Last month, I noticed that one of my neighbors, a fit-looking woman in her early to mid-thirties that resides on the fifth floor in my building, had been walking with a significant limp. Climbing up and down five flights of stairs appeared to be agony for her. Curious and concerned, I asked her what had happened, anticipating a story about some terrible accident she suffered.
Upstairs Neighbor: It’s so embarrassing. I was sitting down, I got up, and I somehow stood on it funny. It’s been hurting me ever since. I’m going to the doctor.
My initial thought was:
Me (thinking): She’s about twenty years younger than me, she’s slender and in shape. If something freak like that can happen to her, what might happen to me if I sit down and get up funny? Could I break a leg?
I said:
Me: I hope you get well soon.
She thanked me, we parted ways and I made a mental note:
Me: This is a warning sign that you absolutely, positively, no ifs, ands, or buts must start working out again.
Then, I resumed my sluggish ways. A few days later, it felt like a sleeping squirrel had woken out of a sound slumber behind my right kneecap and was trying to make a break for it with its sharp teeth. In other words, it was a strange sensation that hurt. Since the weather was also pleasant I refused to let my discomfort force me to stay housebound. I simply had to leave my hovel and take a walk; I had to make an effort to burn off some flab (famous last words).
There I was, dragging my hobbled right leg up West 84th Street toward Columbus Avenue, when I encountered a delightful display of outdoor art produced by children attending P.S. 9.
P.S. 9 entrance.
I was so intrigued with their witty and entertaining sculptures I completely forgot about whatever it was gnawing at me from behind my kneecap.
Atomic Hula
Who knew that just looking at imaginative kid art would be therapeutic?
Room for Art
I hope whatever was lurking behind my kneecap will continue to forget about me.
Pin Art
Yes, clothes pins.
If only looking at art could gift me with fitness, but I suppose I shouldn’t grouse, at least I didn’t need to ride an ambulance home.
Three Musicians
Three Musicians detail straight from the Bed Bath and Beyond kitchen accessories collection.
Meanwhile, check out more of the whimsical kid art that may or may not be packed with magical healing power.
Faces in the Crowd (made from plates)
Sock Monster (or where lost tube socks go).
Refuse to grow up and write a blog.
Loved this! Looking at pictures of kid art was theraputic for me this morning.
It was a very pleasant sight. I spent so much time looking at each sculpture, a passerby might have had the impression I was looking at a collection at MoMA. They were all very well done. A nice burst of creativity.
This really perked up my morning! Did you hear about the 83-year-old woman who had an actual 35-pound beaver attached to her leg as she was climbing out of Lake Barcroft a few days ago?
No, but I cannot think of a more appropriate site for this phenomenon to be mentioned. Thanks Kathy! Wow, what a tenacious beaver and what an 83-year old woman!
Man this place is weird–where else would someone mention a 35-lb beaver and an 83-year old woman in same sentence with a straight face? This is why I keep returning here–it’s too fascinating to resist. Love the kid art, btw, perked up my day! Oh and the pain behind the knee? I got nuthin’ and yoga hates me too.
This is the site where 35 lb beavers, 83 year old women and public school art projects all come together TT! Glad that you keep returning!
Dear LA woman I think it wasn’t the combination of the three topics that tickled the funny bone. I think TT’s thought process was similar to mine: an 83 year old woman with a 35 pound beaver. That would have to be one large momma!
Glad only one of us is clod-witted today Wingman.
Been resisting a Beavis-like chortle all morning. I think I really need professional help.
Considering your dedication to this junk food for the mind site, you just figured that one out? Since I write it, I’m far more gone than you.
I’ve known it for years. It’s just that the truly twisted among us enjoy being reminded of that from time to time.
The hole in my head expanded to the size of the sky by the time I hit 40. There’s no turning back.
I think the answer to your knee problems might actually be solved by a closer inspection of Atomic Hula. Unwittingly, your body directed you to The Place where your curious middle-aged malady can be diagnosed and, possibly, cured. I believe in that collection of petrochemical byproduct lies the answer to what ails you. I believe it may be a schematic of the neurons etc. which have been causing you that squirrel-like feeling behind the kneecap.
