We had to go out early this morning, just as the city was starting its daily bustle. Crossing the common, as we passed the merry-go-round, the dog walkers were out in force and Back Bay’s sunlit skyline glistened in the distance. The air was clear and the temperature happily brisk. For a moment, a brief fleeting moment, COVID-19 was forgotten.
A real plus about the Fuji x100v is that it’s OK to use it in the rain. The lens gets water blurry of course but, the quality of the sensor is so good that even with that, the image comes out pretty well.
These folks were sheltering under a building’s big overhang not really wanting to walk out into the soaking rain. Putting them in the lower left of the image created plenty of space for me to show the soggy street.
I’m pretty happy with this image.
It may be COVID preventing us from our usual personal get-togethers or maybe it’s just the ever increasing dominance of social media and other digital distractions but, whatever is causing us to retreat into that bundle of metal and silicon in our pockets or purses is slowly driving us mad.
I’m not sure I can adequately explain my long absence from this site. Probably it was an infatuation with Instagram that triggered it and then my usual laziness took over. Instagram is more and more turning into a clone of Facebook; frankly it’s beginning to scare me and I’m a fly’s eyelash away from quitting it.
Anyway I’m clawing my way back here. The photo above is a shot I took of a lonely man quietly sitting on a little stone bench in a courtyard off Newbury Street here in Boston. It’s no masterpiece but it represents a new beginning.
Sometimes a couple, if they are really blessed, become not two but one.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night….Anon
Will wonders ever cease! When I came across these two women happily entering something in their notebooks, it struck me as unusual scene because of the dominance of digital media in our lives.
My wife just bought a paper notebook for herself and can’t stop raving about it. Makes one think, doesn’t it?
It’s heat haze! As I write this it’s 98 degrees outside and feels like 101! Couple that with the sheltering in place that we’re doing and it’s an exquisite form of physical and psychological torture.
#1 – Talk to yourself. There are times you need expert advice.
#2 – “In Style” are the clothes that still fit.
#3 – You don’t need anger management. You need people to stop pissing you off.
#4 – Your people skills are just fine. It’s your tolerance for idiots that needs work.
#5 – The biggest lie you tell yourself is, “I don’t need to write that down. I’ll remember it.”
#6 – “On time” is when you get there.
#7 – Even duct tape can’t fix stupid – but it sure does muffle the sound.
#8 – It would be wonderful if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes, then come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller.
#9 – Lately, you’ve noticed people your age are so much older than you.
#10 – Growing old should have taken longer.
#11 – Aging has slowed you down, but it hasn’t shut you up.
#12 – You still haven’t learned to act your age, and hope you never will.
And one more:
“One for the road” means peeing before you leave the house.
What’s next, used cars? I’m going to hide. This kind of shit may be catching.
