New York City & The MET

Needless to say, the prior post was a complete farce. Our church did have a program last Saturday night, however we did not attend as our post from Feb 21st would lead one to believe. I had every intention of being home all weekend, however my darling husband had other plans. Gene had been taunting me for several months now of a planned trip to visit his cousin and her husband in New York City, yet for all this time had successfully managed to keep the exact date under wraps. I came home Friday night to find dinner on the table and his bags already packed. The drive north to New York was somewhat "white-knuckled" with the questionable weather, but we arrived without incident and with the help of a friend's GPS. While coming off the George Washington bridge into Manhattan I was further reminded of how much of a country girl I truly am. I found myself gazing out the sunroof with what I'm sure is the characteristic awestruck gaze of a tourist. I've been to NYC several times now, yet I'm far from acclimated to the environment. Gene is fairly adept at blending in, charging ahead with his head lowered and eyes averted like the best of New Yorkers; yet I still struggle with tripping over myself whilst trying to take in everything and anything around me. It seems to me that the city has a life of itself, completely independant of it's inhabitants. One could exist in relative annonimity while the city looks on with a quiet sentience, detached from the human drama that plays out on its streets. There was a moment when I likened the subway system to the vascular network of some great organism, but I'll leave my biological ramblings for another post.

We were graciously provided with a bed for Friday night and treated to a personal tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for most of Saturday. I had not put too much thought into what we might see at the museum prior to our trip and I was delightfully surprised to find exhibits of much more than just the Renaissance masters. The most impressive of which was their collection from Egyptian antiquity. Far more than the traditional model of "art", we saw everything from ancient sarcophagi to amazingly detailed models of everyday life along the Nile. I've come to realize that despite the many articles I've read and documentaries I've seen, I had grossly underestimated the sophistaction of of the Egyptian civilization. Though I haven't seen the pyramids nor likely ever will, far more impressive to me were the many peices of fine jewely. Stone and gold formed so elegantly and with such fine detail one would expect to find no better at the nearest jeweler. Their culture was a rich and complex as ours today, and their technology limited it seemed only by their lack of electricity. I did manage to get chastised by one of the guards while in the display. A massive granit sarcophagus stood all by its lonesome imploring me to touch. Without putting too much thought into the obvious sacrilege I would be commiting in the eyes of the museum, I walked around it while tracing the outline of millennia old hieroglyphs. Needless to say, my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the gaurd informing me in no uncertain terms that touching was strictly forbidden.

Thank goodness for my wonderful husband, who before I came along would probably have never willingly set foot in an art museum. Gene made it through most of the day despite his aching feet and reserved only a few snide remarks for the modern art exhibit. He gives me yet another reason to do my best at remaining supportive even after we've wandered past the hundreth car in a sweltering parking lot filled with much of the same one after another. Thanks honey...