Courtney seemed to think that it was perfectly natural that Velma wouldn’t cancel. I was left to question if I was insane for thinking eating tuna fish sandwiches outside on a frigid February afternoon was crazy.
“Old people love being outside,” She said on the phone when I called to tell her we were on.
“I do too, but this is a little extreme.”
“Justin, this woman has two peacocks and does yoga at the age of 95. I think everything about her is a little extreme.”
“Right. Well, she must be doing something right…. Ok, well I’ll meet you up there at one. Oh. I think she wants you to sketch her.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She mentioned that she got her hair done in the event that you wanted to sketch her. So wear thin gloves.”
“Oh great,” not said in an exciting tone.
“Yeah. Extreme.”
“You’re not gonna write this conversation out on the blog are you?”
“Oh no, I don’t have time for that.” I didn't even cross my fingers.
“Good, I don’t want Velma to think I’m talking bad about her.”
“Please. She’d love it.”
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Velma's Journal--LUNCH WITH VELMA (PART ONE)
EDITOR'S NOTE:
In order to make the whole experience on Friday with Velma more digestible, I have decided to break the entire entry down into parts. That way it won't be too overwhelming. So here we go.
Lunch with Velma was cancelled last week due to snow. I figured since the high this Friday was 31, we would postpone once again. So at a more reasonable hour this past Friday morning, I gave her a call.
“Hi Velma, it’s Justin.”
“Hey sweetheart, can’t wait to see you. One o’clock.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s gorgeous today.”
“It’s 29 degrees!”
“You truly are a delicate specimen. As long as it’s dry, I’m out there. It’s good to get fresh air every day.”
I sighed. I was still in my sweatpants thinking I had nowhere to go but back to sleep. “Okay, one o’clock.”
“Is Courtney coming?”
“I guess so. I’ll call her and tell her we’re on.”
“Good, I got my hair done yesterday in case she wants to sketch me.”
“I’ll let her know.”
“You know where the Peace Fountain is right?”
“Yeah, I’ve been there once or twice.”
“Of course you have. Why did I even ask? Okay, see ya there. Tuna sandwiches in hand.” There was an immediate click and then a dial tone.
In order to make the whole experience on Friday with Velma more digestible, I have decided to break the entire entry down into parts. That way it won't be too overwhelming. So here we go.
Lunch with Velma was cancelled last week due to snow. I figured since the high this Friday was 31, we would postpone once again. So at a more reasonable hour this past Friday morning, I gave her a call.
“Hi Velma, it’s Justin.”
“Hey sweetheart, can’t wait to see you. One o’clock.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s gorgeous today.”
“It’s 29 degrees!”
“You truly are a delicate specimen. As long as it’s dry, I’m out there. It’s good to get fresh air every day.”
I sighed. I was still in my sweatpants thinking I had nowhere to go but back to sleep. “Okay, one o’clock.”
“Is Courtney coming?”
“I guess so. I’ll call her and tell her we’re on.”
“Good, I got my hair done yesterday in case she wants to sketch me.”
“I’ll let her know.”
“You know where the Peace Fountain is right?”
“Yeah, I’ve been there once or twice.”
“Of course you have. Why did I even ask? Okay, see ya there. Tuna sandwiches in hand.” There was an immediate click and then a dial tone.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Velma's Journal--November 30, 1931
I am back in the city after Thanksgiving. I absent-mindedly left my journal behind at Barnard. Not that there was much to report from Saratoga. The Graydons came down to my parent's for dinner on Thursday. There was my Aunt Eunice and Uncle Joe Graydon who came with my cousins Sandra, Richard, and Michael. All of whom are younger than myself, even though Sandra is engaged at the age of 16. Mother was quick to point that out more than once. Her fiancee did not attend dinner. He spent it with his family, which I found queer seeing as that they are engaged.
My grandmother, Eleanor, came down from Maine, where she has gone to live with her younger sister, Viola. Grannie Ellie, I had taken to calling her as a child, was from the coast of Maine and came to live here when she married my grandfather, Henry. He hailed from Saratoga but was logging in Maine for a summer to make money to start his apple orchard. They met in June and married in September. He brought her back to Saratoga and they had one child, my mother. Hence my mother being from Saratoga and my brother's namesake. Mother, I feel, has secretly resented her own mother's decision to live with her sister instead of her own daughter. Grannie Ellie said she was always meant to live by the sea, and so after Grandpa died, she left.
Grannie sat intently and listened to my stories for hours on end about the city. She's never been and swears she'll make it down at some point before she dies. Grannie is only 74 and the Morgan women live to ripe old ages. I told her she has plenty of time and when I graduate, I will find an apartment with a spare room just for her. She is a very independent women and had always served as my model. Although she is warm, she is dignified, smart, and strong. What I strive to be.
It snowed on Saturday and father hooked the sleigh up to one of the horses. He brought me out on a ride and told me that he was proud to have a daughter in college. He truly is the most dear thing in my life. It was Grannie Ellie and he who make coming home a pleasant experience.
