Inventive
too. Also fecund. Go onto her web page, and you’ll see (http://www.candychang.com).
And she
fills me with envy! Why can’t I think of stuff like that? She’s out there in
the community doing these goofy projects, but they’re wonderful. She’s
stenciling “this would be a nice place for a tree” on barren sidewalks—tremendous
idea, one we could use in Puerto Rico, which has major tree phobia.
Or what
about putting the little red and white adhesive name tags—the kind that say “Hello! My name is _______”—on abandoned
buildings? Only hers say “I wish this was a __________.”
But my
favorite?
Before I
die.
Here’s a
building I’ve actually seen.
Unless I’m wrong, it’s Fredericksburg, St. Croix. But
following Candy’s lead in New Orleans (where the project started), it became
this.
Well, Candy
suffered a personal loss—know that one!—and decided that most people don’t think
about the important stuff. What, she wondered, do I want to do or see before I
die? And why did it take a major loss to force her to the question?
Shouldn’t
we all be thinking that?
So she
created a stencil—wow, that girl is a dab hand (hi, Franny!)—with the E-xacto
knife!
As you can
see, it took off.
And it
comes in Spanish, too!
It’s
totally neat.
So here’s
what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna send this to my friend Sonia (Nick has an
abandoned house in Old San Juan) with the message…
…Let’s do
it!
Oh, and my
three wishes?
1.
finally see
Harry.
2.
watch Helen
Mirren in the role of Franny in the film version of Life, Death and Iguanas.
3.
attend the
trial in the Hague of George W. Bush for crimes against humanity!
