- Any ideas about what a Chicago Cubs necktie reveals about the man who wears it?
How typically me! :-)
I went to downtown Phoenix to attend a ballroom dance exhibition, sponsored by the area Fred Astaire studios to benefit MS patients. A few minutes into the program, we had an unplanned intermission when the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. I never did learn what caused the alarm, but the interruption was brief, and once the all-clear was given and everyone returned to their seats, the performance resumed where it had left off.
I took my camera to this event, of course. I also brought a book with me. I have been a voracious reader for nearly my entire life, and I tell people, only half-jokingly, that if I am ever seen without a book, it will be a sure sign of the Last Days and the coming Apocalypse. I even brought a book along during my honeymoon, although I didn't get much reading done during that time.
The heavy tome I am reading here is Master of the Senate, the third volume of Robert A. Caro's well-written and absorbing biography of Lyndon B. Johnson. During the evacuation, I decided to prop the book up against this railing and try to read a page or two, and it occurred to me that this action, so utterly typical of me, would make a good subject for a photo. I set my camera to Auto mode, handed it to dance instructor Joshua Smith, and asked him to take a few pictures of me "in action," so to speak.
I got a little more than I bargained for, I'm afraid, and although I didn't intend it, this might be one of the most revealing photographs ever taken of me by anyone. I don't figure very many people want to look at pictures of me, and I can't say I blame them for that; but I left the pretty, smiling young woman in the frame because surely some people will view this image in order to look at her. But the fact is, I was completely oblivious to her presence while Joshua was taking the pictures -- he took about five altogether -- and I never noticed her at all until I uploaded the day's photos into my computer. Such is the grip a good book can exert over me, and I am quite absent-minded much of the time, but especially when I am reading.
Also, here I am wearing a Chicago Cubs tie I had purchased earlier that very day. In recent years, I haven't followed baseball as closely as I used to, but I miss the game and should probably resume paying attention to it. My passion for baseball still lurks somewhere beneath the surface, and I know it wouldn't take much to get me excited about it again. And I think I need that right now. But the Cubbies have been my favorite team for many years, and I like to tell people that their "great winning tradition" keeps drawing me back to them, season after season.
(Update: I was quite surprised, a few days after I uploaded this image, to discover that it had made Explore! I will be even more surprised now if it remains there for any appreciable length of time.)
(Second update: About three weeks after this picture was taken, I finally had the opportunity to buttonhole Joshua and ask him if he had intentionally included the woman in the frame. Displaying obvious amusement as he recounted the story to me, he said he had, and I understand he also employed hand signals to direct her pose. As one of the comments below points out, she obviously knows she is in the picture, and the expression on her face looks a little "conspiratorial" as well. And I was totally oblivious to all of this. I think Joshua ought to invest in a digital SLR and take up photography as a serious hobby, and devote some time to it when he is not giving dance lessons.)
Comments and faves
cobalt123, Sorgine, candyruth, nikos_27a, and 35 other people added this photo to their favorites.
EssjayNZ (59 months ago | reply)
I like this shot and I love the story that accompanies it.
Nothing like a good book... and being a kiwi I know nothing about baseball, but I like some of the team names. LOL
The World Through My Eyes
Rejean Pellerin (59 months ago | reply)
I invite you to join my group of books:
www.flickr.com/groups/72759907@N00/
gwilmore (59 months ago | reply)
Done! Thank you for the invite, and in just a moment I will be adding this picture to the group. Technically, however, this is not "my" book, because I checked it out of the public library; but during the time I'm borrowing it, nobody else has possession of it, which I suppose makes it temporarily "mine." In any event, I hope it meets the group's requirements. :-)
Rejean Pellerin (59 months ago | reply)
Gwilmore, at first I wanted to name my group: My books. But the name was already taken. Anything about the books will meet the requirements of my group.
cobalt123 (59 months ago | reply)
You could not ask for a better composition with the woman there being "in on it" and you pre-occupied with your book! Faved right away.
gwilmore (59 months ago | reply)
@cobalt123: I always appreciate your feedback. Joshua really hit the jackpot when he took this one, although I'm sure he doesn't realize that. A lot of people seem to like this one, including one of the commissioners at Superior Court, who wrote me an e-mail and said this picture "really shows the true you!"
It takes a lot to distract me from a pretty woman; at least, I used to think so. But perhaps all it really takes is an absorbing book! :-)
Sorgine (59 months ago | reply)
Good capture!! I like your story as well.
Funny thing is SHE KNOWS she's in the picture and she's sort of posing for it, lol.
congrats on explore!
gwilmore (59 months ago | reply)
Thanks. I haven't the slightest idea who that woman is, but I'm glad she pulled that little stunt, even if it was at my expense!
89AKurt (59 months ago | reply)
I'm one of the venial viewers. ;^)
gwilmore (59 months ago | reply)
Of the young lady, I presume? :-)
marzii (58 months ago | reply)
Cool!
candyruth (58 months ago | reply)
Such a great story and fun photo.
Q of U (53 months ago | reply)
I think any library would love to have this as a poster; as an American Library Association ad it would surely find a spot on many a librarian's bulletin board. I love the multiple pens in your pocket, and the suspender-like strap, giving you even more of a nerdy look. Norman Rockwell couldn't have planned this any better (kudos to your friend Joshua for quick thinking!). To top it off, your story and ability to laugh at yourself brings us all in on the joke. Has the "makes you laugh repeatedly" group contacted you for this?
gwilmore (52 months ago | reply)
@Q of U: No, they haven't contacted me, but perhaps they will sometime. I have to hand it to Joshua, though: he did a great job with this little moment, and I told him later that if he gets tired of giving dance lessons, he ought to invest in a camera and some lenses and become a photographer instead. And I have to plead guilty about being a bit of a nerd, and your mention of the pens in my pocket bring up this little story:
In my photostream, there is a picture of some handwritten notes Angie made me write down as part of my preparation for the foxtrot performance I did with her a couple of months ago. Over the fall, I accumulated a number of oddly-assorted papers, mostly notes of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and such, that I simply stuffed into my shirt pocket and left there. On more than one occasion, Angie forcibly removed the entire contents from the pocket -- notes, pens, everything -- and set them on a nearby table as we went about our lesson. She claimed they were throwing my body off balance, although I rather suspect they either annoyed her, or that she merely wanted to lessen my nerdiness in some small way. Or both.
