Une Envie de Sel

On one of our final days in the city, we had the luxury of rolling into MoMA on the coattails of our friend Johnny, who has a membership. We have missed MoMA on all of our last few trips (due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or simply not having enough hours in the day) so it was with a sigh of pleasure and relief that we found ourselves able to introduce Q to the NYC institution on this trip.
Q loves museums of all varities, and most days if you ask her "what would you like to do today?", her first word will be "museum" (or "mee-mee" which is as much of it as she can so far pronounce, with her speech delay). Her next thought will inevitably be "pool" ;)
But let me tell you it's a delight to have a child whom one does not need to force, cajole or bribe into spending an hour at a museum.
She genuinely enjoys it, and on this occasion she was reveling in the pleasures of having both daddy and Johnny doting on her at all times (well, and mommy too, except that mommy becomes a sort of appendage to the camera on these occasions).
We were not able to make it into the Tim Burton show, unfortunately, since it was new and the lines were formidable. Too much to ask of a two-year-old who is not accustomed to NY-sized crowds. Also, it's probably best for her sleep patterns that we didn't make it in, since the gaping, toothful maw of the sculpture that Burton created for the entry doorway was already sending the Q into paroxysms of denial.
M, Q, and Johnny surveying the museum map, and choosing our next gallery.
Splendid red hair in the photo gallery.
A pleasing blend of colors and shapes.
This guy was my man. I don't know who he is, but oh, he had grace and style.
I kept spotting him in different areas of the museum, and could not resist recording his exquisite sartorial sense. It's the rare human who owns their style so completely and naturally, and with such perfect self-possession. I felt like giving him an ovation.
Random corners.
Oh, I do love chairs. I realize that not everyone thinks of a chair as a work of art, but to my eyes it is among the highest forms. This one is one of my all-time favorites in the historical field of chair design.
Q and Johnny hit it off right away. It's always a pleasure when your child bonds naturally with one of your friends. In this case, it was a very organic bonding. Yes, Johnny came equipped with gifts on each of our meetings (which doubtless contributed to Q's feeling of goodwill toward him), but it was more than that. They just clicked. It was a real pleasure to watch them enjoying the museum together, hand in hand or arm in arm. Johnny is one of those rare and special non-parents who is a natural with children. Q still talks about him today, weeks after our return from NYC.