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October
23, 2002 - Images from New York & Home
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Well,
there's good news and bad news.
The bad news is that Mary Jo, Annie's mom, passed away on Sunday, October
6th. She had been diagnosed with rapidly growing, terminal liver cancer
just a few weeks ago. Annie moved into her house to help her mother in her
final days. Very sad - she had made it through 3 previous bouts with cancer,
all different types, but not this one. In the end, Mary Jo was accepting
her condition and ready to die. And though it is a relief to see her suffering
over, we will miss her terribly.
On the good side, before all the sadness, Annie and I had a terrific New
York vacation in August - hassle-free travel, nice weather, great fun in
the city, wonderful visits with relatives - couldn't ask for a better time.
Returned to exquisite weather and a (surprisingly) still thriving garden.
It thrives to this day. And life goes on, even in NY. Here are the pix: |
We spent 3 cosmopolitan days in Manhattan, staying 2 nights in the Gershwin
Hotel (pictured here). This is a very cool place, on 27th St. east of
5th Ave. It has some connection to the old Andy Warhol "Factory"
and is filled with pop art - in the rooms, halls, even stairwells. It
also has film screenings on the roof and a comedy club downstairs, where
Annie was called up to participate in an improv. She wowed 'em. Guests
were a very international and young population. We were among the few
"old folks" staying there. It's location was just right for
us, right on the edge of Chelsea, where we hung out, touring about 25
or so of Chelsea's 180 galleries. There we were also in walking distance
from midtown and the Broadway theater district, where we saw a hilarious
mounting of "Noises Off" with Jane Curtin. Laughed 'til it hurt.
We also walked my old haunts in the Village and Soho. We even spent some
time in Tribeca, where we had a nice lunch in a cool tavern and visited
the huge hole where WTC used to be (see pix way below).
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Among
all the original art in the hotel was this picture of Picasso, which hung
over our bed. The room contained other nice touches like hardwood floors
and a cool, multi-colored tile bathroom. Reasonably priced, too - our
kind of place.
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No New York tour
would be complete without the Empire State building so let's get it out
of the way right now. We were staying about 7 or 8 blocks away from it
but this is as close as we got. As far as NY architecture goes, I prefer
the Flatiron Building (below), which was a few blocks south of our hotel.
This was New York's first skyscraper (maybe the first anywhere) and is
incredibly interesting (and very flat).
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Here is a small section, showing the amazing detail that adorns the Flatiron
Building. It is a giant quilt embelished with two eyefuls of stuff like
this. Actually, many buildings in New York sport complex exterior details
such as these. Too bad they just don't build 'em like this anymore.
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Or
like this.
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Or this.
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Or this,
one little part of Rockefeller center, where I worked for 2 years and, jaded
New Yorker that I was, rarely looked at the details. |
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Or this, the old Madison Square Garden building, where we used to go to
the circus when I was a kid. Now, the newer Madison square Garden is integrated
into a transportation complex, sans most of its former charm. The trees
in the forground are in Madison Square, a park a few blocks from the Gershwin
(I love that name. George and Ira created the world's most indelible musical
impression of New York. Gershwin means New York.).
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Here in the park,
the City funded a few public art works. These tents are actually sculptures,
one of the works that were commissioned by the City. Too bad they didn't
just use real tents. Could have housed a few of the park's regular denizens.
See the Flatiron Building in the background?
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This is another of the commissioned works, a complex glass and mirrored
environment that did some very interesting things. Depending on how you
viewed it and from where, it combined various segments of the park with
a selection of the surrounding buildings. What's more, it allowed self-portraits
with tricky backgrounds. Some parts you could see through and others reflected
what was behind.
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Sometimes
you saw both at once. |
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The third Madison Square art work was this "Urban Wildlife Observation
Unit". It looks like something you might find in a remote wildlife
refuge. Cool in its incongruity.
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It is
full of books, pamphlets and maps - the real deal. The "ranger"
actually hands out nice little urban species guide books. |
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And here are the species we saw there in the park, all seemingly well
fed.
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Another
park dweller, enjoying a snooze in the shadow of a founding father. |
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Nothing special, just window washers. I happen to enjoy the sight of people
high on the outside of buildings (not, of course, if those people include
me). The guy on the right appears to be the supervisor.
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One
of the Chelsea galleries we visited had these huge windows overlooking this
rooftop view. That's the Hudson river out to the left. I had a hard time
looking at the art. This was more enticing. |
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As we passed this strange Chelsea entryway, we couldn't figure out what
lay behind it. We guessed that if you didn't know, you didn't belong there.
