KOSOVO

 

CHAPTER Three

It was after three in the afternoon when Marc finally came in from the studio to fix himself lunch. Turning on the television, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out what was left of the ham and bread. He threw together a sandwich and sat down in front of the television. Flipping through the channels, he landed on a program from the Smithsonian, a tour of the White House Ceramics Collection. As he watched and ate, he saw some truly beautiful work. Here was a pitcher that looked as if it was strutting across the table, then a set of covered jars that looked as if they were two-dimensional. He also felt, however, that most of the work featured was on an even par with his own, or worse. "By all rights, that should be my vase right there," he said of a plain blue vase with a simple neck and handles.

The commentator described the process of building the collection. Some pieces had been gifts, some purchases, some left to the country by wealthy collectors. She then explained that those currently on exhibit were only a portion of the entire collection, works were lent out to museums and libraries, and some were stored and rotated through the various exhibitions. "They probably don't even know how many pieces they have," he thought to himself. Marc swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, killed the television, and returned to work.

"Did you see that thing on TV from the Smithsonian" he asked Randy later as they were firing some planters at his place.

"No," Randy answered. "What were they showing, the Wright brothers plane?"

"They toured the White House collection of pottery. They showed some pretty cool work."

"Was it actually at the White House?" Randy asked as he bent to check the flame on the kiln.

"What they were showing was, but a lot of it gets lent out and traded around. They said a lot of the pieces were gifts."

"Yeah? So?"

"So I was thinking of sending the president a gift."

Randy mulled this over for a moment. "If that's all there was to it, that collection would be huge."

"It is huge, Rand. They probably have pots they've never even seen. What would they do, throw it out? Send 'em a nice vase or something and they toss it?"

"You should do it," Randy said thoughtfully. "What's the worse that could happen? Maybe it gets returned."

"Or maybe the shipping goons shatter it like the one that went to New York." Marc thought for a moment. "I'm gonna do it, Rand. I've got those three I made as replacements, and that one with the green flashing came out pretty cool. They'd have to keep it. That glaze turned out killer."

 

b c b

 

Dear Mr. President,

I have long admired your ability to make decent, moral decisions under pressure, and I feel the bombing in Kosovo was another splendid example of that prowess. Your speech to the nation the other day left me with goosebumps, and I am proud to be an American. You really hit the nail right on the head, Mr. President, and I'm grateful that you're in charge.

As a symbol of my gratitude, please accept this vase as a gift. I am just a small-time potter, Mr. President, but even if I had money I wouldn't know what to buy for the man that has everything.  My family has had some things to say about you sir, but I tell them that they 're dead wrong. You're a fine man and a great leader. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Marc Gorman

Marc read the letter again after he printed it out, then put it in the envelope and sealed it up. The vase was wrapped in bubble-wrap, surrounded by packing peanuts in a double-wall box, and that was surrounded by bubble-wrap and placed in a larger box, also double-walled. They could drop-kick this one, he thought to himself. He put the envelope into the box and taped it up.

He paused as he wrote out the shipping label. He was actually sending one of his pots to the President of the United States, hopefully to be included in the White House Ceramics Collection. He almost did have goosebumps. He carried the box down the hall and set it on the table.

Randy came in a few minutes later and looked quizzically at the box sitting next to the television.

"I thought you said they didn't match close enough. Which one did you choose?"

"No, Rand. It's not going to New York. Look at the label."

"You're really going to do it?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not? How do I know this isn't how half of those pieces got into the White House Collection?"

"Could be. I'm on my way into town now; you want me to drop it off?"

"Yeah, thanks Rand. I wasn't going to do it until tomorrow, but if it sits around here I might lose my nerve."

"No problem," Randy said, as he hefted the box. "You charging the president for shipping?"

"No, let me grab some cash" Marc said as he went down the hall toward his bedroom. "Thanks again, Rand."

"No problem."

 

(c) 2002  Jon Lovejoy