Yeah, baby. and it is definitely a go with the flow, no withold evidence,
sort of experience when Mr. Potato head, the Zone Man and the Polish
Chauffeur are together.
Best,
Can't see the Elms for the Forest.
From: The listserv where the buildings do the talking
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gabriel
Orgrease
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 7:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [BP] Water is Water, Zoni is Zoni
A few weekends ago I was in New Haven for the APT-NE yearly meeting/seminar
where we met up with Bob Zoni. If you don't know Bob, well, too bad.
Bob is sincerely one of my heroes. He does not do internet. He says he has a
computer but he has not figured out how to turn it on. When he ran for the
PTN board of directors someone told him he would have to learn to use
e-mail. He asked me if that were true, or not. My response was that it was
not exactly a requirement though without it he should be prepared to drive
to the house of each board member in order to talk business with them. For
him to get to Scotland and return might take longer. His running motto,
"Ahead of the curve, out of the loop."
I was standing in the lobby at the seminar near the registration desk
waiting for a cup of coffee and this older fellow that I did not recognize
comes up to me smiling and says, "I met you at the airport." My first
thought is, ok, does this have anything to do with anonymous toe tapping in
Milwaukee? I'm thinking, Kennedy, Newark, Detroit, Atlanta, where? Then it
resolves down that he had met me at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn. Oh, that
airport. The historic dead airport where we had a PTN trades event a month
after 9/11. Bob's friend had driven in the rain, at Bob's suggestion, from
PA near the Delaware to attend the one-day seminar in New Haven. Obviously
Bob has pull.
I have been telling Bob for years that I would like to see his collection of
books. He always tells me it is a few boxes. I'm not sure I believe him on
that. He says something very quickly about the number of truckloads it took
to move his books. That he has just recently bought shelves for them. That
he had to move them out of his shop because a church group was going to tear
down a 60' long wall. He was worried about the dust. I am not so much
curious to see his books as I want to have the experience to see Bob Zoni
with his books. It is about the intimacy and enthusiasm of a collector when
they get to share. It could as well be stamps, coins, prints on the wall, a
fine restored house, the best pizza parlor in America or tools.
It was raining and we were more than willing not to go on the walking
architectural tour of Yale buildings at the tail of the seminar. Other than
the library where the sun shines through the stone they are all kind of
well, university and modern stuff. So we went through the seminar, good
networking, and when it was over worked out a plot to go to various places
as a group of more (obligatory stop at Richters -- base camp) and then
eventually we broke off to go north with Bob.
Bob left his truck behind in the Yale parking lot. My friend Witold was
driving. He had not previously met Bob, I think, I was not sure. Witold and
Twybil and I are going to a restoration conference as guest presenters in
Krakow at the end of this month. They have an old university there too. It
is all business. But we like to travel on adventures together though usually
one or the other of us leaves in the middle. In good humor I have asked
Witold to kindly not leave me and Twy on a country road in Poland. We will
see.
Regardless, Bob in his usual enthusiasm is talking at three-miles a minute
and Witold is following his direction to turn left, turn right, not exactly
sure why he is driving where but appears willing that I encouraged the
impromptu adventure that seems to extend longer and longer only a short way
further. We saw Eli Whitney's dam, we saw an incredible barn that Bob helped
to move, and we drove north and drove north in the rain. I let Witold know
that we were on to an adventure to see Bob's book collection. That it is an
opportunity that I have been calmly waiting years for. Before -- I say
BEFORE -- every big show Bob goes and visits Steve Schuyler Bookseller and
culls through the collection of architectural historic and traditional
trades books pre-show. The two of them travel show to show in Steve's van
together... I am accused of having broke Steve's van one time when he let me
drive on the way out to Ohio. That is a load of books. Yet, Bob always says
he only has a few books. Fewness is not the point of this Saturday adventure
for me. I am curious what book selections Bob's interest result in. This
mysterious mother load of extra special gems. We find out what restaurants
Bob likes to eat at. (I am reminded of my Grandfather in Florida who took me
on a drive to show me the hospital that was closest to their house.) We
learn about the City Hall where the city moved out of the hall. We keep
going north and eventually we get to Bob's residence.
Then suddenly Bob realizes that he left his keys back in his truck in New
Haven. There is a reference to a roll of duck tape.
No problem. We make agreement, sincerely, to return to New Haven on a sunny
day without rain and spend the entire day driving around with Bob. Possibly
we can drag Leland along as well. We drive Bob back to his truck and depart
each our separate ways. Witold drives alone back to Westchester. I head to
Bridgeport for the ferry to the south (the opposite to north) and home. They
both question if the ferry across the sound will not be rough in the rain
weather and I comment what difference, "Water is water."
--
Orgrease-Crankbait <http://orgrease-crankbait.blogspot.com/> Video, audio,
writings, words, spoken word, dialogs, graphic collage and the art of
fiction in language and literature.
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To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
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