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This scene is beautifullâ€
Thereâs a running joke among people who know me personally that I unwittingly go out in public with a sign on my forehead stating âI Am Non-Threatening. Come Talk To Me.â Because if thereâs a chance a bizarre conversation with a total stranger is going to happen, Iâm typically the person it happens to.
Some context: I have been pretty darn sick this week. (Itâs not Coronavirus, donât worry.) Since the work in my queue for my day job is comprised entirely of audio narration right now, and I currently sound like a waterlogged Demi Moore, I havenât been able to work these last couple of days. As a result, Iâve been using my down time to knock out as much of Manuâs redesign as possible. Today, to ensure I didnât spend the day languishing in sinus misery, I medicated the crap out of myself and took Manu to the Starbucks down the block from my sonâs day care.
I hit the bathroom, then picked an empty table, but as soon as I sat down with my venti Comfort Tea and started tweaking the inks on my iPad, I felt the eyes of the man next to me looking over my shoulder.
When I looked up, he had his phone out. âIâm sorry,â he said (in a thick accent I couldnât place geographically), âI donât want to disturb. I notice you art. You are artist!â
I tried to smile. âYes, Iâm... Well, Iâm trying to be,â I croaked.
He leaned in, like he was sharing a secret.
âI am artist, too.â
He stuck out his hand.
I gently took it, grateful for the bathroom trip I just took in which I washed the scourge off of my fingers.
âCan I?â he asked, holding his phone up.
âTake a picture? Uh... sure,â I said. Itâs not like he would be able to steal Manu out from under me or anything, I figured. The panel I was tweaking was magnified out to Guam.
âI am artist. Architect and Designer,â he clarified while he steadied his phone over my iPad. âI am Ilker. What is your name?â
âIâm Venessaâ I said, trying to be polite. This, I thought warily, is precisely how I get myself into trouble. Iâm too damn nice.
âYou know, I come to America twenty years ago from Turkey...â
I put down my stylus. This was going to be a while.
âI like Turkey,â he explained. âI like the country and I like the people. But I am artist. I am not... religious man.â
I nodded.
âI told my wife I was going to go to America and she said, âwhat are you going to do? You donât have job! You donât have money! No Visa!â And I said, âI am artist and architect. I will paint and sell my paintings.
âSo I come to America alone. To New York City. I sit outside, and I paint. And people, they liked my paintings. They bought them. This one for $30, that one for $50.
âOne day, a man comes over to me and he say, âI like your painting. I see you are also architect.â And he gives me his number and asks me to go to meeting at his office. Because he wants to offer me a job. He starts to talk about a building contract.
âI tell him I donât know anything about contracts. I have no Visa. I am not American citizen. But he says, âThatâs okay. I will take care of everything. You will have nothing to worry about.â And this man, he gave me a job. $173,000 a year. And my wife, he gave her a job too. She was project assistant. I bring her and my two daughters over from Turkey.â
âWow,â I said, not fully believing the veracity of what sounded like a full-on immigration fairy tale.
âHere,â said Ilker, unlocking his phone and opening up his Facebook app. âI show you my work.â He paused and looked up at me. âI am interrupting. You donât mind?â
At this point, I was invested. I had to see. Because whatever he was about to show me would either prove or disprove this yarn he was spinning. âPlease,â I said, gesturing for him to go ahead.
He opened his photos and my jaw dropped. His work... was UNREAL.
âThis is building I designed on Madison Ave.... And this one in Chelsea...â
Holy crap. I had just been to Chelsea with my sister last month on a trip to see a broadway show. I had crossed the intersection of the building he was, at this moment, telling me he designed.
He flipped through more buildings. These, heâd designed in Washington, DC. In Bethesda. In Arlington. All beautiful, streamlined, modern structures I had visited and parked my car in front of. He told me he did much of his concept work freehand. That he worked exclusively in natural media. His preferred media was pen, ink, watercolors, and chalks.
Between photos of his wife and daughters, he went on to show me photos from the RUSSIAN EXHIBITION OF HIS ARCHITECTURE ARTWORK.
Yâall, I was stunned. I couldnât believe the talent I was sitting next to. Scattered among these gloriously rendered images of some of the most beautiful building concepts Iâd ever seen were paintings of scenes in Central Park, the National Mall, and nudes from a life-drawing session he attends from time to time.
When he was done flipping through his phone, he looked at me and smiled. âI hope you donât mind that I interrupt you. I show you all this because what you are doing is very good. And you should be encouraged. To draw is to make beauty.â
I nodded, a lump in my throat. âThank you,â I managed. âYour work is astonishing. I donât even know what to say. What is your name again?â
He held out his hand once more. âIlker Kocahan,â he said. âI am getting more coffee. Can I get you one?â
I looked at my still-full venti cup. âNo thank you. But here, please take my card.â
He held my dinky business card like Iâd handed him a treasure and thanked me.
Then Ilker got his coffee, and left the coffee shop.
At some point in his ramblings he talked about America as a place of dreams. How he credits this country with helping him rise to the top of his field where he is now able to sell his paintings for $800-$1000 a piece now that heâs retired. My heart ached to hear him talk about that, knowing how our leadershipâs positions on immigrants have taken such a dark and horrifying turn.
Imagine the buildings and museums and public places that would never have been if a business man in the park hadnât lifted up a Turkish painter who spoke little English.
And now that painter was paying it forward on me.
I still feel pretty darn sick. Iâve still got body aches and a nose that has taken the rest of my face hostage.
But today was a really good day. And I just wanted to share it with you in case you are looking for reasons to keep drawing/painting/dancing/writing. It all counts and it is all good.
If you would like to see Ilker Kocohanâs work, please click here.
I am here as a listening earđđ¶
Can we please stop associating being a good person with how much youâre willing to suffer in silence for other people? You can be a kind person and still say âno, I donât have the time/energy to help you with that.â You can be a kind person and still say âthis makes me uncomfortable, please stop.â You can be a kind person and still say âI disagree and hereâs why.â You can be kind and still say âIâm not okay with this.â Being kind is about treating people with kindness and respect, not about being the human equivalent of a doormat!
Vahh,these are so cute!!!!!
(Iâm kidding, lol. Iâm glad people are still enjoying them even after Halloween) If you use any of these, please reblog so this post can reach more people! :)
May the 10 of Pentacles bless your account with more money than you can spend. đ”âš
Everyone who is following me,liking the post on my dash or reblogging them and sharing their opinions i see you i love you i cherish youđâŁ
your condom breaks
you feel a lump on your breast
your friends are ignoring you
youâre stranded on an islandÂ
you got rejected by a crush
you get into a car accident
you got stung by a bee/wasp
you got fired from your job
youâre in an earthquake
your tattoo gets infected
your house is on fire
youâre lost in the woods
you get arrested abroad
you get robbed
your partner cheated on you
youâre on a ship thatâs sinking
you fall into ice
youâre stuck in an elevator
you hit a deer with your car
you have food poisoning
your pet passed away
you fall off of a horse
you or your friend has alcohol poisoning
you have toxic shock syndrome
your house has a gas leak
But somehow itâs always mommyâs fault for not loving him, or the wife for not satisfying him, or the pretty girl for rejecting him. Why are we always the scapegoat for sick men to blame their bullshit on?!
Montana from AHS 1984 preaching the truth
Hi!I please use Elethea or Elethiea to adress me.And i hope you are fine.Welcome to my rant i am really sorry if i offend anyone with my rants but this is me.If you want you can rant with me i am just a new little rant blog...
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