Goodbye, Letterman

For years, every time I walked by this sculpture, I thought of the "Adventures of Letterman" cartoon from The Electric Company:

Faster than a rolling "o"
Stronger than silent "e"
Able to leap capital "T" in a single bound!
It's a word, it’s a plan...it's Letterman!

My wonderful silent "e" always made me smile. Always.

And it never, ever, occurred to me to think this sculpture was anything other than an "e" ... until today, when I was admiring it and someone walked by saying "Yeah, we're at the red '9.'"

I looked around, and there was only one big red thing in the vicinity. I suddenly realized that she must be talking about my "e". I was horrified. How could someone not know this was the letter "e"... or ... hmmm ... uh oh... With a sinking feeling, I walked around the sculpture and saw that maybe it could be interpreted as a "9" if you were open to that interpretation:

And unfortunately, this interpretation is further supported by the name of the Brasserie right next door. I'd never asked myself why they gave it this name. But all of a sudden it became clear.

Alas, poor Letterman! I knew him, Horatio - a hero of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.