But I am most happy to be back even if I will now be inundated with finals and most likely, not writing that often.
My grandmother, Eleanor, came down from Maine, where she has gone to live with her younger sister, Viola. Grannie Ellie, I had taken to calling her as a child, was from the coast of Maine and came to live here when she married my grandfather, Henry. He hailed from Saratoga but was logging in Maine for a summer to make money to start his apple orchard. They met in June and married in September. He brought her back to Saratoga and they had one child, my mother. Hence my mother being from Saratoga and my brother's namesake. Mother, I feel, has secretly resented her own mother's decision to live with her sister instead of her own daughter. Grannie Ellie said she was always meant to live by the sea, and so after Grandpa died, she left.
Grannie sat intently and listened to my stories for hours on end about the city. She's never been and swears she'll make it down at some point before she dies. Grannie is only 74 and the Morgan women live to ripe old ages. I told her she has plenty of time and when I graduate, I will find an apartment with a spare room just for her. She is a very independent women and had always served as my model. Although she is warm, she is dignified, smart, and strong. What I strive to be.
It snowed on Saturday and father hooked the sleigh up to one of the horses. He brought me out on a ride and told me that he was proud to have a daughter in college. He truly is the most dear thing in my life. It was Grannie Ellie and he who make coming home a pleasant experience.
But I am most happy to be back even if I will now be inundated with finals and most likely, not writing that often.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Velma's Journal--EDITOR'S NOTE
Just to keep the readership informed, Velma cancelled lunch due to inclimate weather. She did so at 5:40 this morning in a conversation I was not coherent enough to recall.
I do remember her saying something about boots and swollen feet. Then a quick comment about the semicolon getting a whole article in the New York Times this week. She was delighted with it and said the semicolon is finally getting the attention it deserves. That may have been a dream I had after I hung up with her.
Regardless, we've rescheduled for next Friday.
I do remember her saying something about boots and swollen feet. Then a quick comment about the semicolon getting a whole article in the New York Times this week. She was delighted with it and said the semicolon is finally getting the attention it deserves. That may have been a dream I had after I hung up with her.
Regardless, we've rescheduled for next Friday.
Velma's Journal--November 25, 1931
Dream:
Again in the darkness of this temple. No girl this time, just myself and then a set of narrow stairs. The whole time I felt as though I was on the verge of falling forward into nothing. I took cautious steps down the spiral of the staircase and at the bottom was a dim light.
This afternoon, I will board a train for Saratoga for the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be my first time back since August. I look forward to seeing everyone, but I am apprehensive about talking to mother about my experiences here. She can be very judgemental and I just couldn't bare it. Not after enjoying such independence here in New York. I'll have to sensor some of the more sensational aspects of the past few months.
Again in the darkness of this temple. No girl this time, just myself and then a set of narrow stairs. The whole time I felt as though I was on the verge of falling forward into nothing. I took cautious steps down the spiral of the staircase and at the bottom was a dim light.
This afternoon, I will board a train for Saratoga for the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be my first time back since August. I look forward to seeing everyone, but I am apprehensive about talking to mother about my experiences here. She can be very judgemental and I just couldn't bare it. Not after enjoying such independence here in New York. I'll have to sensor some of the more sensational aspects of the past few months.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Velma's Journal--ON THE PHONE WITH VELMA #4
JUSTIN: Hello.
VELMA: Sweetheart! It’s Velma.
J: Hey Velma! What’s up?
V: I hear you’ve been gettin’ cozy with my Nicky.
J: Well if you call two emails, cozy.
V: He hates it when I call him Nicky. He’s all work. No fun. But I guess that’s good in an assistant, huh?
J: Sounds like it would be. I wouldn’t know. I don’t have one.
V: Real smart kid though.
J: He seems it.
V: Anyway, he’s been printing me out some of the entries. What a gas to read them in print. I still think I sounded like a square, but whatta ya gonna do. Hey, everyone thinks they’re important when they’re 19, right?
J: God knows, I did.
V: Right, wait till you start hitting the stuff in the 50’s. I thought I was freakin’ Virginia Woolf. It’s tough to hold onto. All thoughts, none of the depression.
J: Great, it should only take me about 5 years to get there.
V: Tell me about it. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll be dead by time you finish ’31.
J: Ha, ha. Not unless you plan on dying by the end of the month.
V: Sweetheart, it could be by the end of the day.
J: Oh stop.
V: The reason why I’m calling, if you can believe there’s a reason, is for you to come and get these letters.
J: Yes, I’d be happy to do it.
V: I just feel nervous putting these things in the mail since they were hand-delivered to me.
J: Not a problem.
V: What days are good for you?
J: I’m usually off Fridays.
V: That’s a nice racket.
J: Yeah it is. It’s the only time I really get to work on the blog.
V: I see.
J: Also, next Tuesday I’m in Washington Heights so I could drop by then.
V: Why don’t you come up on Friday? Meet me at the Peace Fountain at one o'clock. That’s where I eat my lunch.
J: Even in February?
V: Especially in February. Do you want me to bring some lunch for you? Strike that! I am. Don’t eat before you come.
