14K WHITE GOLD BLACK DIAMOND RING

Dedicated in 1899,The Horse Tamers, by Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), flank the Park Circle Entrance of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Horse Tamers is an allegory of the Triumph of Mind over Brute Strength. The sculptures depict nude young men riding bareback on rearing, unbridled horses. To achieve their great dynamic energy, MacMonnies sculpted the horses after live Andalusian models.

(textures thanks to ghostbones and playingwithbrushes)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Fox and the Little Prince

it was then that the fox appeared.
"good morning" said the fox.

"good morning"
the little prince responded politely
altho when he turned around he saw nothing.

"I am right here" the voice said, "under the apple
tree."

"who are you?" asked the little prince, and added,

"You are very pretty to look at."

"I am a fox", the fox said.

"Come and play with me,"
proposed the little prince, "I am so unhappy."

"I cannot play with you," the fox said,
"I am not tamed."

"AH please excuse me,"said the little prince.
But after some thought, he added:
"what does that mean---'tame'?"

"you do not live here," said the fox,
"what is it you are looking for?"

"I am looking for men," said the little prince.
"What does that mean---tame?"

"Men,"said the fox,
"they have guns, and they hunt.
It is very disturbing.
They also raise chickens.
These are their only interests.
Are you looking for chickens?"

"No," said the little prince.
"I am looking for friends.
What does that mean---tame?"

"It is an act too often neglected,"
said the fox.
"It means to establish ties."

"To establish ties?"

"Just that," said the fox.
"to me, you are still nothing more than
a little boy who is just like
a hundred thousand other little boys.
And I have no need of you.
And you, on your part, have no need of me.
To you I am nothing more
than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world.
To you, I shall be unique in all the world. . ."

"I am beginning to understand,"
said the little prince.

"There is a flower. . .I think she has tamed me. . ."

"It is possible," said the fox.

"On earth one sees all sorts of things."

"Oh but this is not on the earth!"
said the little prince.

The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.
"On another planet?"

"Yes"

"Are there hunters on that planet?"

"No"

"Ah that's interesting! Are there chickens?"

"No"

"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.
But he came back to his idea.
"My life is very monotonous," he said.
"I hunt chickens; men hunt me.
All chickens are just alike,
and all the men are just alike.
And in consequence, I am a little bored.
But if you tame me,
it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life.
I shall know the sound of a step that will be
different from all the others.
Other steps send me hurrying back
underneath the ground.
Yours will call me, like music out of my burrow.
And then look:
you see the grain-fields down yonder?
I do not eat bread.
Wheat is of no use to me.
The wheat fields have nothing to say to me.
And that is sad.
But you have hair that is the color of gold.
Think how wonderful that will be
when you have tamed me!
The grain, which is also golden,
will bring me back the thought of you.
And I shall love to listen
to the wind in the wheat. . ."

The fox gazed at the little prince,
for a long time.
"Please---tame me!" he said.

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied.
"But I have not much time.
I have friends to discover,
and a great many things to understand."

"One only understands the things that one tames,"
said the fox.
" Men have no more time to understand anything.
They buy things all ready made at the shops.
But there is no shop anywhere
where one can buy friendship,
and so men have no friends any more.
If you want a friend, tame me. . ."

"What must I do, to tame you?
asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox.
First you will sit down
at a little distance from me
-like that-in the grass.
I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye,
and you will say nothing.
Words are the source of misunderstandings.
But you will sit a little closer to me,
every day..."

The next day the little prince came back.

"It would have been better to come back
at the same hour," said the fox.
"If for example, you came at four o'clock
in the afternoon,
then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy.
I shall feel happier and happier
as the hour advances.
At four o'clock,
I shall be

It was 11 years ago that we got married for one reason: to qualify for family graduate student housing at Berkeley.

We were relatively young. Not quite young enough that our fathers were sitting on the porch, shotguns in laps, while we announced the imminent birth of our illegitimate child. But still pretty young.

We had no interest in being married. We had lived together for two years before we got married and we were fine with that. No reason for any government-backed declaration of our commitment to each other. We were that kind of young. Fists-to-The-System kind of young.

Then she decided she was going to go to Berkeley for graduate school. We had no money and I was an English major, for Christ's sake, so I had no prospects, um, anywhere. But we got word -- hey, pssst! Married student housing. It rocks. You get a sweet place in Berkeley for cheap cheap cheap!

So, we drove to Jeweler's Row and picked up our two symbolic rings nearly at cost -- they were simply plopped on a scale and their value was determined by the current value of gold. It was a kick. It really drove home how silly a decision this was.

We had just graduated. We decided to take a little driving vacation and get married. We heard you could just show up and get married in Massachusetts. "Let's go there! Hey, let's get married on the 10th -- it will be easy to remember. I don't know why, it just will!"

We drove up to Rockport, popped in to the Town Clerk's office and then they hit us with the waiting period. It was going to be something like three-to-four days (I forget exactly) before we could actually get married after we filled out the paperwork. I don't even remember why. For nearly ten years we were confused about the date of our anniversary as a consequence.

So, we killed some time, drove around a little bit, and came back to Rockport on the 14th. We were given a suggestion of where to get married and scheduled the appointment with the Town Clerk. There was a torrential summer thunderstorm that ended just minutes before we were to get married outside on a bluff overlooking Bearskin Neck Cove. Because the rain had driven everyone else inside, the only other people to witness it were two kayakers down in the cove, and we only noticed them when we heard quiet clapping after the approximately two-minute long "ceremony".

I think it was $50 to perform the ceremony and he kicked back $20 when it was done so we could go have drinks.

The best part of the story? Oh, yeah, she decided not to go to Berkeley after all.

That was 11 years ago today.

And I'm still waiting to see Berkeley.