I was thinking that I"d title this post, "It takes a village," but I don't like to use words that other people have used as titles for my posts. I started thinking about how I could change around it takes a village to match the city of Hoboken that feels like a small town or a village, and that's how I came up with the title I used. It just seems somehow right, because Hoboken is known as the Mile Square City, even though it is slightly larger than that at 1.25 miles square, and what I am writing about has to do with all the wonderful people I know there, those who I have met before I opened YES Gallery and the many who have walked in the doors since the beginning of my preparing for opening day almost one year ago.
As I walk on my way to YES Gallery every day, I see people I know who I genuinely like seeing, and even when I don't have time to stop and talk, just saying hello and waving and smiling makes me feel so good. Some people stop by to visit when I have the door open, and others wave as they walk by and call out hello! Some people bring me things like espresso or plants, and some people ask where I was when they didn't see me one day and say that they were worried and are glad I'm ok.
Friday evening the Italian festival began at St. Anne's church, filling the blocks around it with the smell of wonderful local Italian food and and the feeling of a really beautiful community party. As I walked through I found a table with fresh pasta from That Pasta Club, and I decided to try several kinds. Sweet Pea Agnolotti, Spinach Mafaldini, Spinach Mezzi Rigatoni, and Porcini Bucatini will be keeping my table and meals very happy for the next few days as I try them in different recipes. It's been so busy at YES Gallery and with some other projects that I haven't had time to go to the farmer's market much at all this year, but now that I have this wonderful pasta, I'm excited to take a special trip to find some produce to cook with it.
There's a feeling of camaraderie and friendship with the people I know in the community. It feels so good to know them and to have so many people to say hello to who say hello back. Smiles and hearing that you've been missed, the little touches of friendship that make a nice day even more special are the things that keep our spirits up. I think it's grand to have a gallery in a place so lovely where people can visit and enjoy time together, talking about life and art and sharing a smile in a city that feels like a very beautiful place to be.
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