Wednesday, July 9, 2014


July 9, 2014

Since Lincoln in New York I have cherished a red wooden bead bracelet that a Tibetan monk (I thought) gave me on 45th Street. He made it look like a gift, but I gave him money, and the he showed me a notebook in which was recorded other people who had given him money. I thought he did so to indicate that my gift compared favorably with theirs.  But in the NY Times I read that it was a scam, that it happens all the time and my monk was no more a holy man than I. Less, now that I think of it. I invested a certain amount of imagination into that exchange. It seemed sweet and portentous to me. Now I just feel foolish. Is there no end to this? I am probably the most scam-able person on earth.

What else do I learn about myself? That I have a thing for the orange-y roses.

I paint so early in the morning, and so much else intervenes, that when I tally up the deeds of the day I almost forget the session at the studio, then remember it with a smile, thinking “that, at least, is accomplished.”

A dab of rain, finally. The tiger lilies are in bloom.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you're not looking deep enough. He did give you a feeling, a string of beads, a difference and you gave him money. Equal exchange? It was until the NY Times told you differently. But does the, supposed and maybe not the case, intention behind the actions negate them? Or are they already gone and have been for some time. Only you have been trying to keep a box of dust (memory) alive for the sake of your past feelings.