Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Originally uploaded by Beth Doughty

Not too long ago I received this e-mail on Flickr:

Schmap East Coast Second Edition: Photo Inclusion
Hi Beth,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released second edition of our Schmap East Coast Guide:

Cathedral of St. John the Divine
www.schmap.com/eastcoast/churches/p=14259/i=14259.jpg

[snip]

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo – please enjoy the guide!

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

Ok, so everyone I know is a thousand times better at photography (I’d list them all, but I’d forget someone and then there would be hell to pay – so know that when I say “everyone” I mean in my finest Texas drawl “all y’all” and I’m guessing probably no one (including me) has ever heard of Schmap. This note, despite all of that, made my day for a couple of reasons:

1) I love almost all things Manhattan and this cathedral is one of my favorite stops. When I get those surveys from friends that ask “Name 5 places you’d like to be right now.” I always list “somewhere in Manhattan” (right after “sitting naked in front of the TV” because really… naked? Manhattan? one is a little cheaper (especially if no one can see you and there aren’t people around) Ok, I’m kidding about the naked. I just like the word “naked” and it’s funnier than “#1 – playing on my computer” that just seems lame) – ANYWAY – I don’t care whether I’m sitting in a cafe near Washington Square (because I couldn’t find a public restroom if the world depended on it and my best chance is to buy another drink at this place), shoving my way out of a subway car near Canal (warning: don’t look people in the eye – they go CRAZY – so I’m told) or winding my way around Midtown. Of course, I’d really just like to be walking around the Lower East Side dipping into shops, looking for movies to rent and watch at a friends and grabbing a slice of whatever Ray’s happens to be around the corner (Famous, Original, Son of Ray – it’s all good in a bad way). I’m pretty easy and there’s only so many times you can to Battery Park and say “wow, look at that water – it’s like looking at the Gulf of Mexico only this stuff looks cleaner”.

2) The picture. While *I* like the picture, I know it was taken with a disposable camera back in the day when my real camera was on loan and had been stolen from a friend’s house. Hey, it was cheap – the disposable camera, not my real camera – honestly, you people. AND the fact that on that picture are several ugly blue ink marks in the sky. You see, I had my New York pictures stacked for a long time and that ink represented some clever something written on the back of the picture in front of it. So, here’s this not so great quality picture with big ugly blemishes (that wink at me every time I look) and some how it made it into picture list.

(BTW, I also get goofy when people add my pictures to their “Favorites” list on Flickr. I tend to have one of those Sally Fields “you like me, you really do” moments. Hey, I thrive on praise. I need the extra validation – it’s an only child thing – not my fault really – genetically predisposed. You should see me get all atwitter when someone says “you don’t absolutely suck at writing” – it’s a tad disgusting. Of course, I’m easy, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Did I mention it’s the little things that can make my day?