Camera-Free Times

I read this article and felt queased. Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my life taking pictures of things and of myself. I try my best not to take photos in museums or in performances. It's rude for the most part.
I also don't point my finger really close to, or point a toe toward art or low-lying art or sculptural objects. -But I don't hang out with that person anymore. Just sayin'

Friday evening I went camera-free. I had small moments of panic, but I remembered to just chill and enjoy the moment. I didn't even have my phone. Un-plugged. Free. I set out with some money and my dog. And some baggies.

Me and Bonnie walked West to Madison Avenue. We browsed the LeSport Sac store. Bonnie lay on the floor while I walked around trying different bags out for size. She's an older dog, so I can count on her for good behavior. That's why I was brave and took her into Jonathan Adler. I was equal parts nervous that I myself could break something. We both succeeded and the staff was very sweet to both of us. -Even after Bonnie infiltrated the employee side of the cash-wrap. 

I realized we were close to the Met and I was hungry and dressed like a bum, so we got an iced coffee and a cupcake at a food truck and sat down on the steps. A cute Asian girl reached out telling me she wanted to pet Bonnie. She said "Sooooft!" Yep. 

I realized how deep in tourists I was and had an idea that I could start a tour business there. I could just take tourist ladies out on Friday nights. "Wanna party with a neighborhood girl? Let's go!" -just a thought. 

I dropped most of my cupcake on the steps. It was a gorgeous cupcake and it was missed immediately. I let Bonnie have at it. A man was asking me question after question about dogs in New York. I needed to escape this. Bonnie was ravenously searching the steps for more discarded cupcakes. We broke free from the interrogation and headed south to enter Central Park.

We walked south from The Met checking out those little tourist vendors with tables of artwork. I got the idea for our family Christmas card. I'm really proud of my idea and it will be a fiercely guarded secret. Here's last year's card. 

I heard a really jazzy, New Orleans-sounding brass ensemble and we walked toward them. I got out a dollar for their tip hat. I told them they were doing a great job and they said I should stay. I said "She's on a mission" as Bonnie's nose was to the ground. We moved on. 

The sky was getting dark and I recently discovered famous-person's address I wanted to stalk. I came upon a man with a huge tripod and telephoto lens and others with binoculars. I knew it was a birding club. They had a fantastic view of a red-tailed hawk. I was feeling pretty friendly so I found out that this hawk was one of pale male's babies. It was a large, intimidating creature. Bonnie was not interested. She hunts ground birds. 

I sat on the little fence looking at this bird and talking to this man with the big lens. The hawk flew out of plain sight so I said goodbye. We headed to look for this famous person. I can't tell which home is hers, but I bike that street a lot, so I'll keep my eye out. Hint: I've seen her before. Twice. Once I paid and once I saw her out in the wild. 

We were pretty close to home when it started raining. It was thundering and lightening. By the time we were about a block away, the rain started coming down in cold sheets. We waited under an awning with a girl until we got the cross-walk signal that we could cross. When we got to our building I let go of her leash and we both skip-ran toward our apartment across the courtyard. 

I was freezing and had grime on my legs from running in the rain. I started to run a bath and one of my relatives called. It was a really good phone call. They needed me to make the airline arrangements for their visit. I'm very happy they are coming up for Thanksgiving. It's going to be really fun and festive with these two. 

I got a funny gossip-text from my husband who was out at a bar. 

This was a really nice evening. Camera free, technology-free, on foot, just me and my puppy-dog.