Absences

Day 2, wifeless.

The country celebrates its independence today, July 4th. It is a day that makes me miss living in Orlando, a little bit. The setting off of bottle rockets and firecrackers, the youthful, stupid excitement of miniature, celebratory artillery. But much of what there is, or was, in Orlando can be had right here in Manhattan, if that's what you want. There is plenty of inanity to go around on a day like this.

My wife is in Chicago, presumably celebrating independence there. Tonight she will call and tell me all about the fireworks, and the barbecued food, and the things that were said to her, and the the things that she said to others, or herself.

We are not often apart. Perhaps she will not call.

"Absences are a good influence in love and keep it bright and delicate."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Absences:

Sweet Home Chicago

My wife leaves for Chicago today, it is the 85th birthday of her grandfather. I wasn't able to request the time off from work, so she will go alone. I have used up all of the time that I can request off for the upcoming year, somehow. The two week trip to France that my wife and I took is apparently all that was required to exhaust my reservoirs of vacation time.

I took these pictures in the winter. I love the almost phosphorescent glow to them. The suggestion of motion and perhaps even time. She probably prefers the one below to the one above, I do as well.

I spend my days looking at camera reviews, wanting an even better camera than the one I have. Many people tell me to just decide between Nikon and Canon and then spend all of my money on lenses, as they can be used with many different cameras, though not easily between the different brands. I lean towards Nikon D700 but the Canon 5D Mark II is a pretty strong counter-argument. I don't have any of the needed money to make any of this happen, so it is all just an internet shopping daydream that I entertain. I will probably settle on the Nikon D90 and then begin the long-road, accumulation of lenses. I suppose I should learn how to use the Panasonic DMC-LX3 I have before even considering any others. But that attitude won't get us out of this recession, now will it?

Recession. Yes, that is what this feels like, a recession - the act of ceding back, a small concavity, a withdrawal. Recess.

I will just continue to take as many pictures as I can and see what they reveal to me. Because I ride my bike almost exclusively in the city now it is more difficult to take pictures the way I was when walking everywhere in the winter, though that excuse is a thin one. I have been told that boldness is important when getting the pictures you want. To just take the picture and then take more and more.

Funny word, that: take.

her former bodyguard, Bernard Shaw

This picture reminds me of Patty Hearst, Tania, The Symbionese Liberation Army, the M1 Carbine, etc., etc.

"...she ultimately joined her captors in furthering their cause. " from the Wikipedia article on Patty Hearst

"She was later granted a presidential pardon by President Bill Clinton in his last official act before leaving office." - Ibid

"the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian." Ibid

"Among her few close friends she counted Patricia Tobin, whose family founded the Hibernia Bank, a branch of which Hearst would later aid in robbing." Ibid

"Tell everybody that I'm smiling, that I feel free and strong and I send my greetings and love to all the sisters and brothers out there." A prison communique from our beloved revolutionary sweetheart

"Hearst's actions have also been attributed to Stockholm syndrome." Ibid

"After her release from prison, she married her former bodyguard, Bernard Shaw." Ibid

"...she refused to give evidence against the other captured SLA members." Ibid

(SLA publicity photo)