Alright, honey, I guess we really don’t have to talk about today too much.  I did get a Frankenboot for mein foot, along with a scowling eyebrow from the physical therapist when I asked her – really – how long this would take.  “Four weeks,”  she said knowing I wanted the truth, “and I want you in this thing all the time, unless you’re sleeping.”  It’s like she could see me plotting excuses to get out of it.

Last summer, I finally decided to make friends with the view from my room. There seemed to be so many obstacles at first – fake mullions and thick tree branches loomed across every sunny moment with their dark, unmistakable presence.  My place in Verona spoiled me – I knew it, even then.  I had open sky through the windows, and nothing across the way except an second-story, outdoor landing.  But that was 5 years ago.

I had to remember why I started making pictures:  to see the enchantment in my actual life.  Soon I found that things could happen in front of this window that Verona never offered.  The light is like a capricious dance partner.  It gives and takes, and I have to be quite a bit luckier – and, if I’m honest, improve my camera work – to follow its lead.  Now, I love the tree and its shadows, tracing out a place where something unexpected can happen.  The shadows and the highlights never leave a mark.  They start fresh every day.  It just takes a split second- but you can see so much more in those moments.

Oh darlin’, I loved spending tonight with you, and telling you these irrelevant things, as if they might matter.  I can’t see you, but I can think about you.  Your wavelength tunes in and out, like distant broadcast waiting for a clear sky at night to reach my heart.  I’ll be here tomorrow, dear.  Nighty night.