I love this shimmering, abstract pendant and how it references ancient utilitarian pendulums. The heavy pendant’s swing on my chest reminds me of a pendulum hovering over a map silently choosing where one should visit: Center City, Chestnut Hill, the Northeast, Manayunk, the now destroyed Spectrum or a Phillies game? The pendant is from a Boo Poulin necklace I spotted in Manayunk’s Turtle Dove Gallery in 1995. I was drawn to the soft gold color, the blunt cone and sharp ridges of the top. My necklace has traveled with me from Manayunk, Rochester, Washington DC, Phoenix and back to Philadelphia.

I loved Philadelphia; as a child it was a magnificent and exciting place full of diverse people, interesting places, Native American history and Quaker record. My keepsake box is overflowing with memories of Center City. Philadelphia  introduced me to professional theater, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Annie. My class field trips visited Franklin Institute’s Big Heart, monkey’s at the Philadelphia Zoo and the official tour of the Liberty Bell. My childhood is documented by the yearly Santa Claus pictures taken at Wanamaker’s Christmas Light Show. Now, as an adult returning to Pennsylvania, I am happily rediscovering the City of Brotherly Love.