SJ ROZAN

I don't know if you know about the Floating Island. It's an art project conceived by Robert Smithson thirty years ago and finally realized this week, for just a week. It consists of ten trees, some shrubs and grasses, and a few rocks, all native to this area, planted on a barge and being pulled by a tug along the East and Hudson rivers, around Manhattan. So I was wondering how to see the thing. It has a schedule, but it's very tentative, because of river traffic, tides, etc. I though maybe I'd go down to the river this afternoon for a few hours, with something to read, in case it chugged by.

But when I got to the river this morning with my regular cup of tea, there it was, floating into view. It being fall, one of the trees is turning, one is bare and two more are losing their leaves. The grasses were all waving and the sun gleamed through the branches. The tug -- the Rachel Marie, in case you were wondering -- pulled the thing into the little cove where I sit and turned it around for us to admire, before moving on to the next cove.

So I'm sitting there thinking how funny it is to see trees floating along behind the pointed tent and its pier, when a big commotion happens in the river not ten feet from me. It's the young cormorant, just come up from fishing, trying with a lot of flapping to dry his wings without leaving the water. He's looking pretty silly, the way cormorants do, and I'm watching him, when overhead, flying low, comes a small plane, the kind with wings at right angles and landing gear that doesn't retract. It's towing a banner that says "NY Welcomes CentralPark.com! Good Luck!" What this meant, I had no idea, though I've since been and checked out that site, and it seems to be a new guide to activities in the park.

So trees are floating in the water, and a cross-eyed cormorant is making a big noise and a lot of splashing, and a plane is swooping around with an incomprehensible banner. And then behind me comes, at quite a good clip, a Parks Department Enforcement Officer riding the PD's new experimental vehicle -- a Segway!

Honestly, how am I expected to get any serious work done today?

I'm a writer, publishing both as SJ Rozan and, with Carlos Dews, as Sam Cabot. (I'm Sam, he's Cabot.) Here you can find links to my almost-daily blog posts, including the Saturday haiku I've been doing for years. BUT the blog itself has moved to my website. If you go on over there you can subscribe and you'll never miss a post. (Miss a post! A scary thought!) Also, I'll be teaching a writing workshop in Italy this summer -- come join us!
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (7) Share on Facebook		2005-09-22 10:27 AM Oh, the river! I don't know if you know about the Floating Island. It's an art project conceived by Robert Smithson thirty years ago and finally realized this week, for just a week. It consists of ten trees, some shrubs and grasses, and a few rocks, all native to this area, planted on a barge and being pulled by a tug along the East and Hudson rivers, around Manhattan. So I was wondering how to see the thing. It has a schedule, but it's very tentative, because of river traffic, tides, etc. I though maybe I'd go down to the river this afternoon for a few hours, with something to read, in case it chugged by. But when I got to the river this morning with my regular cup of tea, there it was, floating into view. It being fall, one of the trees is turning, one is bare and two more are losing their leaves. The grasses were all waving and the sun gleamed through the branches. The tug -- the Rachel Marie, in case you were wondering -- pulled the thing into the little cove where I sit and turned it around for us to admire, before moving on to the next cove. So I'm sitting there thinking how funny it is to see trees floating along behind the pointed tent and its pier, when a big commotion happens in the river not ten feet from me. It's the young cormorant, just come up from fishing, trying with a lot of flapping to dry his wings without leaving the water. He's looking pretty silly, the way cormorants do, and I'm watching him, when overhead, flying low, comes a small plane, the kind with wings at right angles and landing gear that doesn't retract. It's towing a banner that says "NY Welcomes CentralPark.com! Good Luck!" What this meant, I had no idea, though I've since been and checked out that site, and it seems to be a new guide to activities in the park. So trees are floating in the water, and a cross-eyed cormorant is making a big noise and a lot of splashing, and a plane is swooping around with an incomprehensible banner. And then behind me comes, at quite a good clip, a Parks Department Enforcement Officer riding the PD's new experimental vehicle -- a Segway! Honestly, how am I expected to get any serious work done today? Read/Post Comments (7) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top