Or maybe you just need to do some yoga and quitchurbitchin’…
I tried yoga when I was still living in San Francisco back in 1980. We weren’t a good match. My yoga instructor hated me so much he accused me of having a karma deficit and said my personality was more suited “for a place like New York City”.
So you heeded his advice…maybe you could search out a more interesting yoga instructor here in NYC…someone who will accept you as you are, karma-deficit and all. Let’s face it at our age we need low impact stuff. And that does not mean using a padded coaster for our beers as we slam one down…I am joining the Bride and a high strung attorney friend for hot yoga in a couple weeks. If I survive I will tell you how it goes.
My buddy, Jules, over at mccrabass is a Bikram yoga expert. Maybe she’ll weigh in about it for you. You’re braver than me to take that on. Of course, I expect you to tell us how that goes!
What a great post! That’s one of the things I love about NYC; there’s always things like this you run across (or into) that just gives one hope. I saw a huge face once at Grand Central Terminal made entirely of post-its.
I’m like you though; I sometimes skip my working out thing to do something else and as we get older, we just can’t! Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it (the gym thing) — walking and exploring sounds way better.
Stumbling upon (not quite literally, but close enough) this public school art installation out of the blue was a lot of fun. I hope that these sculpture were as much fun for the kids to construct as they were to view — and that no one got into trouble for taking the spatula.
Thanks for visiting Lame Adventures-land Brigitte! It’s so nice to hear from you. I’m going to try to make it over to your site this weekend.
Reblogged this on 1revellcha and commented:
what kind of name is that for a school !
Pretty ordinary for New York City actually … P.S. stands for Public School. Click on this link for some back story about the numbering used in the New York City public school system. Thanks for the visit and the reblog.
Fun Lame Adventure! I love the kid art..all of it. And Mike’s probably right, yoga would be a good thing – especially balance postures (my least favorite). Just a bit of unsolicited advice from your blogosphere P.T.
“P.T.” as in personal trainer? What set my yoga teacher off about me was the balance position, The Tree. I lost my balance and joked, “This should be called timber.” My fellow students thought that bit of snark was funny. Mr. Mellow didn’t. Glad you dug the kid art, too, Cathy!
Physical Therapist. Yoga teachers are like that, it’s serious business, you know…
Oh … right, physical therapist … my next guess, Cathy. (cough) Yeah, that one I had really needed a chill pill the size of the sky.
Thanks for the giggles this morning (I would use an emotipro here, but I know how you feel about that).
You’re welcome Cathy. I’m pretty sure that I’m on Smiley’s hit list.
Yeah, but the “timber” comment would be worth it!
Hi Lame … remember me?
How could I forget you? I was all over your site earlier in the week hoping you did a Saturday morning cartoon post on Foghorn Leghorn that I could refer to in my recent chicken post, but you only covered Chickenhawk so I had to settle for Super Chicken. I’ve missed you!
http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/on-foghorn-leghorn-and-basketball/
Thanks Frank!
And I hope you see where I’ve been.
I’m going to visit.
now i know what to do with all of the old, melted kitchen appliances–turn them into crap!
Well, that’s a plan, Jules. Mike G is going to try hot yoga soon. Check out his comment.
Great pics! It’s hard for me to know which I like best…3 musicians?, Atomic Hula? or Pin Art ?….(I think I see a reflection of my self on one of those blue plates)….. With so many kids, and hence, so much Art….there’s plenty enough to keep us all busy. Thanks for adding some natural unhindered
art to your post….
Glad you enjoyed it Jim! I liked the Picasso quote at the end, too.
I love this. All we ever seen in S. FL suburbia is manicured lawns and SUVs plastered with stick figure families. Booooooooooooooring.
Glad you enjoyed what Gotham City kids are up to Fish. Are those stick figure families a political message about the ideal family? Everyone’s thin.
Oh man, I was so busy hating those things I never delved into their deeper evil meaning! Now I really, really hate those things. I think I’ll start a line of them. The dad will be fat and balding. Then mom will be drinking a martini and downing Ambien. The kids will be choking each other.
And the dog will have run away! Or would have at least bitten someone.
Those were amazing! Who needs Pinterest when you can just walk down the street and see inspired art like that!
I felt the same way about it. I just hope no one got yelled at for “borrowing” the spatula for his or her school art project.
