artwork by ethan
the new banner was drawn five years ago by my nephew ethan. my sister, sarah, husband and two kids came to visit us in brooklyn for nearly five weeks during the hottest july known to man. to date, that is one of the best months we've spent in new york.
five adults (mim was also staying with us for an internship that summer) and two kids crammed into our 700 square foot railroad apartment in windsor terrace without an air conditioner. it could have been horrible but it was so great. i love remembering that month. . . chip was in art school taking one or two summer classes, i was in-between jobs, eric was on summer break from dental school, and sarah and mia (2) and ethan (4) were game for anything and everything. so we all just hung out together, wandering through the city. parks, bridges, coney island, museums, shops, regis and kelly, dana carvey, chinatown, broadway, bakeries, trains, zoos, massages and plays in central park, playgrounds, stoopsales, driving tours. . . we were able to do so much and were never rushed or anxious, just hot, exhausted and happy.
i really, really loved that time. i loved that we were really able to share our world with them. it is sad to know that it will never happen again. everything lined up perfectly just for that one month of our lives. but i'm so glad we took advantage of it, before life and bigger responsibilities carried us away.
back to the drawing. here is the explanation (and subsequent inquiry) as recorded by sarah on the back:
"7-21-02 by ethan. this is a picture of the subway. brown spots are gum. [after being told all the spots he was seeing on the subway platorm were gum] ethan asks 'so, long time ago people chewed black gum?' there's the train and mom, dad, kate, chip, miriam, mia and ethan standing behind the yellow line."
we've been in love with this drawing for more than five years, always trying to display it but never in a way that has really done it justice. so, i'll hang it here for awhile. of all the pictures i've seen capturing the city, i don't like any nearly as well as i love ethan's portrait of new york life and the family we were for that one summer month.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 08:16PM
Reader Comments (7)
i just love that!
are you sure that the yellow line is in reference to the yellow line on the platform and not really an expression of a deep emotional scar involving public urination into a snapple bottle? i'm grateful for the snapple bottle. that's where littering really comes in handy.
I'm sure others reading sarah's comments are asking themselves: Was it Sarah that peed into a Snapple bottle? In front of her own son? In public? On a subway? Once she peed in it, did she leave it there as litter? So many unanswered questions...
Katie, hopefully you can tell that last post was written by Eric not me.
I'm totally in love with ethan's drawing and it is a perfect depication of the subway and all its icky gum and yes yes I am now asking myself all sorts of questions about peeing in Snapple bottles and if it's as messy as it looks in my head.
I love Ethan's drawing too. I love that it features the F and G train, and even seems to crawl above the Gowanus Canal.
To set the record straight, poor Ethan was in agaony on a slow train and couldn't hold it anymore. His quick-thinking mom, Sara, grabbed a Snapple bottle left under the seat. The adults formed a casual circle around Ethan (for privacy) and he peed in it, crying the whole time, but maintaing perfect aim. Then Sara threw the bottle away.
for further clarification, sarah threw the bottle away in the trash can, as a good citizen should.