The Journey

I'm never been a huge fan of poetry. Most likely for two reasons - I've not read enough of it and, there's a lot about the genre I simply don't understand. But the first time I read The Journey by Mary Oliver, it took my breath away. It was as if she knew me and my life. It was as if she had written the poem just for me. I wonder if she wrote this for you too...

The Journey

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice---

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations---

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice,

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do---

determined to save

the only life you could save.

--Mary Oliver

Five Days in Brooklyn

Yes, I know I've been gone a long time and I apologize. I'd love to tell you it's because I've been marketing the book with so much fervor that I've not had time to write. Alas, that's not the case. The New Hampshire summer was spectacular and we were lucky enough to be graced with friends rolling in and out of the house all summer long. Since I love to have company, it was wonderful, but also time consuming. 

So what of the last couple of months, you ask? Busted! I've been dragging my heels for no good reason on both the blog and the book. But all that has changed. We're back in Brooklyn and I am settling down with my computer on my lap to start tapping keys and stringing words together. 

I'm also starting a strong push to get the book out there. The response so far has been amazing and I am grateful to all who have read and shared it. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and I am thrilled to know that the "buzz network" has begun! I will do my best to keep the buzz going!

Okay - so much for the excuses... This first blog is a group of photos that I took when we were here in NY for a few days in September. These shots really tell the New York story - there is something interesting to see around every corner. 

Driving into the city we hit horrendous traffic and had to reroute onto the dreaded BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway). We were moving slowly enough that I ventured a shot out the window with my phone camera and, lo and behold! Look what I got! The tallest building is the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building is to it's right. I don't know what the one between them is. Met Life maybe? Anyone??

On our first day here, I met AJ at his office in Nolita and we walked through Soho on our way to lunch. These boys were sitting outside a hairdresser - the brown one staring intently through the window. When we walked back, almost an hour later, they were STILL THERE. The brown one still staring just as intently through the window. Lucky lady who gets to walk these boys at night - she can clearly be fearless since their devotion to her obviously matches their size.

The next day it rained and as I headed out the front door of our building, I realized I smelled smoke and that the cross street was full of fire engines.

It's supposed to be an empty building but apparently someone was inside

Bringing him out. The crowd cheered loudly! 
I heard someone behind me thank a firefighter for "what you do".  
Nice. Who says New Yorkers are cold?

Sunday was spectacular! We had friends in for the weekend and we took a long walk. These pictures are all from Brooklyn Bridge Park which runs from Brooklyn Heights, past the Brooklyn Bridge  to the Manhattan Bridge.

Not a clue...

Brooklyn Bridge. Great ice cream place right behind me.

Manhattan Bridge and the park

Manhattan Bridge

They have restored a magnificent carousel and placed it right along the East River as part of the park. It's in a closable plexiglass box to protect it from the elements and the salt from the brackish water in this part of the river. Next time I go down there, I'll get some close-ups of the horses. 

Only $2.00 a ride.  :-)

The next day, Zoe and I went for a long walk (another gorgeous day) and as we walked along the Brooklyn Promenade, I noticed these crocus-like flowers in a garden. Since it was September, I was stumped. Anyone??

We walked back through the park at Cadman Plaza and it was recess for one of the local schools. A hearty kick sent a soccer ball flying and these two guys, deep in conversation, walked over to retrieve it.

We passed through the Farmer's Market where I bought a couple of  gorgeous heirloom tomatoes for lunch (Salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and a quick shave of aged parmesan. Amazing!). Zoe and I climbed the steps of Borough Hall to get the bigger picture.

You can just make out the spires of the Manhattan Bridge in the background.

Just before sundown, Paul and I went up on the roof for a glass of wine. This was our view...

East River. Manhattan Bridge on the left. Midtown Manhattan.

This is the financial district. 

The tall building with the cranes on top is the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero

As we got ready to head back to our apartment, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth was just cruising out of the harbor. The photo doesn't do it justice. It is HUGE (compare it to Liberty Island behind it). That little thing between it and Governor's Island is the Staten Island Ferry.

Five short days. Cool, huh?

Ta Da & WOO HOO!!!

