In Pursuit of Cufflinks and the Like
January 24, 2006
It is terribly difficult to explain the comfort I find in hard case luggage when we live in an age of carry-on duffle bags. One will never be able to walk with any sort of panache while toting a collapsible canvas bag. I also advocate monogram linens and iced beverage spoons, but not in a Martha Stewart sort of way. I applaud argyle socks and side tab pants to a certain degree. And there is a definite bliss in a well worn pair of deck shoes. There is happiness in salvaged pine flooring that creaks when walked upon. Letter openers and fountain pens are also comfortable tools of civility and restraint. Both are so much better than ripping open mail and pushing against a ballpoint. My father, now aging into autumn, seems to always smell of sandalwood and sweet oranges. A fete I never fail to marvel at. The Florentines are masters of not only art but of a cup of coffee. I say yes to medium rare and robust Chiantis. I say never to white chocolate and double Windsor knots. Carmel-by-the-Sea, as well as Montauk and Cannon Beach are prettiest in April.
It is a constant struggle to slow the sands of time and dwell on what is important. I have never embraced the common or the ordinary. But rather indulge on the established and rare. I covet beauty and originality and age. I have an allegiance to forgotten times and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a marked trait that festers and slowly broods when I pass an IKEA store. My only outlet will be the antique store I hope to one day own. A place where I will happily live amongst tall clocks and highboys and Old Imari.
What I accomplish in my lifetime will be my legacy. Like a Patek Philippe, my ideas and values will stand the test of time. My family and offspring will hopefully appreciate my collage of the past and carry it forward. The forgotten aesthetics of life, the finer points of living, will be preserved like the antique corner hutch or the partners desk found in a place of prominence. What I convey to those around me is the admiration of an essence of being and the importance of things delicate. I suggest that life should be thought of as a flacon of Eau d’ Hermès; its beauty will never be realized if the wearer cradles it and only dabs it for special occasions.