Remember the Time?

Run.com - NYC Running Routes & Maps (Thanks, Britt!)

Our twenties were a period of great decadence and luxury. The luxury of money, sure, and things and food ... and time. Last night, for our tenth anniversary, the wife and I dropped the kids at our friends' house for an overnight. And then it was just us.

We went to the art museum, which opens officially today. We refreshed our membership (which we had let lapse when they closed for the big redesign four years ago) and joined the night-before preview crowd.

Amazing. God, I missed those paintings. I had grown so used to just walking in there (even without a membership, the general galleries of our art museum are, always have been free) and gaze at old favorites, and encountering new ones. But these new galleries, so much bigger, so much more space, so much more work, work I had never seen before - or noticed before, it was hard to know which.

And finally - a modern art section we can be proud of. Saw the huge Tunick piece for only the third time. Another anniversary - June 26, 2004. That's me in the corner.

Time. Time to go slowly. It makes me anxious. We had to remind ourselves there was no deadline, no child to pick up, no babysitter to relieve. But then, I think I was always anxious with copious amounts of time. I must be doing something, for someone. This is just ... wasteful. Wasteful use of time.

My City can really piss me off, and by that I mean the larger city. Pathetic. Always falling short. No big ideas, petty, mean, stupid.

I did not like the art museum when I was a child. My parents took me, but they did not explain anything. And there was no context, no explanation, nothing to read. Just artwork, the name of the artwork, the guy who made it, and something that looked like a Dewey decimal code. That's it.

In the 90s those things began to change. Gone were the dun-colored walls, present were brief descriptions. I knew where I was, what I was looking for. And of course, I had gotten a small education in art history - the kind actors get, a shallow education based on something you are working on, but still. And I owned that place. We all own it. It is a unique treasure.

These past few years it has been missed (discussed that a bit last week) but maybe this was the best time it could have been closed. The kids have been too young to get it, even their brief visit to the re-opened 1916 wing last year left them largely unimpressed. I am hoping they enjoy going there we when introduce them to it.

For now, there is time.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 75º
Weather: warm & bright
Weight: 156.5 lbs.

Michael Jackson Playlist
State of Shock (w/The Jacksons ft. Mick Jagger)
I Want You Back (w/The Jackson 5)
ABC (w/The Jackson 5)
Leave Me Alone
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Beat It
Scream (ft. Janet Jackson)