Armchair Traveler

I've been post-shy lately. In my defense, I've been quite busy, but in the few moments when I have turned to write a long blog post, I get all tangled up in ideas of perfectionism and fears of sounding inane... or worse, overwhelmed by choices of topics to write about. So I take the easy way out, and write nothing. It's the writing curse... postponement. Ah, postponement. And to think, that word is much, much older than the existence of blog posts.

But I had to share this mailbox discovery today:



If ever a catalog captured adventure and possibility, this is the one. It isn't long, but it has packed within its pages so much more than a few select products: it captures eras' worth of intrigue and mystery, whisks you away to places far from home, and hints at cobbled alleyways, cocktails sipped in elegant hotels, silent glances, perfumes that linger in empty rooms. The writing is brilliant. And the illustrations (there are no photos) are wonderful.



What does it say?

You're sipping espresso at the corner of Bleeker and MacDougal, looking out at the world through dark kohl-rimmed eyes...

...Hey, you want to go up to Columbia tonight? Kerouac should be at the West End, and Ginsberg, and Burroughs. Corso, too; he's the one you have to watch out for.

The title of this jacket's page? Real-World Hero. And it reads:

Let's say that a major political party approaches you and asks you to run for President of the United States.

Flattering, but you probably decline.

A lot of men would. Even a quick glance through the diary reveals stuff that wouldn't sound good on the 6 o'clock news.

It's not that we're bad guys, exactly. Life is complicated. Sometimes a man skips shaving. Other things, too.

For those occasions when you want to marshal all your resources, not just the bright shiny ones, I offer this suit.

Some people may think you look a bit dangerous, but that's just the way it is.

I think J. Peterman, whoever he is, might be on my "five people you'd invite to dinner" list.

Along with, let's see... Amelia Earhart, Madeleine L'Engle, Katherine Hepburn and Judy Dench.

Perhaps, I should add more men, for gender equality. All right, 10 people. Four more men and one more woman.

Juliette Binoche, Samuel Clemens, Leonardo da Vinci, Pat Croce and Ludwig van Beethoven.