PATTI SMITH DREAMS IN BLACK AND WHITE

“The last thing I packed in my aged Subaru before driving from Southern California to Phoenix, Arizona, on the morning of November 9, 2016 was my Polaroid 210 Land Camera in its original, inelegant gray case with the too-short brown plastic strap.

The 1967 camera, which I bought last year on eBay for $13, is one of my prized possessions. It reminds me of Patti Smith, the punk poet-iconoclast, who has made ethereal, often haunting images with a similar model for much of her life.

And Patti Smith reminds me to be brave, curious, true, and present; to pay attention, linger, and not give a shit about anyone else’s expectations, fears, or projections about who, how, or what I should be. She reminds me to wander and dream the way we used to when we were children when dreams were everything, in and of themselves, and not a means to an end, or an ersatz roadmap for the future.” – Cathleen Falsani on perceiving the moment, in Issue #2 of The Porch, available here to subscribers; or just click here if you want to subscribe.