It's a long story.....beginning with H.'s Italian grandma, Millie, growing up poor in Hell's Kitchen, New York, and later telling us tales about going to a settlement house there, a place she liked. Then my Irish grandparents, Alice and Jim, had their children, Mom included, in Hell's Kitchen. And now Figgy and her cousin, Florida Orange, have just moved out of Stuyvesant Town and into an apartment in a high-rise building on 43rd Street near 11th Avenue.
This building is so far from hell's flames. I'm sitting at one of two sleek computers in the lounge, near the spotless, high-tech laundry room. There's a pool table.....sophisticated sofas....a gym and a pool and locker rooms that belong in a luxury spa.
But money....and luxe accommodations....do not buy happiness. The Stuy rent jumped way up, and we had signed the lease for this new apartment just before Figgy decided art school wasn't for her. She is looking into other schools, places where she can study science, another subject that has long fascinated her. But right now she's working at a store in NYC and on the road to find herself.....so it's not like Yay! Let's settle into this apartment for a great new chapter in your college life! It's more like, May you find health and happiness and serenity and presence of mind in this transitional place. May it be a place where you honor yourself and your gifts and heart.
I better go back to check the spin cycle. Mary Jane, who is Florida Orange's mom, thought it would be nice if we ran their dirty sheets through the wash before they make their beds. MJ and Tony went to return the U-Haul truck on 23rd Street.
I do have a prayer. That Figgy inhales the scent of fresh wash, sees her orchid plant on the windowsill, sits at her desk, curls up with a book....finds peace. Peace, Figgy, peace.
Have a good night.
This building is so far from hell's flames. I'm sitting at one of two sleek computers in the lounge, near the spotless, high-tech laundry room. There's a pool table.....sophisticated sofas....a gym and a pool and locker rooms that belong in a luxury spa.
But money....and luxe accommodations....do not buy happiness. The Stuy rent jumped way up, and we had signed the lease for this new apartment just before Figgy decided art school wasn't for her. She is looking into other schools, places where she can study science, another subject that has long fascinated her. But right now she's working at a store in NYC and on the road to find herself.....so it's not like Yay! Let's settle into this apartment for a great new chapter in your college life! It's more like, May you find health and happiness and serenity and presence of mind in this transitional place. May it be a place where you honor yourself and your gifts and heart.
I better go back to check the spin cycle. Mary Jane, who is Florida Orange's mom, thought it would be nice if we ran their dirty sheets through the wash before they make their beds. MJ and Tony went to return the U-Haul truck on 23rd Street.
I do have a prayer. That Figgy inhales the scent of fresh wash, sees her orchid plant on the windowsill, sits at her desk, curls up with a book....finds peace. Peace, Figgy, peace.
Have a good night.
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