RECYCLING - 7 May 2011
May 7th, 2011
The journals I am using are made by Ecosystem – coincidentally carried by Sterling Publishers of Barnes & Noble who are our publishers for the Provence book. These journals not only suit my taste – black, unlined, lay open nicely, pocket in the back – but they’re made of recycled materials, which seems to me not only a kindness to the planet but a metaphor for writing, for what else do we writers do but recycle thoughts and ideas and observations which others (most of them far more capably) have already done since year dot?
These journals come with their own id# allowing you to go online and see what they’re made of. Here’s what this one is all about:
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manufacturer location
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ecosystem
attribute
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people employed
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Lunenburg, Massachusetts and Pawtucket, Rhode Island
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100% post-consumer recycled base paper, coated with water-based acrylic technology
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37
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Park Falls, Wisconsin
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100% post-consumer recycled paper
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30
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Talking about recycling, in a way that’s what Joel and I are doing now. We’re constantly discussing our Provence experiences to see what it can continue to yield. What was of import then, that still has value and use today, here in New York or anywhere we find ourselves. We are grateful for this commission because in order to fulfill it we have to show up. By that I mean we have to be willing to see the folly of expectation and resulting disappointments in order to see what IS. All those towns that at first seemed as ugly as any urban space always gave us their beautiful souls when we went further in.
Two days ago, I was walking along a section of Broadway, here on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It’s not a pretty stretch and I was feeling displaced, disconnected and longed to be walking one of the ancient backstreets in any town in Provence. What, I wondered, could I possibly see of beauty here among the litter, the grubby storefronts, the pushy pedestrians on their blasted phones.
For some reason, perhaps because of the recent discipline we practiced in Provence, I looked up. That’s right, I looked up. And something caught my eye. There, in the huge 3-dimenstional yellow lettering of HARRY’S SHOES, right there in the openings of the RR’S were 2 birds’ nests with strands of shredded paper hanging from them. Talk about recycling. Immediately my spirits were lifted. These birds hadn’t grumbled about the location – they were grateful for it and the temporary home it provided for them to give birth.
I was so sorry not to have my camera with me. But when I told Joel about it he said, come on, let’s go. He grabbed his Leica and off we went. And guess what? We got 20 people to look up. Just by looking up ourselves. 20 people stopped and looked up. Old, young, couples, singles, and a couple of mothers pointing out the nests to their children. In that moment, we all communed with a little urban miracle. Whoever said this city is for the birds . . .