J: Really, don’t worry—
V: Clamp it! I make a mean tuna fish. Bring Courtney if you want.
J: She probably has to work, but I’ll ask her.
V: Good, she can sketch me. I’d love to cause a scene in public.
J: I bet.
V: Alright kiddo, gotta run. See you on Friday.
J: Yup. Have a good one.
V: Bye now.
J: Bye.
VELMA: Sweetheart! It’s Velma.
J: Hey Velma! What’s up?
V: I hear you’ve been gettin’ cozy with my Nicky.
J: Well if you call two emails, cozy.
V: He hates it when I call him Nicky. He’s all work. No fun. But I guess that’s good in an assistant, huh?
J: Sounds like it would be. I wouldn’t know. I don’t have one.
V: Real smart kid though.
J: He seems it.
V: Anyway, he’s been printing me out some of the entries. What a gas to read them in print. I still think I sounded like a square, but whatta ya gonna do. Hey, everyone thinks they’re important when they’re 19, right?
J: God knows, I did.
V: Right, wait till you start hitting the stuff in the 50’s. I thought I was freakin’ Virginia Woolf. It’s tough to hold onto. All thoughts, none of the depression.
J: Great, it should only take me about 5 years to get there.
V: Tell me about it. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll be dead by time you finish ’31.
J: Ha, ha. Not unless you plan on dying by the end of the month.
V: Sweetheart, it could be by the end of the day.
J: Oh stop.
V: The reason why I’m calling, if you can believe there’s a reason, is for you to come and get these letters.
J: Yes, I’d be happy to do it.
V: I just feel nervous putting these things in the mail since they were hand-delivered to me.
J: Not a problem.
V: What days are good for you?
J: I’m usually off Fridays.
V: That’s a nice racket.
J: Yeah it is. It’s the only time I really get to work on the blog.
V: I see.
J: Also, next Tuesday I’m in Washington Heights so I could drop by then.
V: Why don’t you come up on Friday? Meet me at the Peace Fountain at one o'clock. That’s where I eat my lunch.
J: Even in February?
V: Especially in February. Do you want me to bring some lunch for you? Strike that! I am. Don’t eat before you come.
J: Really, don’t worry—
V: Clamp it! I make a mean tuna fish. Bring Courtney if you want.
J: She probably has to work, but I’ll ask her.
V: Good, she can sketch me. I’d love to cause a scene in public.
J: I bet.
V: Alright kiddo, gotta run. See you on Friday.
J: Yup. Have a good one.
V: Bye now.
J: Bye.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Velma's Journal--November 18, 1931
Yesterday's surprise was a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. Dottie and Sarah both decided to pool their resources for the outing. We traveled down to 34th street on the IRT. I had no clue as to our destination. When we stepped off the train, I immediately noticed the grandness of the building not thinking it had anything to do with the surprise. Walking down the street I couldn't help but be in awe of the structure looming over the entire neighborhood. Then to see it so close in front of me made me dizzy. It was Biblical in scope.
When we stopped right in front of the entrance Dottie shouted: "Surprise, we got you a building for your birthday. I know it's a bit big, but who couldn't use the space nowadays, right?"
I laughed. Sarah took me by the hand. "No such luck sweetheart. We found it a bit pricey. You'll have to settle for a trip to the top and dinner."
"You Jews are such downers," Dottie said.
"You Italians are such liars," Sarah retorted.
"We're dreamers," She snarled.
Being a Protest of Anglican heritage I had little to offer.
Admission to the observation deck was a dollar a piece, which I thought steep, but Sarah and Dottie both insisted they pay.
The lobby was extremely modern. Very bold and metallic; clean and rigid. After paying the admission we were shuffled into a large elevator with about eight other people. The speed at which the elevator traveled to the 86th floor was dizzying. I'm not sure I've ever been on anything that went so fast. Sarah thought she was going to vomit and Dottie said it felt like a night out without the night out.
The observation deck was on the 86th floor. There was another deck on the 102nd floor but it was reserved for air traffic only. Apparently dirigibles will be able to dock and unload passengers up there.
When walked outside not one of us could speak. Our mouths dropped wide open at what we saw. It seemed like the entire planet was below us. My first thought was being on Olympus looking down on Earth. Both Sarah and Dottie immediately looked south to find their homes. I looked out as far as I could to the ocean.
"I can see Bay Ridge! I wonder if ma could hear me?" Dottie said laughing.
"Most of the world has never been this high off the ground before. Can you imagine?" Sarah said. "If only I had my damn camera."
I saw the Brooklyn Bridge and I thought of Rudy. I looked beyond it to the speck that was the Statue of Liberty and then the open water.
We stood in awe for some time before Dottie interjected, "I'm freezing and I have to piss. Time to go."
After riding down to ground level. We saw to it that Dottie was relieved and then ate supper at a diner around the corner. I had a hamburger and a chocolate egg cream from the fountain. Both Dottie and Sarah swear by them. I was dumbfounded to learn that it wasn't made with eggs or cream.
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