Sunday, September 29, 2013

Is it a sign or a coincidence?

How many times have you thought about a person only to have the phone ring and that very person is on the other end? How often have you had a song pop into your head then turn on the radio and hear it playing? Or come across a bit of information that keeps crossing your path over and over? Is it a sign or is it a coincidence?

I never really believed in signs. Always the cynic, I tend to believe that the theory of probability is working in these instances. I lean towards the scientific explanation that signs are merely patterns that we are hard-wired to recognize. But something happened this week to cause me to question my skepticism.

I was at a complete loss as to where to next take my Hubert search when suddenly a light  bulb went off inside my head as I gazed at Hubert's distinctive signture. I had this crazy notion that maybe this signature could hold the key to information about Hubert's identity - information that perhaps a handwriting expert could unleash.

Immediately I went online to research handwriting experts and, as with everything Hubert related, this was not as easy as it sounds. I found scores of handwriting analysts, graphologists, and document examiners, but I had no idea who would be the most qualified advisor. I did find, coincidentally, an article posted about " A French Love Affair With Graphology." It seems that worldwide the use of handwriting analysis in the workforce is minimal EXCEPT in France where the last study done in 1991 found that 91% of French companies were utilizing handwriting analysis for job recruitment. Maybe the technique is so popular there because, again coincidentally, the study of handwriting originated in France by a French priest, Jean-Hipployte Michon. Yes, coincidences for sure that my Hubert search has continuously led me back to France but then again, my brain has been circuited to identify any and all data associated with Hubert. These coincidences were, unfortunately, all that I could zero in on while attempting to locate a reputable handwriting expert. This crazy notion of mine was going to require further investigation and a deeper dive into the world of graphology.

The very next day while at work I just happened to have a conversation with a lovely, bright, and articulate woman who has come into the office on occasion and with whom I've had brief but very pleasant exchanges. It turns out that this very lovely woman is a bona fide graphologist! What are the chances that a certified handwriting analyst should come into my life at the exact moment I was seeking one out? Am I seeing a sign where it doesn't exist? I don't think so. If something is too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence then it's not a coincidence - it must be a sign.  A sign of what? I'm not quite sure yet but perhaps when Hubert's signature is analyzed I'll have a better idea. Until then I'm convinced of the truth in William S. Burrough's words "In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen."

Monday, August 5, 2013

"A life isn't significant except for its impact on other lives." Jackie Robinson

When neighbors nearest my family's cabin in the woods recently moved it gave me pause. Although I can count the number of times I saw them in a year on both hands their move left me with an empty feeling and made me realize that our connection, although infrequent, was not insignificant. A good portion of the pleasure we've derived from our cabin over the years can be indirectly tied to the company of this lovely couple who provided warmth, support, and an oft-needed helping hand. We all know the important role that family and close friends play in our lives. But do we ever stop to think that perhaps in?significant others play a role just as important? These casual and sometimes fleeting acquaintances can touch and enrich our lives in powerful ways.

The role they play as in?significant others places them on the outer fringe of our lives as opposed to the inner circle that is inhabited by our family and close friends yet they are no less important. In?significant others are the supporting cast in the film of our life. People, for example, like my hairstylist who though I only visit quarterly is my sounding board for whatever problems are pressing at the moment and whose impartial advice I solicit - better and cheaper than a therapist. The retired man at my gym who always has a compliment despite the fact that I look like I just rolled out of bed (which I did.) The UPS deliveryman who carefully and considerately times the all too frequent shoe deliveries to my address when he knows my husband will not be around. My second-grade teacher, whose outwardly strict and austere manner belied her inner, well-hidden sweetness and dedication. I feigned stomachaches the entire year because she scared the heck out of me but she instilled in me a lifelong love for reading. The woman at the drive-in pharmacy with the dry sense of humor who hands me prescriptions with a laugh. The list goes on and on, too numerous to mention. In?significant others outnumber the significants yet we rarely give them a thought - that is until they've moved out of our lives.

No movement at all to report on the Hubert chase this month. I suppose I could call Hubert the ultimate in?significant other. He's certainly been an omnipotent presence despite the fact I've never met him nor have a clue as to who he is (or even if he is a "he".) His life may remain a mystery but he's definitely brought a dash of panache to mine - which just serves to illustrate how a seemingly in?significant artist can have a very significant impact...