But we, of course, saw another opportunity for a self-portrait. We finally
did gather up our courage and approached the door, which opened for us.
Turned out to be a tres chic clothing store with tres cher prices (such
as t-shirts for $350). Very interesting interior too, though - skinny
galleries with stiffly standing salespeople/guards eagle-eyeing every
pricey garment and every suspicious looking visitor.
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We had
to do it. The big hole at "Ground Zero" called us and we came.
It was staggering. |
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And it called lots of other people too, mostly tourists (like us). It
seems New Yorkers just don't go down there if they don't have to. And
who can blame them?
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Just
like in most other busy pedestrian areas in the City, there are street vendors
selling souvenirs, only here they are hawking their wares amidst fences
full of memorials. And their wares all channeled the sadly lamented World
Trade Center. |
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Images and icons from the victims' lives were lovingly sculpted into memorials,
hanging on fences surrounding the World Trade Center site.
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Many
of the tributes had a disarmingly bright, almost cheerful quality. |
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All had extremely patriotic motifs. None lacked at least one American
flag.
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They
were all poignant but some were break down and bawl poignant. |
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What's the opposite of a smooth segue? I guess it's this.
Leaving Manhattan,
we returned to my sister Rebecca's house in residential Brooklyn (not
quite the suburbs but sorta burbish). The next day we attended my nephew
Matthew's 11th birthday party, celebrated in the pool with his wild and
crazy posse. That's matt in black making the hook-em fingers.
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And another Olympic-size
leap.
Last New York stop
before winging home is at my aunt Ruth and uncle Justin's art filled home
out on Long Island. Great folks, my Unk and Auntie. Justin is my late
father's brother. He is a talented piano player and all around fun guy.
Ruth is no slouch either. Something seems to have Annie in stitches (actually,
it looks like she may be tickling herself).
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Into the time machine and zoom - a few hours later we're back in Texas.
We're home in the hill country where there's lotsa room and the south
beds are in lotsa bloom (Someone stop me. I feel a country song comin'
on.).
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The
garden was still going strong on September 10th. Here's the harvest that
day. |
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And here is yesterday's (October 23rd). We'll be eating stuffed peppers
tonight.
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And,
no Pedernales Post would be complete without a shot of our grandson, Zachary
the Wonder Child, posing here on our upstairs porch with his dad (my little
guy) Reed, Sawyer and Woody.
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IN
MEMORIUM
Mary Jo Hudson Freeman
March 4, 1925 - October 6, 2002
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This
obituary appeared in the October 8, 2002 Austin American Statesman:
Mary Jo Hudson
Freeman, age 77, passed away peacefully in her Lake Travis home
on October 6, 2002.
A fourth
generation Texan, Mary Jo was born March 4, 1925 in Refugio, Texas.
To Mary Jo,
education was paramount. She graduated from UT Austin with two bachelor's
degrees and a Masters. In later life, she was both cheerleader and
important financial contributor to her grandchildren's college careers.
After moving
with her children from Corpus Christi to Austin in 1964, she taught
elementary school and piano for about 9 years before becoming a
Disability Determination Examiner for Texas Rehabilitation Commission.
Mary Jo was
a lover of books and learning, an accomplished painter, a true and
loyal friend who loved to laugh, and a traveler of the world. But
she would probably describe her greatest accomplishment as the legacy
she left her children and grandchildren, not just her generous college
aid but a legacy of interests - art, literature, laughter and love
of the outdoors. All three of Mary Jo's progeny are passionate about
nature, remembering wonderful, long camping vacations with their
mother and grandmother.
Preceded
in death by her parents, Jack D. and Jewel Hudson and her brother,
Jack D. Hudson, Jr., she is survived by her daughters Annie Borden
Sternberg and Tanya Stephenson, and her son, Jeffery Freeman, Annie's
husband Ric Sternberg and their son Reed Sternberg and grandson
Zachary Sternberg, who loved his "GG", Jeffery's wife
Patty and their daughters Kim Lake and Kelly Freeman, and Tanya's
sons Raymond, Lance and Wyatt Stephenson as well as her sister Sarah
Fryman and her husband John Fryman, brother Weldon Hudson and sister-in-law
Betty Hudson.
Funeral services
will be held at 11 am at St. Lukes On the Lake Episcopal Church
on Wednesday, October 9 with Rev. Parker Jameson officiating. Burial
will follow in Austin Memorial Park.
In lieu of
flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Austin.
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The
four Hudson kids - Mary Jo, Jack, Weldon and Sarah
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