The Wordsmith

October 2, 2009

Penny’s department was located on a newly renovated twenty-first floor of 1 World Financial. Tastefully appointed in light cherry veneer, brushed stainless steel and Berber beige carpet, her coordinated cubicle sat in front of Mark Spellman’s office, the head of marketing for Private Equity Investments. A high-strung and charismatic man in his late fifties, this be-speckled Viet Nam vet shared her love of words and language in a field obsessed with numbers. His storied career on Wall Street netted him a fortune by the age of forty-five. In early 2000, Mark cashed in his “smart water” stock and netted a reported 10 Mil. In addition to his base salary and lofty bonus paid by the Firm. “Not bad for a Providence under-grad,” he would often brag out loud to an office chock full of frustrated and arrogant Ivy Leaguers. His corner office’s large glass window was situated at an angle that framed both Twin Towers–North and South. The interesting thing about the iconic view was that you rarely noticed the buildings at all. It’s as if these two monolithic phantoms hovered in half-tone just beyond your sight line. Although close enough to reach out and touch, the world famous “Twins” faded pale into the skyscape. Two plain Jane steel wallflowers silhouetted among hundreds of others stretching out endlessly due-north into the horizon.