on board; but have yet to glimpse anything hot.
Our breath, at first the smoke of dragons on watch;
now curled ice. We scan the sea
for unusual creatures, coats bulk around us, transforming
frail widows into plump babushkas,
strong men into giants.



Factors
Day of the Week: Tuesday
Occupancy of Museum: Some light traffic.
Arrived at: 3:00
Departed at: 5:00
Read on Commute: I finished Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem. The ending was excellent. I also started a nonfiction book by Eric Larson called Thunderstruck.