Whew, That Was a Close One

And to think I almost didn't go out to lunch today. And if I hadn't, I would have missed meeting the reason we have the Indian Garden Pavilion . But wait, there's more; I'd have missed seeing a horse pull over a scofflaw.

A friend messaged me during breakfast (made without the benefit of a stove since I had no gas due to the endless repairs still ripping up my street daily. It was my very first microwaved breakfast and hopefully my last) asking if I wanted to have lunch at Garnett's.

I didn't immediately respond because my game plan for today was set: get some work done and then maybe some housekeeping since I've been too busy lately to bother. But as noon was approaching, the thought of company was just too appealing and I caved. Lunch was on.

Garnett's was mobbed despite street repairs making it a royal pain to get anywhere near the place. Friend was already there and I wasted no time in jumping into conversation. She always has news and for a change so did I.

Looking for something new, I decided to try the farm salad with romaine, Cheddar, apples, bacon and apple cider vinaigrette. Cheddar, apples and bacon, now there's a triumvirate of flavors meant to be savored together.

While friend was otherwise occupied, a guy sat down in the stool next to me and mentioned that he hadn't been to Garnett's in months. Once he gave me the opening, I had to run with it. He looked like an interesting guy and I would have bet money that he worked in an arts-related field.

It was better than I could have hoped for. He is a former sculptor who now restores art, mostly sculpture. Today he was working over at Maymont restoring a lion's finish where countless hands have rubbed the finish away.

His is the company that restored the Indian Garden Pavilion at the VMFA. That 19th century white marble pavilion is easily one of the most beautiful and arresting large pieces in the museum.

He told me of how he originally saw the pavilion piled in pieces and "crumbled like Saltines." It took five years of painstaking work to make it whole again and thinking back to having seen its magnificence just last month during Fine Arts and Flowers, I was awed to be talking to the man who had had a hand in such a monumental task.

I could have talked to him about nothing else but that project (career-defining, I would think), but put my selfishness aside. We talked about the original culture shock of moving to RVA, me from DC and him from NYC. He told me about a little French restaurant he'd recently found in Washington and asked me for restaurant recommendations here.

Eventually I went back to talking to my friend because she hadn't heard my news, and as part of the catalyst for my change of heart, she needed to know. "It's about time," she said grinning widely, "but I've been telling you that." She has indeed.

At this rate, I'm going to have some version of this exact same conversation with every one of my good friends. At least I'm making them happy and not a little smug for having told me so.

Driving back to J-Ward, the mounted police were in full force (that means three of them) on Marshall Street. I watched as a guy made a rolling stop at Monroe and the horse and cop immediately waved him down. I was three cars back, so by the time I got to the lawbreaker, the cop was off his steed and had his ticket book out.

You really have to see a horse-mounted cop make a traffic stop to appreciate the scale of horse to car. Did the guy really think he could flout the law and get away with it because the cop was on an animal? It made my day seeing the law upheld in Jackson Ward the way it was enforced a century ago.

Look what I would have missed if I hadn't gone out desperately seeking company. Not to mention a really good lunch at Garnetts. Again.