Herman
Working my way home today, but I got to see my good friend Herman this morning on Elizabeth Street. I think he just got this new hat.
Big thanks to Judy Berde at the Roosevelt Island Historical Society for inviting me to speak about the suitcases. We had a great crowd with lots of interesting questions. And a note to any of you who are involved in organizations that might like to sponsor a talk. I am starting to travel quite a bit and really look forward to presenting the project. Next Wednesday the 17th, I be talking about some of my other work to the Schenectady Photographic Society. If you live in the Albany area, stop by.
Willard Suitcases / Virginia W
Virginia’s case is pretty great. I can’t quite make out the date of her admittance, but it is sometime in the early 1950’s. It is interesting that these were the only two books she brought with her to Willard.
Good news about the willardsuitcases.com site. Steve Fox was able to troubleshoot the problem, and it is back up and looking good. I just added Virginia’s case, so you might want to check it out.
I am looking forward to seeing some of you in New York next week.
Bradley Airport Terminal B
Peter and I used to drop off Cristine at this terminal when she would be leaving on some of her long trips to South Asia for work. After she went to her gate he and I would sit on a bench at curbside and record the names and numbers on the shuttle vans as they came past. I still have some of the notebooks that we used all those years ago.
On Friday I drove her to the airport for a brief trip to DC and on the approach road, this is what we saw. I guess I knew that they would be tearing it down at some point, but it was still a bit of a shock. / She flies in later tonight, but I came down early to try to get a shot. The sun went below the horizon within 30 seconds of taking this photo and the light changed completely. It is always amazing to me that a building once so full of activity could be reduced to this. It will be completely gone very soon.
Willard Suitcases/Margaret D./NYC Talk
Margaret D. came to Willard with almost all of her household, including her car. I posted here and here about her before. / The cutlery in the La Lure box is very cool.
On Tuesday the 9th of February I will be giving a presentation about the suitcases sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. It will take place at the New York Public Library branch, 524 Main Street on the island. The start time is 6.30 pm and I would encourage anyone coming to get there a bit early, as the branch closes at 7.45 and we will need to start on time.
There is very little on-street parking, I would encourage everyone to come by public transport. (Hey, it’s New York City!) Here is a link for travel directions. If you are coming by tram, the station is at Second Avenue and 60th Street. You will need to pay with a Metrocard ($2.75). When you arrive on the island, take red bus (free) to the second stop and walk forward about 50 yards to the library. If coming by subway, take the F train from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. Then the red bus to the first stop and walk 50 yards to the library. If you follow the project online or have been in touch directly, please come up and introduce yourself. I will be in the building by 5.00, I hope, and will have time to chat once everything is set up. Hope to see you there.
I noticed today that the willardsuitcases.com site is acting up a bit. All of the information below the photograph on the splash page seems to have disappeared. Fortunately everything else seems to be working, including access to the cases page. I have a call in to Steve Fox who did a beautiful job designing the site, and I hope we can get it cleared up soon.
Leaves / Ice
I had a nice little walk in the woods today with the dog. We don’t have any snow, but there is ice.
Weird Little Thing
I can’t really explain why odd little occurrences amuse me so much. And I won’t even begin to attempt to go into too much detail here. I was shaving in the shower as I usually do and took the top off a new can of gel. I placed it on the grab bar but it fell through the gap, slid down the wall and stopped. It stayed there during the rest of my shower but when I checked an hour later it had dropped off. The scientific explanation that comes to mind is “surface tension”, but I really have no idea.
Willard Suitcases / Nora M
Even though I am in South Carolina taking a short break, I’m still trying to get quite a bit of editing done on the suitcases project. Nora M’s cases are pretty amazing.
The above shot is a great example of how the museum conserved and catalogued each item in the collection. In the photo below you can see how Peg and I unwrapped and set up Nora’s cutlery.
In the past few days I have been able to upload several more cases to willardsuitcases.com, so please go check them out. On the main page, click on “The Cases” at the top of the page. There are quite a few shots on Nora’s page, so be sure to click “view: all” underneath the “Add To Cart” button.
Have a great week everyone and thanks for following.
New Page
I have just created a direct link to all of the suitcase posts for those of you who have very little interest in my dog, or the other bits of my life that I like to post here. If you look to the column on the right →, under “Pages” you will see a link to “All Willard Suitcase Posts”. I hope that it makes it easier for folks who are looking for all the suitcases in one place. I will still upload all suitcase stuff to this site.
We are in South Carolina for a bit and seeing tons of interesting wildlife. This bobcat was just hanging around on the deck yesterday.
And this little lizard was on one of the dining room chairs.
Olive has been swimming every day, and it doesn’t take much to get her to nap between dips.
Happy New Year’s everyone, thanks for following, and be well. Cheers, Jon
Star / Higgins Beach
We are up in Maine for a few days. The Christmas tree came down earlier today and some of the stars fell off on the way out of the house.
Cris, Olive, and I had a lovely walk on Higgins Beach just before the sun went down.
I’ll try to post before the New Year, but if I don’t get the chance, happy end of 2015 to all of you, and best for 2016
Mandarin Orange / Christmas in Orange County
I flew into Long Beach yesterday evening, and am staying with family in Tustin. It was surprisingly cool last night and early this morning, but the day warmed up nicely. This morning I walked outside with Lynnie and she said that the mandarines were ripe and ready to pick. It was the most amazing piece of fruit that I have ever eaten. Indescribable.
Tonight we went out for a bite to eat at Playground in Santa Ana and on the way home took a detour to check out some Christmas decorations. Remarkable.
On Tuesday morning I will be talking about the suitcases to the California Hospital Association’s annual behavioral health symposium in Riverside. I’ll be posting more about the event in the next day or two.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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