We visited my friend Bob Benson on New Year’s Day. He sometimes hosts a small gathering – we missed last year due to my having COVID.
Bob’s home is a wonder. He lives in an A frame style house that he built sometime in the 1960’s. Every wall is adorned with art. Behind the house is an underground greenhouse, in which he used to grow his prize winning orchids.
Next to the green house is a mirror house, with an interior completely covered in mirrors.
Bob is (among other things) a former classical music radio announcer, and he has a surround sound system that is jaw dropping and, at times, bone rattling. He doesn’t remember this, but we met once in the early 1990’s when he worked at 88.1 WJHU. I was a music buyer for Towson’s An Die Musik, and he had invested in the store. Anyway, Bob has an encyclopedic knowledge of recorded music, and the most impressive collection of classical recordings I’ve ever seen.
There are mirror trees, mirror sculptures, and mirror structures hanging from many places. When the sun is shining and a breeze is blowing, his place is covered with happy bits of light, like a disco.
We’ve been friends for over a decade, and I’ve spent many hours at his house. Bob is an artist with a capital A, and his home is an extension of his artistry. I can feel it when I’m there. And his artistry has made our house a happier place. He has given me a mirror tree of my own, and lots of hanging flashies.
As I was catching up with him in this wonderland, Bob looked at me and asked me “Are you happy?” There was a kind of urgency in the question.
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “Yes, I am.”
Bob then asked Beverly about her creative pursuits, and pointed out how important it is to cultivate some form of artistic expression. He urged us both to keep pursuing our artistic work, and expressed a sadness for people who do have this in their lives.
“Some people just watch TV.”
It was a powerful message to receive on New Year’s Day, and it’s not lost on me. I am sooooooo grateful to be an artist, and surrounded by artist friends, my artist kids, and living in my artist home with my artist wife.
Thank you, Bob. Happy New Year.