Once, just as he was concluding a lesson, Joshua spotted my fountain pens in that little stack, whereupon he used one of them to write down the progress notes all of the instructors keep on their students. He said he loved using it. I never allow others to use my fountain pens -- it isn't recommended because of the effect it might have on the nib, which should wear down in a way consistent with the owner's writing style -- but in his case I didn't mind at all what he did, and was glad he was able to use my pen to add a little extra pizazz to his student's notes.
Well, to make a long story short: about a week ago, my notes for that foxtrot, plus all the other papers, plus the three pens I was carrying in my shirt pocket at the time, all made an unplanned journey through the washing machine. The pens survived the ordeal, but the papers didn't. I hope Angie never makes some approving comment about how I have cleaned up my nerdy act, because I respect her enough that if she did so, I would feel a need to confess to her the whole truth. :-)
gwilmore (49 months ago | reply)
Touche indeed! He really got me here, didn't he? :-)
~ Creating Memories ~ (47 months ago | reply)
this is too cute. I love the story behind it.
I'm the same way though, give me a great book and the whole house can burn down around me and I won't notice it.
delusionalcubsfan (40 months ago | reply)
This makes me think I need to finally get a Cubs tie.
davebenjamin (39 months ago | reply)
Well told story. Could have gone either way but you did a good job of giving different perspectives of the story as well as updates.
Carlos Lorenzo (39 months ago | reply)
Oh sorry it took me a while to spot you on the picture :) That's an interesting and funny story. You say it it was on Explore. No wonder. I think it is going to be even more successful since it has been recommended in a post by Chris Brogan.
rain_king (39 months ago | reply)
Indeed, that's how I found this great shot: through Chris Brogan's post. He has a knack for spotting excellence and this is no exception. Great photo and story!
pondage (39 months ago | reply)
pure gold..... !!
gwilmore (39 months ago | reply)
I noticed a sudden spike this morning in the amount of attention this photo was getting, and then I did a little detective work and found the Chris Brogan post mentioned in a couple of the more recent comments. He appears to have done for this image what a good rainmaker would do for a law firm. So -- a hat-tip, and thanks to you, sir! :-)
And thanks also for all the comments and faves, everyone! I wish I could claim full credit for this one, but I'll need to bring it to Joshua's attention so he can see the latest results of his brief moment with my Nikon. (At least I can claim full credit for writing the story!)
Believing as I do that one good turn deserves another, a link to Mr. Brogan's post is provided here. He apparently has a very loyal following, and deservedly so!
spellwight (39 months ago | reply)
Chris Brogan's post:
www.chrisbrogan.com/the-beauty-in-simple-stor ies/
gwilmore (39 months ago | reply)
Thank you. I am going to be following this one over the next couple of days to see how much attention it gets. And if I ever need to hire a p.r. person, his name is already at the top of my list of possible candidates! :-)
bella vita (39 months ago | reply)
Perfect character study!
gwilmore (39 months ago | reply)
The folks who know me seem to be especially fond of this one. :-)
cultureguru (39 months ago | reply)
I would think your wife might be delighted as well : )
gwilmore (39 months ago | reply)
Yes, she got a kick out of it, too. :-)
JonnyMoss (39 months ago | reply)
Lovely story, great photo, and thanks for posting :)
A big hello from England!
gwilmore (39 months ago | reply)
Thank you, JM! This one seems to be quite popular everywhere!
ChiChad1 (37 months ago | reply)
Uh, surfing the search box for 'Cubs', and found this. Nice tie!!!
As for the "winning tradition", well, there have been a few sproadic seasons (the '70's we a complete void!!), but the term "long-suffering" seems more fitting for the Chicago Cubs! And I am old enough (and a life-long fan) to remember watching them in black and white in the '60's!
Great photo, btw!!! Thx!
brewbooks (33 months ago | reply)
A very good image, and an excellent story to accompany it.
gwilmore (33 months ago | reply)
Thanks! I'm not sure who had more fun: Joshua when he conspired with the woman in the background and took the photo, or me when I posted it here and wrote the description!
appleaday2009 (32 months ago | reply)
Great photo. I have enjoyed your dialogue even more. If you aren't familiar with TED TALKS, you need to see Sir Ken Robinson on www.ted.com
He talks about how important dance is and what a difference it can make in our lives.
gwilmore (32 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the info. It has certainly made a HUGE difference in MY life, so I will definitely want to go look at that article!
ruhrCrossing2010 (20 months ago | reply)
lesen macht sexy
pinkpurse (17 months ago | reply)
thanks for sharing the story. so heartwarming and funny. i so enjoyed reading it and so glad your picture is getting so popular. funny how the most random event can be such a big, wonderful moment. :-)
gwilmore (17 months ago | reply)
Yes, indeed! Joshua Smith, who took the photo, is no longer working as a dance instructor, although he is still involved in the industry. (He and his wife now manage the Fred Astaire studio in Mesa, Arizona, which, like the one in Chandler, is owned by his mother-in-law.) But I still believe that somewhere along the line, he should invest in a DSLR and some lenses and start doing some serious photography!