On Thursday I got around to poking holes in
the straps of the Doc Martin sandals that I found so they would fit my
comparatively little feet. I certainly have bigger than average hooves but
whoever owned these sandals originally was at least a size larger. I got them
so they felt pretty secure.
I
washed three pairs of underwear and put them outside and they were dry by the
late afternoon when the sun moved around to kill the southeastern shadows.
Since
I had to work that evening at Artists 25 and wanted to have something quick to
eat when I got home late, during the early afternoon I grilled the three steaks
that I’d bought on Sunday.
When
it was time to leave I put the sandals on and buckled up the straps but the
prong of the back strap buckle for the right sandal broke. I was able to wear
them anyway because the strap was fairly secure just from slipping it in the
buckle and out the other side.
It
was weird riding my bike with sandals on though. I think I might be able to
make them more secure by adding more holes to tighten up the top strap. There’s
both a sense of freedom and insecurity that seems to go along with wearing
sandals.
There
were just two artists drawing me for most of the night. I told them about
finding my Doc Martin sandals in a box on the curb. I forget the woman’s name
but she is a regular. She exclaimed, “Those are worth a fortune! The universe
gave you a resent! It does that sometimes!” I responded sceptically, “Sometimes
it gives children cancer!” She said something about how there might be reasons
for that, which basically meant she didn’t know. Why do people have to think
the universe gives a fuck about them? It so much more logical that shit
happens, good or bad. It doesn’t serve one’s mind at all to think one has a
relationship with the new age version of god.
Artists
25 has existed since 1981 and it was one of the first places that gave me work
when I began modeling in 1982. During that time they’ve continuously run four
drawing sessions a week in a well equipped studio, plus sometimes drawing and
painting courses have also been given. Cy told me that they are looking to move
forward as a corporation but a corporation needs three directors. They have two
and need one more director if anyone is interested, and it could be pretty
interesting.
We
talked a lot of Tom Phillips, who died two weeks ago, was the heart of Artists
25 and its most active member. Part of his will was set aside for preserving
his artwork, and his cousin Lisa has the task of making that happen. It sounds
like an impossible task given that Tom left behind thousands of paintings. It
seems to me that the ideal situation would be to turn his house in Etobicoke
into a Tom Phillips museum but the problem is that a different faction of Tom’s
family inherited his house and they plan on selling it.
I don’t know if it
was the temperature, the atmosphere, the mood, the memories of Tom or all of
those, but it was a very pleasant session and I hardly felt like I was working
at all. When I left the studio the temperature was nearly perfect and coasting
down the hill on Brock was very pleasurable on such a sweet night, with moon
hanging above and ahead of me.
When I got home I
slipped some frozen fries in the oven and heated up one of the steaks. Then I
watched the 13th and 14th episodes of The Many Loves of
Dobie Gillis.
These stories are
not particularly well written but they sometimes throw in an interesting
character or a clever situation or two. In the 13th episode Dobie’s
father is having trouble understanding his son. One of the town’s most
prominent psychiatrists was shopping the Gillis grocery store and Herbert
thought he’d get some free advice my engaging the doctor in a casual
conversation about a situation between a father and son. The doctor tells him
that a boy might think he hates his father and if he admits it verbally it
might be a breakthrough. The doctor’s groceries amounted to $20.75. The doctor
gave Herbert 75 cents and said they were even because he charges $20 for a
session.
Herbert tries to
get Dobie to tell him that he hates him but Dobie refuses. He offers to give
Dobie $6 to take Thalia to the prom and he’s tempted but still refuses to tell
his father he hates him. Finally Herbert threatens, “You say that you hate me
or we’re through!” Dobie tells his father what he seems to want to hear. Then
Herbert is upset that his son hates him. He begins to treat Dobie with
indignation and then Dobie brings him a gift. He cancelled his date with Thalia
and spent the entire amount on a tie for his dad. Herbert is so touched that he
pays for Dobie and Thalia to go to the prom.
The 14th
episode involved a student from Argentina renting a room at the Gillis place,
but the guy is so polite, gallant and charming that all the girls at the school
and also Dobie’s mother are nuts about him. Dobie has to get rid of him and so
he teaches him rude expressions that would be considered insulting to most
women, like calling them “tubby”. Thalia still finds him charming but Dobie’s
mother doesn’t appreciate it.
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