Jaci Dawn

Yes, I work in a cubicle. It’s a far cry better than sitting at an open reception desk, answering phones and greeting people. And it isn’t quite as nice as a private office.

For one thing, I have this print hanging along one wall of my cubicle:

That print was a yard sale steal: fifty cents. It was in this frame, covered in dust and slightly water-damaged in the lower right hand corner. Original frame, so I never took the print out to iron it. Maybe one day I will. (If you ever have a print that curls up like that, remember this: you can put the paper between two towels and steam the wrinkle out with an iron set on medium.)

The artist was Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914). From left to right: “Night with her Trail of Stars and Her Great Gift of Sleep”, “Mid-summer’s Eve”, and “Twillight Fantasies”.

“Night” was painted in 1912. “Mid-summer’s Eve” was painted in 1908 and “Twillight” was done in 1911, all toward the end of Hughes’ life.

I look at that frame and think, “Fifty cents. Some poor dolt sold that for fifty cents.” I just can’t imagine what they were thinking.

(But that’s why we go to yard sales, right: to pick up the treasures other people discard!)