Friday, August 31, 2007

Eye Trouble

My husband has an old friend named Doug. We used to hang out with him many years ago, but rarely see him these days because he's moved to the suburbs. I know that sounds sad, but proximity really does make a difference.

Doug is a pretty fantastic guy. He's old-fashioned in many ways. He opens doors for people, both men and women; walks on the curb side of the sidewalk; will rush to help a little old lady cross the street. OK, that last one is a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean.

One of my favorite Doug-isms is what he calls "eye trouble". In the sense of "I'm having some eye trouble today.....I just can't see myself going to work."

Today I have eye trouble. It is actually an accepted practice here at Lorna's Laces. Sometimes everyone needs a day off and a free pass to take it. Since it's a holiday weekend, it seemed like a good idea to stretch it into four days.

We're going to The Art Institute today to see Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. Here's a quick snapshot from their catalog:



It's on tour here in the US for just a short time and then it will go back to Italy to be reintegrated with the rest of the doorframe and put on permanent display in a hermetically sealed room in the museum of the Florence Cathedral (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo), never to travel again.

I'm sure my eyes will be just fine come Tuesday.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so cool, I love your management style...we're pretty laid back, too. Reminds me of something I read in a book long ago..about having to "call in well...because I feel too good to go to work today". Who wants to waste a day off being sick?

blopeep said...

I have wonderful memories of the Art Institute! Having grown up in Milwaukee, going down to Chicago for any museum trip made it a double adventure.

Tell me you went to see Seurat ...

Lorna's Laces said...

We didn't see the Seurat this time...but really enjoyed the big exhibit they did a couple of years back. I was fascinated by the process.

This time we just saw The Gates of Paradise and the Jeff Wall exhibit. I have a pretty short attention span when it comes to museums. If I see too much it all blends together. I go for quality over quantity.