Author: Dr. Hare

Dear Dr. Hare,

I’m so pleased that you selected two of my images for your office. Will this make up for some of the missed appointments? I can only hope.

I just sent the files to the printer, so you should have the prints — assuming JFK won’t shut down again due to the weather — less than two weeks from now.

You chose two of the gloomiest images from the whole forest/tree series. How come? Obviously, I’m flattered, because I like these images myself. In my experience, people don’t usually get ‘gloomy,’ except of course when they mix up ‘arty’ and ‘gloomy.’ ‘Good gloomy’ seems underrated. But what do I care about that when I contemplate your choice.

Right now I’m looking out the window at the ice storm. Five minutes ago a large pile of ice broke off from the roof and crashed into the yard. It could have killed a grown man easily, and reminded me of avalanches in the Dolomites, the ones later in the winter when the melting snow turns into ice. Down on the street, a car has been parked at an odd angle all morning, blocking half of the street. Apparently the driver just gave up and left it there.

I will see you soon.

Jens

Dear Jens,

I can’t believe that you are serious about this: moving to some far – though beautiful – end of the world, right now when you things are going so nicely for you in Manhattan. If you want my advice: stay the course, in your European forests and Central Park, and keep at it.

On a more personal note, I’m not sure what to say. Just as I felt that you might become more serious about our conversations, you are bringing up the idea of moving to Scotland. Frankly, I don’t care about the pilot certificate, and I share your relatives’ reaction. Think of the pieces of furniture one has to assemble at home: nothing ever quite fits. Are you planning to fly across the North Sea, or even if it’s just the channel between the UK and France, in an airplane put together in your front yard? All of it sounds like an idée fixe to me, one that will hopefully dissolve rather quickly. That’s not to say that I don’t see the attractions of a lovely, rugged coast-line, and solitary walks. Indeed, there was a time in my life where I would have envied anyone moving to such a place, or when I would have wanted to come along. But that’s another story.

Let’s talk soon in person, and promise not to fly in self-made planes for the time being!

Dr. Hare

Dear Dr. Hare,

I’m so sorry, I’m painfully aware of the missed appointments; somehow I hoped you’d perhaps gloss over that (but you didn’t). It’s true, I’m working hard to get the forest project closer to where I want it to be. These images come in unexpected waves, and right now it seems I’m catching one.

You’re right. Almost 15 years ago I was working for some astonishingly ignorant person, slaving away alongside a few dozen other unfortunate souls. In the middle of a meeting with a self-employed client, I had a quasi-religious experience. From there, it took me one more employment to break free. That’s not to say that my life as an employee was all bad: sometimes I look back to the numbed state of mind I put myself into from Sunday night to Friday evening, to cope with the daily grind. Numbness has its advantages, right? And I recall that things regularly got better by Tuesday already (Sunday nights and Monday mornings were the worst). Anyway, that’s in the past, and it’s not as if being on one’s own came without frustrations and dullnesses. If I suffer from mistakes today, however, I can be sure those mistakes are my own!

Speaking of quasi-religious experiences: I spent Christmas evening at the family dinner table, browsing the web for used aircraft. Believe it or not, I consider moving to Scotland. I guess I’d buy a used single-engine propeller plane. (Though admittedly the more recent models seem to be rather costly. I was amazed to see that you can also order, new, a “345 mph, four seat, pressurized aircraft that could be easily built in one’s home shop.” Reactions I got to this latter proposal here at home, however, have been subdued.) Anyway, I’m dreaming of long strolls along the seashore, and quick flights to Rome, Sicily, Geneva, Salzburg, and Munich. I always thought I couldn’t get a pilot certificate, with my prescription glasses, but it turns out it’s not a problem. What do you think?

Jens