Short: Gary And Mary: The Artist and The Magic Paint Brush, Part 1.
The squeal of the 5:33 F train finally peeled Gary out of bed after many previous attempts. Before answering the call of nature, he stopped to gaze out his apartment window at the purple sky then checked digital clock on the lamp stand beside his bed. Typical, he thought. 5:38 AM. Always late. And as he did his business in the toilet, Gary thought about that clock, how it was a thoughtful gift from his mother but somewhat useless now that he lived next to a line that never stops. Neither the apartment ad or property manager mentioned the constant, timely screeches or enduring fumes or the shouts and car horns meant for people dashing through traffic to catch the train. Then Gary thought better of his clock. I won’t live here forever, he concluded. Indeed, he was and intended to be a part-time resident of the city that never sleeps. It was a promise he’d made to his thoughtful worried mother.
Gary Mellmack moved to Brooklyn to pursue his life long dream of becoming a painter. Better said, he moved to New York City to pursue becoming an artist. He chose to live in Brooklyn because is was affordable, if one may call it so, and the F train has a stop one block from the The Art Students League campus just south of Central Park. After years of meaningless sales jobs and severe lack of dating success, he decided to do the one thing he really wanted to do. His mother was not surprised or amused, but she didn’t stand in his way. If Gary wanted to live in a cramped apartment and draw apples for a year or two, so be it. Though she preferred he remain in south Georgia and fill a house with grandkids.
A few close friends had questioned why Gary wanted to leave, wasn’t he being cliche or couldn’t he do the same via online courses. No need to blow his savings living in the most expensive city in America, right? In the end, as all good friends do, they stopped objecting Gary’s choice and began to plan visits, as all good friends do, when they have a buddy living in New York.
Today was the first day of the summer session and Gary was excited. He’d spent the fall and spring sketching fruit and nude models and learning color theory. But today, he’d move on toward his ultimate goal of being a painter, a serious painter. And as he laced up his grimy yet comfortable red walking shoes, Gary let a hope rise in his heart. Little did he know that today would be more than he could ever hoped or imagined. How could he? No one is prepared for fate, for a blessing beyond comprehension, all any one can do is go to work and give destiny a chance to find us. And that’s what Gary did by moving to Brooklyn for today he’d meet her.
