August 03, 2006
I am working on a deadline for the next ten days. During this time I have decided to reprint some of my favorite memories:
The Hands of Time
Today I had the distinct privilege of painting on a one hundred year-old canvas. It was an incredible and memorable experience. This antique canvas imparted some of the most inspiring tales and truths I have ever heard. Actually, it’s the first time a canvas has ever spoken to me. (In spirit, many canvases have whispered ideas to me, but this was different.) To tell you the truth, it’s the first time I have ever painted on a canvas that was actually alive.
The canvas was Bess Wilson (a one hundred year-old friend of our family who lives at a retirement home here in Austin) and I was painting her fingernails during a visit today. (By calling Bess a canvas, I am not inferring that Bess has rough skin, on the contrary, she is the quintessential Oil of Olay girl. You can see by the picture taken on her one-hundredth birthday.)
The way it happened was quite sweet really. Her nails were in bad shape and she needed them painted. I volunteered. Hey, painting is painting, right? I have never painted nails before, but I love to learn new painting techniques, so I painted Bess’s nails while she spoke about her life.
What an honor to hold her bony, soft, loving, fingers and paint the nails on hands that have seen one hundred years go by.
Hands that have been wrung for the death of two husbands and her only son.
Hands that held the wheel of a Model T. Ford.
Hands that begged for scraps during the depression.
Hands that bled while picking cotton in Alabama.
Hands that held an amazing new invention called a transistor radio.
Hands that held a stillborn child.
Hands that prayed during World War One, World War Two, The Korean War, Vietnam, the death of President Kennedy and the fall of the World Trade Center.
Hands that ache to be comforted by other hands.
Hands that clasped my hands today and made me appreciate how far a little love can go.
Bess passed away this week. My her dear old soul rest in peace. I love you Bess Wilson!
Posted by trevor at August 3, 2006 06:01 PM