I love the art projects! I was a medical illustrator back in the day and quit when I was pregnant with my first. When I stopped back at the hospital 10 years later, the department was gone. Horrors! In the back of my mind, I knew that my job was antiquated. Now artists are more likely to be doing graphic art like the piece I did for Wendig..It is a photoshop generation…I still love the idea of doing art projects even if they don’t pay. Hell, I have written over 175 posts between the site I started on and WP, and haven’t made a penny yet!
Your reward is knowing the likes of me.
There you go…
So flipping amazing!
The kids did a great job — probably with a pretty dedicated teacher.
Fantastic idea, and the execution is really impressive. The teacher must be pretty awesome.
In my day, we did uninspired crap like glue popsicle sticks onto a wood board with our picture in the center. We were instructed to give the gift to our mothers. I unenthusiastically shoved it into her hands and said, “Here.” Then I hightailed to the TV for a fix of The Three Stooges. My lack of sentimentality started early.
Ha. Clearly crap on a stick is not your thing, I hear you
In this case it’s clearly not an impulse child activity but a well planned/ funded experiment, however there is really a lot that can be achieved for no money that is still inspiring. Hopefully it’s changing for the better!
P.S. 9 gives the impression that it has a good art program for youngsters — and it looks like the kids might have had fun building those sculptures.
I had an odd limp that had a funny, funny resolution. I’d get up and I’d limp on different legs. I started observing myself more closely, planning to go to the doctor, thinking I had something BAD. The answer came in the night when I awakened and carefully observed what I was doing: I had parked my foot in the pirouette position against my husband’s leg. Once I realized that was the cause I watched myself more closely and have had no more limping. No illness, no problem any more. Caught myself wanting to hold my foot that way last night. Resisted the inclination. Hope yours turns out to be as simple. Maybe rest it?
Thanks for sharing … I think.
Dude PS 9 rocks! And I hear you we did that Popsicle stick thing and macaroni art. So sad when you compare and take a look at the three musicians. Awesome. There was no Pablo Picasso imagination during my childhood, I think I was trying to be a professional tether ball player.
I hear you Guat. I was educated by nuns in the Sixties. That says it all about what I was up against.
Love the Picasso quote. Great post.
I love that quote, too, Wendy. Thanks buddy!
wonderful awesome art.. thanks for sharing
You’re welcome. Granted, it’s not quite Edward Hopper, but you never know, maybe there is a future Hopper amongst those kids.
Loved the photo’s of the artwork!
Thanks! And thanks for taking the time to comment.
I have that squirrel thing behind my left knee. But I just get up and take the squirrel with me on my jogs/shuffles into the foothills. I’m slowly losing weight. Perhaps when I reach my goal, I will have lost the weight of the squirrel as well. Or, I’ll have one behind each knee and attached to both hips. Love the artwork!
Oh, those pesky internal squirrels SDS! Glad to know that I’m not alone. Yeah, I thought you might dig the sculptures. Glad you did!
There’s a fine line in refusing to grow up. On one hand, you have those delightful folks who seem youthful well into old age, and on the other, you have Michael Jackson, a tragic man-boy.
I hope your knee feels better. I’ve been very fortunate in my life not to have had a lot of physical pain (never ever had a headache aside from brain freeze), so on those occasions when I have experienced brief bouts of pain (knee, stomach, back) it really helps me appreciate those folks who live with constant pain. Sometimes, when an injury isn’t obvious (like the back, for example) it’s easy to forget that they’re suffering, or at least the degree.
I’m very glad that the kids’ artwork was able to take you away from your pain. I’m a big fan of happiness, and it seems like folks experience fewer moments of true, real happiness or joy these days. We seem to think we can buy it or plan it, which is a recipe for dissatisfaction.
I’m not a doctor (although I write like one), but I’d say that continuing to engage in activities that stimulate your intellect or your soul is a great way to keep the pain at bay until your body gets its act together. I suspect I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, just hopefully reinforcing it.
We’re on the same page about this. My knee’s been fine. Now, I’m just waiting for something else to act up. My left elbow is overdue. Wow, you’ve never had a headache! That’s an achievement.
