found-art tuesday : in the going, and in the doing.

March 9, 2010 in Uncategorized

I've known Amy McCracken for a long time, my whole life, through these pages of 37days. She reads this blog, and sends me the most amazing letters in the mail. She is one of my favorite writers, and storytellers, in the whole wide world. The woman can write.

Last Wednesday night, I met her for the very first time.

I had a business trip to D.C.

Amy lives in Richmond.

Richmond is somewhat on the way to D.C. if you make it be so.

Amy's friend, Valerie McQueen, was my fantastic accomplice. It snowed six inches in Asheville the night before I was to go, and since six inches here is equal to ten-hundred-bajillion feet of snow plus pestilence plus mad cow disease plus the end of the world as we know it in almost any other city, I held out small hope I'd actually make it there.

I flew into Richmond early to make sure I could get there, took a cab to a hotel, and waited until time for dinner, just miles from Amy all afternoon. Then Valerie picked me up at the hotel and off we went in the rain, on an adventure.

Every "First Wednesday" of the month, Amy hosts a potluck dinner, bingo extravaganza, and handmade gift exchange. My business trip was to begin the first Thursday. Backing things up a day and adding a city to my itinerary seemed perfectly reasonable to me.

She was surprised. I met her fantastic friends, played Bingo and lost, caught her house on fire teaching Jennifer to make Jiffy Pop, and won the most beautiful loot from Katie in the gift exchange.

Was it worth the extra night away from home, the 4am wake up the next morning to get to DC for my meeting for which I wore heels and have now completely sworn off them for the REST OF MY LIFE? Yes, and yes, and yes some more. Deeply yes. Just as with the tiny ninjas, the trick is showing up.

This found-art Tuesday, the found-art is the going and in the doing. The art is showing up.

And even more, even so very much more, the art is creating a space that friends can rely on, come to, play in, know. Like Amy does every single month.

Make it be so.

[Kathryn Ruth Schuth aided and abetted with some fun envisioning of me and Amy in various guises. Thelma? Louise? Smile.]

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

10 comments to " found-art tuesday : in the going, and in the doing. "


Becky

March 9, 2010 AT 6:13PM

*heart* this. Glad you showed up. :)

kelly

March 9, 2010 AT 7:34PM

love this, so true!

frankyndwyer

March 9, 2010 AT 8:02PM

Awesome! wow, Kathryn Ruth Schuth is a real Photo Shop artist! And you are definitely Louise, Patti…smile :-)

Amy

March 9, 2010 AT 9:02PM

If I had known someone as wonderful and generous and ALIVE and beautiful as Patti Digh was only miles from me for HOURS on Wednesday afternoon (while I was at work, feeling overwhelmed and worried and small) I would have believed that everything was okay. Maybe we should ASSUME that someone like Patti (someone in our corner) is always close by. And act accordingly. Maybe we should. Because you never know. It could be true.

Lila

March 9, 2010 AT 10:13PM

Oh, My Patti, you are the goodest person I know, an angel, I’m so glad I know you and can claim you as my friend, oh writer of great books and do-er of good deeds (“where I come from we call them…uh…good deed do-ers.”)

Laura from Fargo

March 10, 2010 AT 1:35AM

Oh MY. I decided to comment to tell Patti how this beautiful post touched me so, how my smile is threatening to break my face and how the tears are rolling down my face, gracing my smile with recognition of love.

And then I read Amy’s comment … and now I welcome the hiccups, as well.

Thank you, each, for sharing yourselves with one another and with the world at large.

Peggy

March 10, 2010 AT 2:29AM

You’re right – – – I’m learning that art is simply showing up and doing it. Regularity results in results. Practice makes perfect – or at least, acceptable art. I get bogged down in and overwhelmed with gear, supplies, waiting for the right moment/day/arena in which to do art.
I just need to do it! Quantity breeds quality.

Carrie Turner

March 10, 2010 AT 8:37AM

What a sweet and wonderful story! It led me to many other wonderful links that led to me postponing getting started on other tasks for a little soul-enriching task instead.

One of my closest friends lives in Michigan and we are now over 700 miles apart. For 5 years, we kept in touch entirely via email and letter-writing, like a modern-day version of Victorian women writing love letters to one another. When we saw each other again at her wedding 8 years ago, we found that our friendship was as close as ever in spite of the distance. There are certain people with whom our connections can’t be broken by time, space, distance, or anything else, and that is truly special indeed. Thanks so much for sharing!

Kathryn Ruth

March 10, 2010 AT 10:31AM

three hip hip hoorays for the elaborate gesture. showing up is all.

Janey Davis

March 11, 2010 AT 2:12AM

this hit me where it counts, as I sit at the computer at 2:00a.m.( an hour I usually don’t see) I have spent my whole life “showing up” for other people. Today I learned that I do not show up for me. Today I got word that my amazing
Australian pen pal of over 40 years, has died. I always meant to visit her…..someday. I have spent 40 years planning for a surprise visit that will never take place, a someday that will never come. I failed to show up, to buy the ticket to arrive at her door. Someday I will write a book, take art classes, travel . Whatever that someday is, I will show up, for me.