On the morning of my birthday, we went to visit the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine bright and early, so we were two of a handful of people there.
I was amused when the very cool and very bored person at the counter asked what the nature of my visit was—this was early in our trip, and I wasn’t yet used to these buildings being seen as tourist traps, plus his question was giving “border control”—and even more amused when he tripped over my reply: prayer. After a beat, he made sure I knew that photography isn’t allowed if that were the case, with an almost suspicious tone, and let us through without a ticket.
I wondered what other responses he could have expected. Tourism? Okay, that’s ticketed. Arson? Sorry, that’s illegal (please tell me you’ve seen that viral “reaction” video).
Anyway, I had resolved myself to taking only exterior shots, but by the time I made my way to the side chapel, I was overcome with a sense of awe that I couldn’t contain, so I made my way back to the counter to pay for a ticket, because I really wanted to take photos. As he started to ring me up, I offhandedly mentioned that I work for TEC and he once again glitched and said oh well then that’s free again. This time I audibly laughed and said really? I didn’t know.
The funniest part was that once we were done, we left with enough random merch (music, Christmas ornaments, a temporary tattoo) to pay for a bus full of tourists…
Our Lady, Mother of Ferguson and All Those Killed by Gun Violence (2016), by @markdoox, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Acrylic and gold leaf on wood, 48 × 36 in.