Sometimes I Feel

As if I could not love life anymore than I do at this precise moment.

Today I had the pleasure of visiting and meeting the owner of Publicide, a very small letterpress business based out of the west village. I got to tour their small studio space and learn a thing or two about their beautiful heidelberg machines, which pushed me only into knowing that I have to own one later on in my life... The owner, Dusty, was extremely kind and willing to share his knowledge with me, and it was a truly wonderful visit.

The walk from their studio space uptown could not have been more wonderful. The weather today was perfectly warm and breezy, allowing the inhabitants of this crazy city an environment that could make them forget they were in an urban metropolis. Life seems to be ten million times easier when the weather is on your side.

Later on, I was sitting outside a cafe in the east village, attempting to finish The Plague, when I met Margaret Chesney. She had received a letter in the mail that she was having a hard time understanding, and she asked if I could interpret it for her. I guessed she was about eighty. Her rosy lipstick was smudged slightly around the edges of her mouth, and her eyebrows were thickly filled in as if she had taken an auburn crayon to them. She was very kind, and she explained to me the letter was about food stamps, and all she needed from these people was the application to reapply for her food stamps. After trying to help her sort out this ordeal, and after a few failed phone calls (apparently the representatives in the food stamp administration leave after 5, and it was 5:15) I walked Margaret up to the McDonalds on 6th st. She said she likes places where she can just sit and have a coffee and talk to people. I thought it was funny that she chose McDonalds for this, but alas to each his own. She had two poor legs that had been injured in a fall she had taken last year. She could walk alright- the right leg was much better than the left- but it was still pretty painful and we went very slowly. On the way up she told me she had been born and raised on 13th st and Ave A, and she was in fact 83. She joked with me, asking me to guess her age, but I told her I was poor at guessing such things. She asked if I'm Irish, and I told her I am, but I'm also German, French - she interrupted me and said, "Ah! I am German as well!" She was also Czech and Hungarian. "Spreken zie deutsch?" she asked. I laughed as replied, "Non, je parle francais, un peu." She found this pretty entertaining. She then told me she had just turned 83 on June 10th. Her few remaining siblings had called her to wish her a happy birthday- she had been one of eleven, but only 6 (I think she said 6) were left. Her son, who lives out in Long Island with his son, also called her. She described their phone conversation with a small smile on her face, and a sincere fondness in her words. She obviously loves her son deeply. When we got to the McDonalds, she waved to a man inside who was sitting eating a burger of some kind. "That's Bill." she said. I felt comfort knowing that there was someone she knew inside to keep her company. I had only spent about twenty minutes with this woman, but she was such a sweet person that I couldn't help but wish to keep her safe as much as I could. We parted with her telling me that I could find her at this McDonalds almost every night between 8 and 9. I think I'll go see her tomorrow and make sure she's called about her food stamps.

Yoga was fantastic. I've been having trouble with my left knee, to the point where I've been experiencing a lot of pain in the side of and it's beginning to swell. Trisha, the owner, told me yesterday it probably had something to do with my putting all my weight on the outsides of my legs. Since then I've been focussing on rebalancing into the center of my feet when I walk and when I practice, and today I realized that my right leg is extremely weak on it's inside and the knee is hardly strong at all but my right hip is very flexible, while my left knee and leg is in fact very strong but my left hip is very compressed. Then when standing I noted that I can stand with my left foot and leg in perfect alignment, while my right foot is pointed slightly outward and my leg bevels outward also. This may not seem like much, but it explains the whole reason why my left knee is in so much pain! I had this horrible fear that I was going to have to go to the doctor and possibly get some kind of terrible surgery on my knee at the young age of 20, and I was going to be miserable. But no! I just have to continue to focus my balance on the center of my soles, and make right knee stronger through the inside, and voila! I should be back to normal! Then I can resume my walking over the bridge and boycotting the subway as much as possible...

So, in conclusion I had a fantastically simple wonderful productive interesting day. A few other things took place, but really I don't need to document everrryyyything. Just a few things. Lastly I just want to write that I was looking through my "etc." folder which contains my entire image inspiration collection, and some pictures made my heart well-up with love. It's amazing how simple memories, colors, combinations can make one feel completely whole with the love life is always generously handing out and secretly passing around. Truly amazing.

And now.... to the logos!