fountain, Lincoln Center

During the day, the plaza at Lincoln Center feels a bit cold and unwelcoming. In the evening, that changes. As the light leaves the sky, the surrounding concert halls give off a warm glow. The fountain becomes the center of attention, with shining jets of water performing a choreographed dance. People gather to watch the show and inevitably get sprayed with wind-borne mist. They sit and chatter, like birds on a telephone wire, getting in one last visit with friends and family before the darkness descends. 

Foil Wrapped Truffles

A local vendor is now making chocolate truffles. You can see their display case well before arriving at the stand. Children spot it immediately and dash off to stare at the rainbow-colored domes. Some colors are obvious; pistachio should be green and royal blue is perfect for the blueberry-filled ones. How did they assign the rest of the colors? They were too busy for me to ask silly questions. I chose a lavender-flavored truffle and left them to deal with the rest of the waiting chocoholics.

Cherub Head

On any given day, you never know what you are going to see. Walking down the street, I came across this disembodied cherub head. When and why did the decapitation occur? Where was its body? How did it end up in the base of that pot? The cherub's slight smile remains, while he stares out blindly at the knees and shopping bags of all those hurrying past. But he does not tell me his story.

Women's Work

It was a sleepy afternoon and the shops in the tiny french village were all closed. The window of the antiques shop was a thing of beauty, a lovingly laid out tableau of antique sewing tools. My friend and I studied the bits of lace, booklets with embroidery designs, wooden spools, metal rollers and stamps meant for marking family initials, and the ink to use with them. They are tools that were an essential part of a woman's life when things were handmade, reused, darned and repaired.