So Mary and Phyllis were discussing the books necessary for Mary to read to babysit Bess when suddenly their bodies parted and it snapped into focus–sitting on the Saarinen-esque side-table near Mary’s window was the Laurel lamp that will make my home decorating scheme and life complete. In deference to and contrast with the soft warm colors and textures permeating my office, I will depart slightly from Mary’s sensibility and seek a polished silver version with a mushroom-shaped shade. Thank you, Mary.
Today D and I went to see the Bruyas collection at the Legion of Honor. Aside from the thrill of seeing in person the historically significant centerpiece of the show, the Courbet painting, The Meeting, or Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, I was thrilled also by a small self-portrait by Courbet–made when he was in his 20’s–as a defiant, cheeky, confident denouncer of convention, and a totally adorable one, to boot. His relationship with Bruyas and their “solution” to the problem of French culture lying in the wedding of fortune and genius got me thinking of Lou Grant, and how much I need a patron like him. He and Mary were such a great couple, even though they only went out once, and that really didn’t work, but the affectionate sparring and the congenial, productive work environment resulting from their affection and the sexual tension that I projected onto them has been the idealized model for the solution to the problem of my own productivity. Although, of course, Lou would have to put out for me.