The girl and her set

The day started with a Zoom meeting of the Board of Sisters of the Road at 9 a.m. Should we move ahead to buy the building? I kept my mouth shut, as I have no idea. In the end, we decided that we need a real estate lawyer to examine the contract before we consider signing it; and we need 120 days, not the 90 days offered, for “due diligence,” (inspections, advice from construction people, time to develop an estimate of the cost of rehabilitating the building).

Then errands for neighbors in my building who are recovering from medical procedures; and after that, filing photos and moving them onto various storage devices. Tedious.

Finally, off to Bella’s school to make a photo of the set she designed and painted for the school play. Borrowed a wide-angle lens. It's her interpretation of the sea rolling endlessly behind the action. I arrived while the kids were on a rehearsal break, perfect timing. Introduced myself to the drama teacher, who saw the camera and said, “Oh, portfolio pictures, is it?” Yes, I said.

I thought about supposedly “equal” opportunity. When I was her age, I had never heard of a portfolio. I would never have dreamed of going to an art school. When I went to the guidance office, they asked me, “Teacher or nurse?” Those were the options for white girls aspiring to the middle class in 1963.  Slowly the world is changing. Bella hadn’t heard of a portfolio either, but her Baba is helping her to build one, just in case Bella feels called in that direction. There are more options now.

P.S. The sweatshirt she's wearing is Moore & Miller. Wes Moore is the first Black governor of Maryland, and Aruna Miller, his running mate, is the first Lieutenant governor of Indian descent. Cristina was working wardrobe backstage at their inauguration last week and brought Bella the sweatshirt.