Appreciation
Recently, I received an email from a very dear friend of Michael’s and she mentioned that she was thinking of him, especially this time of year, because he would be doing the Sugarloaf Show up in Pennsylvania and he often stayed with her family and they would help him to set up his display. I hadn’t thought much lately about the crazy fall schedule back at the the shop when Michael was traveling with his artwork up and down the east coast, doing shows and meeting with friends along the way. It was the kick off to the busiest of times at the little shop back in Eclipse. At the end of the shows, Michael, often with the help of some good people, would pack everything up and eventually come bounding back into our building, orders in hand and a van full of display pictures, stands and what was left of the stock and more often than not some sort of little gift for the staff. It might be some kind of baked goodies to share or a trinket of some sort, a book, a bar of soap, sometimes one for each of us, sometimes just for the one of us that he knew would especially appreciate that particular item. Once he brought me a leaf that was shaped like a heart. I still have it. I had been drawing hearts (in Illustrator) for one of his designs that we were working on and so I was the recipient of the heart-leaf.
In the year before he passed he would often look through boxes of knick knacks that he had collected and he would occasionally pick one up and reminisce about where he had found it, or who gave it to him. It could be a piece of pottery, a glass ornament, a tiny embroidered tapestry, a child’s crayon drawing, even a tiny tree branch shaped like a cross. My toddler son discovered and presented him with the cross shaped tree branch. It never occurred to Michael to dispose of the gift from the tiny person who gave it to him. He appreciated the gesture that much.
I don’t know what became of all of the knick knacks. I am sure some things are possessed by those who should have them. I have several things he gave to me over the years that I cherish…a rosary, a couple of pieces of pottery that I admired and an ostrich (maybe Emu) egg. I never really admired the egg but somehow I ended up with it. It makes me chuckle when I look at it, so maybe Michael knew something.
I do appreciate it. Thank you, MP.