December Light in Miami

As I drove up Ludlam Road today, on the way to meet my old LI friend Kenny for lunch, I was struck by the pure, golden, beautiful light.

Years ago, I read a book about Miami by David Rieff, and he spoke about how even average buildings in our town look majestic in the amazing light, and also why more and more movies and tv shows are shot here.

It's true, I thought. Especially on a dry, cool, December day, no place is more gorgeous.

The best light on LI, where Ken and I grew up, was during a cold, clear, winter's day. I remember once in high school we had a major ice storm one evening, and walking home the next afternoon from school all of the tree branches and trunks were covered in a layer of clear ice, which slowly melted. It was as if someone had added flood lights to the day. It must have been, oh, '77 or '78, and I still recall the way it looked.

Speaking of light, and vision, last night D1 and her friend Alyssa and I went to the grand opening of Art Basel, on Miami Beach. Our neighbor is an exec on the board, and sent us passes to the VIP opening. Wifey begged off, following a day of errands, but I got to go.

What a scene! We were definitely not in suburbia anymore, as we watched the international glamour and art folks mill about, looking at the absurdly expensive pieces.

D1 noticed a painting which we have in our house. Of course, we have a mere poster of the Botero, but hanging there was the original, from 1982. We didn't ask, but I'm guessing it cost in the millions...

We saw about 1/2 the exhibits, and then admitted to ourselves that we cared more about food than art. The only thing sold at the fair was overpriced sandwiches, so we left and headed to Lincoln Road. On the way, we saw one of the most colorful, literally, puppies. We stopped to talk with its owner, who told us it was some rare mixed breed from Louisiana.

I was skeptical --I thought it was a blue tick hound, like the U Tennessee mascot, but later in the evening D1 sent me a web site about this unusual cur --named Amadeus.

Alyssa took us to a great salad and pizza place, where she and D1 shared a salad and pizza, and I had an antipasto.

They were lovely company -- talking about grad school, and careers, and siblings, and life --all with the vitality of 23 year olds.

I dropped them off a happy man. I mean, I was the happy man --I didn't deliver any to them.

So Kenny and I met at Shorty's, and I bought him lunch in honor of his joining the 50 club. Ken still has high school and middle school aged boys, so he has another 1/2 decade before he's an empty nester.

I drove home with the sun roof open, and that amazing December light streaming in. This time of year, there's no finer place to be.