Saturday, December 2, 2017

Legacy Painting

You know I consider myself a humble working man. I attempt to keep ego from most conscious acts. But there is a vein of vanity undeniably running through my mind. I've tried to instill small but poignant characteristics in my sons. Things like humor, simplicity, commit, loyalty, don't depend on others, work, be still, basic notions centering one's being. My vanity desires me to be remembered, in the grand cosmic scheme this is futile. In just a couple generations no one will know or care if I ever took a breath. Still I try. Even this blog is a meager attempt to leave a footprint in the sand.
Now grandchildren have populated my mental landscape and the reality of remembrance tugs stronger. So I'll share an example of my futility. I've commissioned a beautiful and significant painting for my son and daughter-in-law's new home. Auspiciously it's a house warming gift. But more than that, when my granddaughters look at it hopefully they will think of me. Here's where my fantasy expands. When my son gets old and leaves this painting to one of his daughters, and she has children, she can share the history of it's meaning. My family has moved ever farther from the inner city and one day their progeny won't have an inkling of what urban life was like. But a cable car in a cityscape will or can be a starting point for tales of the past. My past!