Part 18 - baseball analogies and our field trip

Cee,

I've never been good at finishing books. I wasn't a strong reader when I was young and my attention span was short. Getting through the last 10 percent of a book was always a bit of a struggle. I remember ticking and repeating sentences madly when trying to complete Dandelion Wine in the 9th grade. Mrs. Ruggles to this day probably has no idea how hard it was for me. I imagine it being kind of like the helplessness some people describe in dreams where they're being chased and their legs become too heavy to run away. It's amazing that in someone's own dream they can't summon the will to save themselves. What other force is there in one's head that is sabotaging their imaginary well-being? I have a version of this dream where I'm trying to hit a 3 -2 hanging curve ball over the left field fence to win a baseball game. I see the pitch perfectly, and I hit the ball on a line toward the bleachers, but every time the ball changes directions and falls like lead from the sky. As deep as can go into my subconscious I can't figure out why, or what, is causing this; I want this home run to occur, but there is a force I can't locate that wants something else.


It always confounds me why this happens. Why would humans have any instincts that are self-defeating?

My point is that, as we approach the end, it's actually getting harder to finish, even as I'm more curious and have more at stake. But the trip to the Tibetan Museum yesterday really helped. I think it may be good to do another field trip next week. Maybe we can go to 111th and Riverside drive.

Because we went to the Museum, I had a pre-dressed imaginary stage ready for the ensuing actions to take place on. And actions and bombshells there were. In fact, this section is dense enough to do a list instead of prose.

We learn:

The "organization" is a smuggling ring run by Chinese "Reds." Lamb actually typed "Communist" and the editor switched it to "Reds." How fascinating is that?Cater and Lucy have never had sex. Cater is merely arm candy for Lucy, who only desires the superficial trappings of a glamorous life, and sex, according to Cater would be too "real" for her.

Cater believes he has been "Shanghaied" by his own government.

Reshevksy thinks he ought to have been a scholar.

According to Cater, Rowan is in big danger and should leave the next day while Cater stays to clean up the mess and try to unensnare Lucy from the Pinko Chinese smuggling network.

And, last, we learn that love is in the air between Matt "The Doctor" Cater and Rowan "Laugh-In" Martin.

I hear church bells....if the Reds don't ring their bells first.

The scene ends with Reshesvky driving Rowan back to Pleasant Plains Farms. She is, for very good reason, withdrawn quiet and stewing about what will transpire over the next 48 hours.

So am I, Rowan, so am I.

Next batter, CEEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAK

Part 15 - iced coffee, a first date and a louse

Shane,

it's funny how unemployment makes one question so many of the mundane decisions that are made on a daily basis; do I really need that coffee from Grumpy's.... is hummus considered a luxury item or is it a necessary snack? Anyway, welcome to the ranks of the unemployed!
I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch time meeting today at Tillies. I'm excited for our field trip next Wednesday (oh, it's been so long since I've gone on a field trip.... i definitley remember one particularly boring one when I was 13 where we visited the sewage treatment plant).And of course, I'll be on the edge of my seat waiting to hear the results of your phone call. We have reverted back to being young 14 year old adolescents asking our crushes out on dates... 'what will she say...' 'do I need to practice my lines first?'....

Back to Reshevsky. I'm intrigued by him. Due to the large portions of text blacked out in my last section (and in this section too), I am unclear as to his exact level of odiousness. My section begins with their continued conversation in his bachelor pad, which as Reshevsky remarks 'is rather dusty'. He claims that Rowan and her aunt are victims of their own 'emotionalism', a term that when Googled leads you to the a wikipedia entry for the Avett Brother's album of the same name. Rowan is left cold and haunted by his admission that he is completely devoid of emotion. However, she is not uncomfortable enough to forego a trip with him to the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Terminal (this I'm pretty sure would be a great field trip, but one that would fall under the category 'luxury and therefore unnecessary' in my list of things I allow myself to do). Unfortunately by now, the day has slipped away from them and they aren't able to make it to the Tibetan Museum, which means Rowan is unable to meet Matt Cater.

At dinner when she next encounters Matt, he is in good spirits and entertaining the Braithwaites (whom you may remember were also present the night of the tragic death of the monk). Apparently Matt as well as being a botanist is also a published writer (Rowan refers to him as a 'louse' - she is clearly still unable to trust him).

Matt manages to sneak a note into her palm, asking her to meet him at the 'copse of birches across road left side of gate eleven-five sharp' (and thanks again for wikipedia's definition of copse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copse). However this supposed meeting is less than an hour away, and while Matt makes his farewells, her aunt begins to press Rowan to join them for brandy in the living room.... how on earth will our Rowan make her getaway? What will transpire in the 'copse of birches'???

You're up!

Part 14 - unemployment, Russian Tzars and grammar

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