A Change of Scene

Happy Friday, or Happy Valentine's Day if you celebrate. How have you been doing this past week, this past month, this year that was supposed to be not 2024, but is definitely giving big "hold my beer" energy? What's sustaining you, keeping you sane, bringing you delight?

In a minor way, the big office rearrange I talked about in a previous letter has been good for my energy and focus. In previous offices, I have had the large map you see in the photo hanging behind me, so it feels good to have it back there again, hanging over my head like a "Oh, how I'd love to be in France right now" thought bubble. I found it in a vintage store almost twenty years ago (it's a French agricultural map from the 1950s), and showed that I was my mother's daughter by spending more than I should have having it matted and framed. I've pulled the reds and blues from it into other elements of the room (i.e. the carpet I found in Istanbul during a whimsical girls trip) without making things too matchy. Before you start thinking, "well, aren't you a fancy bitch?" know that I am not, as evidenced by the Lego kits (bookstore, typewriter, VW bus) you'll see on my shelves, my Deborah Harry Barbie, and my Funko Pops. I may write nonfiction, but I am a big kid at heart. And I like having a writing space that hugs me with various bits of inspiration and reminders not to take myself too seriously.

After all, there is a Pee Wee Herman Funko Pop on my desk and it's holding up a sign that says "Fun." What does fun mean to you right now? Where do you find it, and how often?

I recently returned from Paris (so much fun I did not want to return) with a very bad head cold (not fun at all) and a display case of exotic butterflies (very fun, 10/10 would recommend). I saw a renovated Notre Dame, and it was breathtaking. I took in a bunch of art. I walked and walked, even in the bitter cold and rain. I texted my kid about really good memories I had of us in Paris together. I thought about how grown up that kid is becoming, and I started feeling wistful for the days when El Kiddo was not so grown, and not more than halfway done with a college degree. I asked myself if I was having an existential crisis about this, and then realized I was in Paris, so I had damn well better be having an existential crisis about something. Seriously. If you can't do it there, what's wrong with you?

I walked and walked and walked some more. One day I wound up at Deyrolle unsupervised. Deyrolle is an institution that opened in 1830, and it is artfully stuffed full of an unbelievable array of taxidermied animals, scientific charts, and other things that attract the casual gawker like yours truly. I like to tell my kid that I will be adding taxidermied peacocks from Deyrolle to my office someday, and when I say it, the kid fixes me with a disapproving stare, even though I may or may not be serious.

They had at least four peacocks in the store the day I was there, and a huge polar bear on his hind legs, a lioness, an aviary's worth of birds, and a camel, among other things. I marveled at how a place like this could still exist, and that some people don't just come to gawk, like I did. They come to buy, and I want to know who these people are and what sort of satisfaction they get from having a panther in their boudoir.

I mean, don't you?

In one of the rooms, there are trays and trays of butterflies. I promise you, I had only come to look that day, but there is something mesmerizing about pulling out tray after tray of colorful butterflies from all over the world.

Next thing I knew, I was thinking "ooh, imagine if you paired this one with this one, and maybe added a smaller one, and..." You see where this is going...

I asked a store employee what I needed to do if I wanted to buy butterflies. She said you just find someone and tell them what you want, and then they'll put them in a box for you. So I did. And then there was a lot of discussion about how they should be arranged in the box, and I honestly had no idea what to do. Another employee came over and said "what you should do is spin them around like this..." and she placed them and spun them and when I saw the end result, I gasped in a good way. Then, with my Deyrolle bag in hand, I walked back to the apartment on Cloud Nine and you could not tell me a damned thing.

At least it's not a peacock, Avery. Yet.

Here's what I brought back:

I'm going to hang this up in my office this weekend. It'll be a great reminder of that day, and about the power of shedding the old to embrace a beautiful bit of new.

Writing prompt: What's a little thing you've done for yourself that put a smile on your face, a spring in your step? Where were you, who were you with, how were you inspired...just lay it all out on the page. Then, reflect on what you can do to create more moments like that.

The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.

-- T.S. Eliot

Endnotes

What I'm writing: If you're online at all, chances are you have come across Case Kenny, the mindfulness educator, podcaster, and author known for posting encouraging notes in public places. I spoke with him recently about his recent move to Miami, his double major in Chinese and Arabic (!!!), and how he helps people invite more goodness into their life.

What I'm watching: "A Real Pain" with Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. Absolutely, hands down, so, SO good. It's about two cousins that go on a heritage tour to Poland to honor their late grandmother, all the while working through their truly profound differences with each other. It's hilarious, heartbreaking, and so well-deserving of the awards it has won so far for original screenplay (Eisenberg, who absolutely killed it) and for supporting actor (Culkin, who steals the show). If you haven't seen it yet, see it ASAP. Trust me.

What I'm listening to: I'm not actually listening to it, but I've had the hook from Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" in my head all week.

What I'm manifesting: Congratulations to Monty, the Giant Schnauzer who won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show this week. I hope you have a fulfilling retirement full of head pets and treats and all of the toys you desire. You are such a good – and very large – boy. Now...it has been my not-yet-realized dream to cover a show dog's journey to Westminster, and then see what happens to said dog at the event, for better or for worse. I realize they already made a very good and very funny movie about this called "Best In Show" (see it if you haven't), but dreams are dreams and it is my dream to do this for some outlet. I've written a lot of profiles in my life, but never one about a dog, and if some editor – any editor – would give me free rein to do this piece, I would be forever grateful. Just putting it out there...

Happy Anniversary to...: The John Hughes detention-on-a-Saturday movie "The Breakfast Club," which debuted in theaters forty years ago tomorrow. Who didn't love that iconic tale about a rebel (Judd Nelson), an outcast (Ally Sheedy), a jock (Emilio Estevez), a nerd (Anthony Michael Hall), and a princess (Molly Effing Ringwald, queen) trying to survive a day with an evil, power-hungry principal? Who, by the way, has ever actually had Saturday detention in real life? Of course, there is a line of Funko Pops for the film, and they're reallly cute if you've got the space for them...which, alas, I do not.

Where I hope you'll donate this week: Public Broadcasting Service is a publicly funded nonprofit organization that airs educational programs, news, cultural shows, and other stellar programming throughout the United States. It's a really good time to support the work they do, so please consider a gift to your local PBS station!