Yo, Cee
So, today is my first official day of unemployment and it feels a bit odd. I've been working more than full-time for six years now, and, suddenly, here I am waking up to Regis and Kelly. Last time I watched this show there was a different woman on. Kind of sad to be reminded of passing time...cue the intro to Taxi or a Supertramp song.
Funny I just got a call from Caren, and thought "I can't believe this, my first day of unemployment, I'm looking for jobs and here's my old boss calling to resolve something I've put way behind me." It turns out that it was an accident; seems she and Peter are mountain biking or hiking somewhere. I could hear crunching rocks and her shouting directions.
The Tibetan museum would actually be a nice excursion. We should do it. Only problem is, I called the Dept. of Labor and asked them about what would happen if I were to sell any art while on unemployment. To my amazement, anything I sell that was made before unemployment doesn't affect my claim. However, any work I do in the studio counts as labor to be deducted from my check, as I would be working on "salable commodities." After I found this out, I asked the agent if I could make "practice work," to which he offered me a tentative "I don't think so."
"So what about a sketch book?"
"No."
"Can I imagine art?"
"Hmmmm?"
"Can I open my eyes in the morning or should I keep closed all day?"
"Sir?!"
"Can I make love, because post-coital relaxation is really the crucible for all good thought; it's honestly more important than studio time...."
"(silence)"
Point is, I may not be ALLOWED to go to the Tibetan Museum, as determined by the NY State Dept. of Labor, but let's throw caution to the wind and go next week...if I have to claim it as a day of employment, so be it.
So Reshevsky's on the prowl. You can definitely sense that he wants to pin Rowan to a tree even though those details have been stricken from the narrative record. Rowan agrees to hit Grant's Tomb and the Tibetan Museum with him the next day. Reshevsky finally feels gratified, but he obviously doesn't know about the secret meeting with Cater.
An aside here: two days ago Heidi came home and said she had words with her intern for making a bunch of grammatical mistakes on a really important grant application. Defensively, the young intern defended herself over the use of "Grants Tomb," without the possessive..and apparently they went to the mat over it. Heidi is very passive and congenial except for some reason when it comes to style and grammar..and then she's a bobcat. I had to send her a copy of the usage to show her intern. Funny, huh?
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
On her way to breakfast, Rowan sees Mrs. Chow crying. She finds out from Lucy that this is because Ah Sing was fired. Lucy holds that he will be fine because of his pension and because "the Chinese are very big on family duty." Is this true my resident Chinese sociologist? Are you "big on family?" Or is it 'Orientals' in general??
Lucy says his removal was because he was beginning to "dodder." Lucy and Rowan then exchange glances before Rowan departs telling herself that she wishes the meeting with Cater would be over so she could make some decisions and go home.
Reshevsky and Rowan head into Manhattan, where he surprises her with a sidetrip to his bachelor pad at 111th and Riverside Drive. Rowan remarks that the digs are a little meager for a count. Interestingly, Reshevsky provides us with some personal history, which is initiated by Rowan's interest in a portrait of the Count's father.
This historical sidebar is really coincidental because I woke up today and decided that I wanted to read more about the days leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution through the Stalinist blackout. This impulse came about after re-reading a Peter Schjeldahl review of the 2003 Malevich show at the Guggenheim and thought how amazing the fight for geometric abstraction has been through the years. For some it was a revolution; for others it signified bourgeois decadence. It's weird how they've been marshaled by various interests to fit their agendas.So, it seems Reshevsky's parents were probably Tzarists from the old guard. His father was "eased from this world with the aid of several pounds of lead" in 1921. His mother died in 1917 when their estate was burned. After these details are revealed, Reshevsky goes into a short philosophical flourish which is actually quite well done.
Reshevsky says basically that he does not want pity and that deprivation and bereavement have made him less vulnerable. As a result he seeks pleasure and comfort only. Rowan protests claiming that, on the contrary, Reshevsky is not cold and uncaring, to which he responds "lack of pain, my dear girl, is not necessarily pleasure."
Well done! I do like Reshevsky's character. I think Ms. Lamb might have actually known a Reshevsky...or maybe he's based on some Noel Coward character. But, whatever, he's tighter than the rest.
Back atcha Cee,
Shane
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