an emmy out the window

the view from our kitchen window is of our neighbor's living room window.

this will come as no surprise to any new yorker. views from new york apartments often include things like the building next door (and i mean next door), a stranger's fire escape, or homeless people.

if we knew the folks who live in the building next door, they would actually live close enough that we could reach out, knock on their window, and borrow a cup of sugar. we don't know them, so instead we go upstairs and to the right for sugar (thank you tim.)

in the morning, when i get up and make a pot of coffee, i can't help but look out and see the neighbor's window. often their blinds are closed. but once in a while they're open, and the beautiful morning sun is showering in (which is actually quite bright, but not direct; it's reflected off the windows of another building about half a block west of us.)

today, as i emptied out the remains of yesterday's pot, that reflected sunlight lit up something gold and shiny sitting tall on the neighbor's window sill.

it was an emmy award.

now, i certainly know people who have emmys. please. please. plenty of people. i'm friendly with award winners, don't kid yourself.

okay i know one person with an emmy. and he lives in milwaukee. my friend barry link, costume shop manager at the skylight theater, won an emmy years ago for his work with jim henson's muppets. and i've never actually been in the same room as barry's emmy.

so seeing an emmy out the window is, well, interesting at least. and it's so...on display. we've lived here for two years and i've never seen that damn emmy before. rob says the neighbors are new. i'm not sure about that. but it's as though the emmy was placed there especially for us to see. as if to say, "hello there, we have an emmy in case you were wondering."

i tried to take a picture of it this morning, but imagine getting caught at that. leaning over the kitchen counter, taking a picture of my neighbor's emmy through the window. aren't there laws against that? couldn't i end up in the clink or something?

i'll keep investigating. maybe it's someone famous who's moved in. cynthia nixon lives in our neighborhood. she has an emmy, doesn't she? and that rather tall, handsome actress who's really good and was in salt lake city when i was there...she lives around the corner i think.

i'll keep investigating.