Lameadventures, I’m inspired. The pegs! the socks! The quote from Picasso! I must show this to my new headmaster immediately! No wonder that thing lurking behind your kneecap buggered off.
Do hope it stays away, though.
It’s still “buggered off” for now Kate. I hope it stays that way, too. I hope the art meets Mr. Chips’s approval.
I hope your knee feels better. Maybe your cure is looking at art work. I’m inspired to go create something right now, anything….and blogging counts, yes.
My knee feels fine. In fact, everything feels okay in this bag of bones and flab at the moment … Damn right, blogging counts! Although I saw a delicious looking recipe for shortbread cookies that made me feel inspired too … or maybe hungry for shortbread cookies that are chocolate dipped.
i love the idea that all the work was displayed outside for everyone walking by to see, sugar! cheers! xoxoxo
It was such a pleasant surprise Savannah. Normally, what I see most on New York City streets is trash or pigeons strutting. This was a nice contrast to the usual.
So that’s what’s wrong with my knee? A squirrel knawing at it. Thank God for a diagnosis. Now–about that beaver–well, I won’t touch that one–so to speak. And, hell, the kid art looks like mine. Or is it that mine looks like the work of a child? Hmmmmmmmm—— That might not bode well for my creative future.
Happy weekend!
Hugs,
Kathy
So to speak.
I thought of you when I took those pictures. Maybe one of those youngsters will grown up to paint his or her own Sistine Chapel ceiling or at least a Kathy-style staircase project.
Wow, those kids are impressive. Their art is better than a lot of stuff I see in museums. And the titles make sense. The best we get at the elementary school are people jamming paper cups in the chain link fence to read “Don’t Do Drugs” which is really great when the cups in the “don’t” happen to blow away.
So if it’s a “don’t” cup that was strategically placed in a fence hole that blows away, it could look like the fence is saying, “Do Drugs”?
Exactly. Which would be awesome – I mean, terrible.
This is great! I think I told you that my sis lived on 82nd b/w Columbus and Broadway? Love your neighborhood. The art is so lovely. I thought you were going to say that someone tripped on kid art and blew their knee which I could see happening. Glad you are working out like I am.
Yes Maggie, I do recall that there was a time when your sis was practically me neighbor! PS 9′s art exhibit is only two blocks away from where she once lived and the Museum of Modern Art is just a short 29 block trek. On the 20th a very cool free public art exhibit will be opening where the public can get up close and personal with the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle at 59th and Broadway. It’s a tough ticket to get but I snagged three; my friends and I are visiting it in November. You can read about it here. I only intend to leave this place via the crematorium, but even after that I want my ashes spread over this island.
Oh, yeah, we share the same lack of working out schedule.
I’m totally working out with a bottle of Pinot Gris right now.
That’s a way to add tone to at least one arm.
Now I have had enough wine that I’m thinking, “Awww you’re in NY on the Upper West Side and you can hear NY. You have a cool life that seems not that cool to you but I love it!”
I have deep love for the opening scene of “Romancing the Stone” when she has finished her book and she drinks with her cat and it’s a nothing apartment in Portland that would go for $2 mil in NY.
That’s all. I’ll go work on my right arm again.
I saw Romancing the Stone 28 years ago so it’s not that fresh in my head, but about 12 years ago on a day when I ran into my ex, Voom, who had bailed on New York for Vermont, we took a walk in my neighborhood and we saw a beautiful boxer dog that I think might have been named Lucy. Voom wanted a boxer. The dog was very friendly, and we both like dogs a lot, so we were petting her. The owner had a very deep, sexy voice, and she observed, “She likes you two a lot.” Voom and I both looked up and saw ourselves face to face with Kathleen Turner. Two cool New Yorkers we don’t let on, but after we parted ways, we continued down the street and then we had our totally uncool, “Holy crap, we just had a moment with Kathleen Turner” freak out.
Keep me posted on the status of the tone in your right arm.
Lame,
I can see how this might be a crowd pleasing post, I’ll give you that… But come on… These are pretty fantastic small pieces of art, if you ask me… If you want to ask a clown for its opinion that is… Would you trust the opinion of a clown? You should. Clowns are people too.
Le Clown
Yes, I trust the opinion of a Le Clown and I know that clowns are people, too. They drive Le Cars.