After I announced last fall that I was planning on self-publishing, I was frequently asked, "So what's going on with the book?"  I would immediately launch into a more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know commentary on editing, rereading, copy-editing, rereading, photos, cover design, rereading, yada, yada, yada, yawn. Slowly but surely the question stopped being asked. My little book appeared to be rapidly morphing into "The Never Ending Story, Part Deux".


Well folks, the story has ended and... Wait for it... THE BOOK IS DONE!!!!

Funny, now that it's finally done, I'm feeling a bit awkward about putting it "out there".  While I pushed and promoted the brownies at every conceivable opportunity, doing the same with the book leaves me feeling a little vulnerable. After all, this is/was my life, laid bare for all to see. But with a monumental milestone looming (the BIG 6-0 is next week...), I am pushing down the fear to take the leap one more time. 


So....... 


Now available on Amazon!! The PIG & ME, written by Lindsay Frucci, cover and logo design by the graphic artist who has been there from the very beginning: Lee Morrill, and amazingly good photo of yours truly by my talented nephew Christopher Loren Ewers.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+pig+and+me&sprefix=the+pig+and+me

One final thought... Word of mouth is the only way anyone is ever going to know this story of mine exists. If you should buy the book and like it, would you please tell family and friends? Thanks.  :-)


WOO HOO!!!!!

Street Queen

There is a homeless woman who lives on a park bench in Cadman Plaza. She is normally clothed in a long, black, down coat reinforced with black garbage bags.


One morning last week, Zoe and I were heading home from our morning walk, and, as we often do, passed by her bench. The image stopped me in my tracks and I had to share.

I had not seen her robed in this spectacular blanket before. Nor have I since.


Someone I showed this to, thought that I was wrong to have taken this picture. I couldn't NOT take it.

A sure sign...

Spring has Sprung!! And I have the picture to prove it.

Zoe and Lindsay's excellent early morning Easter walk

Yesterday morning - Easter morning - dawned beautifully clear and warm. When Zoe and I set out, the sidewalks were still wet from the rain the night before. By the time we returned, the clouds had too, but we set out on a fresh, clean Easter morning. Just exactly as it should be.


Our destination was Fort Greene Park for Zoe's daily morning romp.

This is a case where a photo can't begin to share the true experience. If I knew how to work the video on my camera (or in this case, my phone...), you'd have been in for a real treat. There was a smile-inducing symphony of people talking and dogs barking and kids yelling that still photos simply can't reproduce.


When we finally headed home, the clouds had rolled back in, but no rain, so our walk was leisurely. These photos are all from within a block of our apartment and on our daily route home.

This is a small Catholic church where the first service of the morning was just beginning. What I couldn't capture was the family (complete with stroller) that had just run up the stairs, the ringing bells or the beautiful spray of full-bloom forsythia right inside the front door. On the railings are sprays of pussy willows tied with rafia.

This is the main entrance to MetroTech Park where our apartment building resides. 

This is the tiny park that is at the end of our street - MetroTech Common. Around the park are office buildings that house (among others) JP Morgan Chase, Empire Blue Cross, the FDNY headquarters and the buildings of NYU Polytech.

 I think these weird signs served as both protection for the trees from the snow plows and artwork. 

I think she's saying: "Enough with the camera already! Can we please go home now?"


Hope you all had a wonderful Easter or Passover.  :-)

Stories not told

Recently my friend Pat and I attended an exhibit of quilts put on by the American Folk Art Museum. Over a cup of tea early that morning, I read that we would see 650 red and white quilts - part of a single woman's collection of over 1,000 red and white quilts. It was almost as hard to imagine looking at 650 quilts of the same colors as it was to imagine collecting them. 


It was breathtaking.

There's a wonderful story behind the exhibit. Joanna Semel Rose started buying quilts at flea markets in the 1950's. Over the years she bought red and white quilts wherever she went and carefully put them away. She had no idea how many quilts she had and hadn't ever seen many of them at the same time. For her 80th birthday, her husband arranged to exhibit her quilts and, as a gift to the city of New York, admission to this exhibit was free. 


Can you imagine how she must have felt when she walked into this huge armory to find herself surrounded by these prized possessions? What memories were stirred as she wandered among them, touching some, gazing up at others?

Sadly, the other six hundred and fifty stories of the exhibit were left untold. "If only they could talk," Pat and I kept saying to each other. "What stories they would tell."


Imagine.