Monday, June 3, 2013

"Lesson number one: Don't underestimate the other guy's greed." Scarface

This past month Chasing Hubert has yielded me not only a few lovely new acquisitions but a few new notions on greed as well. The dictionary defines greed as "excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions." One of the seven deadly sins, greed has been known to drive people to act in unethical, immoral, or illegal ways on a grand scale. But greed can rear its ugly head in small ways as well. Purchasing Huberts has always been affordable - in the world of art Hubert's work does not command high prices - but lately I've noticed that his etchings range in price anywhere from literally a few cents to a great deal of money. Now, I realize that sellers will charge as much as people are willing to pay - it's the demand-versus-supply principle. I also realize that this blog pretty much advertises my interest in these etchings which places me in the assumed willing to pay category. However, when I see Huberts listed at ridiculously exorbitant prices I can't help but wonder if certain sellers view me as an easy target, one who would be desperate enough to purchase them at any cost. My passion for Hubert while very strong does have its limits! I'm afraid greed doesn't pay, even relative to Hubert.

On the flip side, I suppose I can be accused of being greedy in my obsessive hunt for Hubert but I prefer to to believe that the motive behind my "rapacious desire" for Hubert's etchings is for the greater good, to benefit not only myself but all of Hubert's collectors out there seeking answers. Okay, maybe that sounds like a pontification but I do believe in sharing any inside information that comes my way. And so apparently do certain other Hubert collectors. Recently one in particular very generously and unselfishly emailed me to alert me about a particular etching that she owned which I admired that had popped up for sale (priced appropriately, I might add.) Thanks, Susan, for demonstrating what American writer Marc Estrain once succinctly stated "Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing."

Saturday, February 16, 2013

"Politeness is the flower of humanity." Joseph Joubert, French moralist

Is it my imagination or are we experiencing the decline of manners? It might sound terribly old-fashioned but I believe that common courtesy is a thing of the past. If you doubt my statement all you have to do is go to a crowded shopping mall for confirmation.

Last month I used my last vacation day to do my least favorite thing: Christmas shopping. I drove to the local mall early to avoid the onslaught of holiday shoppers. I pulled up to a prime parking space, signal on, after a kindly person walking past indicated he was vacating said space. I waited patiently as he backed out only to have a car speeding down the aisle in the wrong direction slip into my space. RUDE!

While browsing in the bookstore I tripped over a young man, headphones blasting and sprawled out on the floor reading, his backpack blocking the aisle directly in front of the book I was searching for. RUDE!

I was stalked by an aggressive salesperson in the department store, then followed by a shopper coveting the last size 7 pair of black boots I was carrying just waiting to pounce should I put them down for a nanosecond. Then I was cut in line at the register by a young woman oblivious to all except the person on the other end of her cell phone with whom she was having a very loud conversation. RUDE!

Tired of shopping and inconsiderateness, I met a friend for lunch in the cafe where our conversation was continually interrupted by a toddler allowed to toddle amongst the tables by a mother who obviously believed that every diner would find her child as adorable as she did. RUDE!

All this impoliteness in a mere two-hour span doesn't even begin to touch on the myriad etiquette faux pas that seem to be the rule nowadays rather than the exception. Other notable lapses in propriety include: forgoing the thank-you note; assuming that I want to hear you baring your soul on your cell phone in restaurants, movie theaters, stores, buses, and other public places; cleavage, cutoffs, pajama pants in inappropriate places such as church, school, or Grandma's 90th birthday party; poor table manners; critiquing and discussing the movie while watching the movie; cutting in line, cutting my car off on the highway, cutting me off in conversation; hanging up instead of apologizing for a wrong phone number; neglecting to use two basic phrases most of us learned before we could put together full sentences - please and thank you; any and all airline rudeness - screaming children, oversized suitcases stuffed into an overhead bin above MY seat, oversized passengers intruding in my space, seat mates who had garlic and curry for lunch, reclining your seat so my food tray is cutting off my windpipe; AND, last but not least, not responding to polite, heartfelt email inquiries about a certain unknown but engaging artist...

I did receive ONE response to the MANY emails I sent - from a very courteous curator at the Albertina Art Museum in Vienna, Austria who attached the above scan from the Thieme-Beckers' artist-dictionary in response to my inquiry about Albert C. Hubert. Although the info is in Austrian and has revealed no new information as far as Hubert's identity, I'm happy to report that manners are alive and thriving in Vienna...