Catching the Keys

Monier and I spent countless hours at Vittorio's studio working on the Rivercrane model. Every time we rang his buzzer the window above would open. Vittorio would peek his head out, and down would come the keys to his loft wrapped in yellow tracing paper to cushion the fall. As with most mundane things in life, Vittorio made it a challenge. I remember riding on the subway with him once and gesturing to him to take an open seat. He said, "No, thank you Jesse. I want to stand and practice my windsurfing skills." Sure enough, he stood with feet shoulder-width apart and proceed to "surf" the A-train, only grabbing the pole if he lost his balance. I myself took up this sport and still "surf" trains to this day (NOTE: Chicago trains are VERY hard compared to NYC). Catching the keys was no different. He always watched intently above from the window at who and how one caught the keys. Your first test before you even walked in the door. Over the months, we began to dread the "catch." Hiding in the doorway, so the other person would have to catch. God forbid you dropped the keys! I remember once when I stood silent (probably hung-over from last night) and reached out with one hand at the last possible moment and somehow caught the keys. I was greeted with the ever-ego-boosting, "Bravo, Jesse!" Tomorrow was another day; the opportunity to catch or miss what Vittorio dropped to us.