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| Water feature or laundromat? |
As I write on the 20th of July, today’s temps are expected to soar above 95. In Iowa and Missouri where I was raised, a temp like that is no big deal, in fact, much of their summer is a giant sauna.
The cool marbled halls of the Calatrava is where I’m headed to do a little writing for thirdcoastdigest.com. In addition, my grandson will be with me on this return trip to see what we haven’t seen in the China exhibition. He really liked the forest of Yue’s “Chinese Contemporary Warriors,” and remarked when we studied MAM’s contemporary collection that he had recently learned a bit about Andy Warhol. Unfortunately, the Soup Can paintings were no where in sight at MAM, but a Brillo Box was and that seemed to satisfy him. The sculpture fashioned from thousands of buttons blew him out of his expensive sneakers, as did the figure fashioned from bottle caps in the Folk Art collection. We also had a fine conversation regarding Cy Twombly’s “Untitled,” my fave painting at MAM.
Since I live in a condo, it is necessary to sometimes bring that to the forefront of this blog. More and more renters seem to be occupying units formerly occupied by owners who couldn’t sell, and decided to become absentee landlords instead. Someone asked at the July board meeting (attended by Association members), what the figures are for rentals. I asked the same question of the building’s manager a few months ago, and he said he thought it was around 10 percent rentals. But that was then. The economy is slipping each and every day.
Anyway, pursuant to the board meeting, the usual documents arrived in my e-box detailing expenditures, etc. Among the items was one addressing the percent of rentals … along with a note saying (more or less) that the board had decided not to discuss those figures at this time. Statements of that nature always set off alarm bells in my head.
What’s going on in other high-end hi-rises I wonder? Word has it that persons whose homes have been foreclosed are making deals to rent spaces from condo owners who find themselves (perhaps) facing financial collapse. I’m just saying. Who out there would care to do a comparative study on this?
In case you think all is always heavenly here, it isn’t. For example, during the gala July 3-4 weekend, we had major herds of visitors coming to view the fireworks. Units on most floors were party-central(s), and that’s okay, because floor 17, my floor, was open for fun too. And now for the “Bombs Away” part….
Okay, so who in this building knows which guest (or otherwise) decided to vomit from a unit’s north facing balcony … sending the contents of their churning stomach downward to splat and splash on the table and chairs of a charming unit’s patio far below? Who would be so crude as to ignore the mess below, and leave it for the target victim to clean up with a power wash hose?
Oh, lots of people. As I said this isn’t heaven. I’ve heard worse tales, believe me.
Signs of our times: Around 3 a.m., a woman, obviously homeless, enters our unlocked exterior lobby. She stands in a corner fully visible to the security cameras, and apparently attempts to catch a few zzzzz’s. She’s been here before to escape from cruel winter and now to escape from searing heat. Or just to escape. I wonder who she is. The front desk security persons are aware she’s there, or at least they’ve been told she is a sometimes visitor.
Yesterday, someone hung a wet shirt on a hanger and placed it near our open garage door to dry. We already have too many condo rules here, or I’d object to using our building as a kind of laundromat. I don’t know though, the way the economy is going, perhaps we’ll all be using our balconies as summertime drying racks for laundry. There are no specific rules against doing that. Last year, I watched as a homeless man removed his sweat-soaked shirt and washed it in the big splashing environmentally stupid fountain outside our building. In fact, all up and down Prospect Avenue are big flashy buildings with “water features,” in which dogs play and the less fortunate do their laundry.
Which reminds me, it’s time to throw another load into my energy wasting clothes dryer….
