1 I wish I were as maniacal about my iPhone camera as are younger people.
2 I had a few awesome photo ops yesterday.
3 Photo Op 1: This one appeared at the freeway entrance from Tully road to 101, heading north.
4 As I rounded the turn I saw a hippie guy with long hair, Alfred E. Neuman face, and tie-dyed tee holding a cardboard sign that said, "I Love Weed!"
5 He didn't appear to be a hitchhiker, just an extremely merry fellow.
6 Guy was perfect.
7 All these Christmas people hurrying from or to work, or from or to a mall for shopping, or going seasonally zany.
8 This guy had nowhere to go, and he didn't seem to care if he was ever going to get there. The guy rocked.
9 I hopped on the freeway like Goofy's Mr. Wheeler, merging in and out, escaping certain death at every turn.
10 I reached my own neighborhood none the worse for wear and decided to run my finals before doing anything else.
11 I pulled into the new UPS store near home.
12 Photo 0p 2: There is a new tea/pearl place right next to it, and an older white Honda car parked there. The interior was black. I looked over and both driver and passenger were gone, but had left their hats on each of the front seat head rests.
13 The driver displayed a Minnie Mouse baseball hat that faced forward, posed just so; the passenger had a red baseball cap with black rim positioned backwards, but with a gangsta slant that gave the picture some swag.
14 The black interior made the hats pop. You could see the artistic style as well as the friendship. You could also see that it had been staged.
15 I looked over and did a double-take. They got their audience.
16 I smiled. I could easily have snapped a pic. I just didn't think to do it. Maybe it's better that way. Lovely stuff.
17 Moving on, Part One: I was a photoholic a few years ago. I loved my amateurish eye.
18 I lightly studied the art of photography, but never delved deep enough.
19 A lot of principles of shadow and light, imbalance, balance and all the rest exist in theatre as well.
20 As much as I enjoy my iPhone, I don't take it seriously as a camera. I got to know a couple of my cameras inside and out.
21 It's been a while.
22 I do enjoy a light, easy camera. I'm impressed by a lot of the higher-end models, but I'm happy with simple for now.
23 It's awesome to me that the rest of the world has caught the photo craze.
24 It's a fun hobby, and can be done for practically nothing once you have the equipment.
25 I've never gone after expensive items. Not my style.
26 I miss going around and taking pictures though. No time. Nor energy.
27 Believe it or not, teaching wipes you out.
28 I find myself in major need of a nap at the end of the day. LOTS more stress than people might imagine.
29 But it's nice, because I love my job.
30 Yesterday I got some pretty thoughtful gifts from my students.
31 That's pretty nice. And it is usually pretty darned genuine. One year a kid got me a blank music book.
32 I wrote some songs and had fun with it.
33 Yesterday I got a multitude of presents. One girl gave me a small book that simplifies Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style.
34 After I ran the finals I pulled into my fave pho place, went to the trunk, and pulled that little book out of a shopping bag.
35 The book still had a bow on it. The student had it autographed by the author: "To Mr. Harrington..."
36 It lifted my spirits on a winter afternoon of lunacy, hippies who love weed, cars with baseball caps displayed, Disney moments, and all the rest.
37 All the rest.
38 When I stop the madness and look up, I'm pretty happy these days.
39 To many of my former students, I might be a small chapter in a book that ended: the high school years.
40 To me, it's all as alive if not better than ever. It jams, it rocks, it wrenches, it pulls rugs; it tugs, it sings and it dances, sometimes all in the same day.
41 And I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
42 Photo Op 3: Scene: A teacher dressed a bit like Harbaugh, black sweatshirt, baseball cap, glasses and a stern look. He sits in an off-white leather chair with legs outstretched, tacking away on an infernal T-O-S-H-I-B-A, stretching deadlines. He appears as uptight as Hunter S. Thompson coming down from a breakfast high. He tacks out a phrase:
43 "I Love Weed!" He laughs. He is me. Third-person selfie. "I Love Weed!"
44 I can't get that guy out of my mind.
45 Dude. Is that all you do?
46 Hilarious.
47 Welp, I don't love weed. I don't love too much of anything except ice cream and coffee beans these days.
48 Anybody lookin'?
49 I think I'll sneak out the back way.
50 Sorry to go, but I have a saloon to run.
51 See you again. Hope you enjoyed yourself. Have a good one. Enjoy 'em all.
52 Peace.
~H~
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