I saw her today and introduced myself. I asked her name she said “my name is unimportant.“
I joked that I thought that might be her name. Then she told me her name is Wilhelmina. She ignores people who call her Willy.
She’s at least 90. She talked about her father successfully hiding Jews from the nazis in WW11. She’s a Research scientist from Germany. She says she got bent over because of all the work she does at time landscape. She said she never met the artist… that he never came there again after starting it. she goes twice a day to give the birds water (in those big gallon containers) but has a fire hydrant key to water the plants(?). She told me that her brother Wilhelm came home from a Soviet union prisoner of war camp, naked and starving but survived and her other 3 brothers came back later and as soon as they ate food, they died “of food poisoning” due to being fed too much protein too soon after starvation. She hates Putin. She wants to cut him slowly tortuously into a little bits. She was a scientist in Paris and really didn’t want to come to “this country” but a professor at Berkeley begged her to come work with him. Then he moved to NYU and she came to work with him here probably in the 50s. She also worked for roche labs in Nutley and still does her banking in Nutley. She’s going there tomorrow.
I had to bend down to her level to hear her as we were stuck on a corner with a lot of noisy trucks, passing by and it was very hard to hear her, even though she spoke quite clearly and loud enough to be heard under normal circumstances. She said she never wanted a computer because she had to save her eyes for the electron microscope and described why but I really couldn’t understand that part
We talked for a good 15 minutes and she’s looking forward to seeing me again
I live in Soho and have seen the Time Landscape before but didn't know its story. I'm planning to make an intentional walk (not to Philly - bless you) but to see this space. Thanks for the inspiration.
And have you noticed the many gallon plastic jugs of water in Time Landscape? I often see a very bent over old woman wheeling them there and hand watering the landscape.
I'm very curious to know that old woman's story. I've seen her a couple times during my visits.
I haven't read The Odd Woman and The City, but I'm a Vivian Gornick fan. Thanks for the rec. I'm currently reading her book on writing called The Situation and the Story.
I saw her today and introduced myself. I asked her name she said “my name is unimportant.“
I joked that I thought that might be her name. Then she told me her name is Wilhelmina. She ignores people who call her Willy.
She’s at least 90. She talked about her father successfully hiding Jews from the nazis in WW11. She’s a Research scientist from Germany. She says she got bent over because of all the work she does at time landscape. She said she never met the artist… that he never came there again after starting it. she goes twice a day to give the birds water (in those big gallon containers) but has a fire hydrant key to water the plants(?). She told me that her brother Wilhelm came home from a Soviet union prisoner of war camp, naked and starving but survived and her other 3 brothers came back later and as soon as they ate food, they died “of food poisoning” due to being fed too much protein too soon after starvation. She hates Putin. She wants to cut him slowly tortuously into a little bits. She was a scientist in Paris and really didn’t want to come to “this country” but a professor at Berkeley begged her to come work with him. Then he moved to NYU and she came to work with him here probably in the 50s. She also worked for roche labs in Nutley and still does her banking in Nutley. She’s going there tomorrow.
I had to bend down to her level to hear her as we were stuck on a corner with a lot of noisy trucks, passing by and it was very hard to hear her, even though she spoke quite clearly and loud enough to be heard under normal circumstances. She said she never wanted a computer because she had to save her eyes for the electron microscope and described why but I really couldn’t understand that part
We talked for a good 15 minutes and she’s looking forward to seeing me again
Incredible story! I saw her the other day, but still have yet to introduce myself. Thanks for sharing
Yes. She’s quite an interesting person. I think there are lots more stories in her.
I live in Soho and have seen the Time Landscape before but didn't know its story. I'm planning to make an intentional walk (not to Philly - bless you) but to see this space. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for reading!
Next time I see her I might ask her what her relationship to the Time Landscape is.
I’ve never read Vivian Gornick before. Next I’ll have to read The Situation and the Story!
And have you noticed the many gallon plastic jugs of water in Time Landscape? I often see a very bent over old woman wheeling them there and hand watering the landscape.
I'm very curious to know that old woman's story. I've seen her a couple times during my visits.
I haven't read The Odd Woman and The City, but I'm a Vivian Gornick fan. Thanks for the rec. I'm currently reading her book on writing called The Situation and the Story.
Have you read The Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick? A lot about walking in NYC