Shooting from the hip! What a great topic for a shoot out!! I loved westerns on black and white TV growing up. The Lone Ranger, Tales of Texas Rangers, The Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers and Trigger (who is now stuffed and standing somewhere in the Rogers' Estate), Gene Autrey and his sidekick Pat Somebody-or-other who had a high pinched voice...
I enter the Bagman and Butler studio, however, with absolutely no pictures, because my camera has been holstered all week. And I enter, uniquely, crashing through the side wall instead of the door, having been launched at warp speed from the weeks' out of control merry-go-round and land in the middle of the floor, covered with plaster and holding a dirty baby diaper in one hand and a copy of Turbo Tax in the other.
"Is it Friday yet?' I mumble.
BAGMAN: "You missed it, you idiot.
KAREN (Calling from downstairs): "Mark! Mark! One of the dogs pooped in the house again!! I thought you said you walked them!!"
BUTLER: "You have 45 minute until tomorrow."
I struggle to pull my camera from the holster, place it at my hip, aim in general direction of Bagman and Butler, squeeze trigger...
BUTLER: "Cameras don't have triggers, Mark."
Nothing happens because the battery has died.
I hear Noah waking up somewhere in the house and starting to cry.
The thought strikes me that this is what retirement is going to be like and I lay back down on the floor and fall asleep.
Oh, this is sad, although I am laughing at you. What I don't get is why the post says it is Saturday...I live on the west coast, but it is only 8:36PM, and even in Charleston it should still be Friday.
ReplyDeleteYou know I don't think retirement will be this bad. At least I hope not.
Our lives couldn't be much different, could they? Here I am, all alone in my (mostly) super-clean, super-tidy flat, with just the occasional cat hair disturbing my order, with nobody telling me what to do when (except for having to go to work every day at a certain time), and I sit here and read your description and truly wonder: How do you manage? When and how do you actually have time and space to yourself? Why do we still get to read from Bagman and Butler in spite of the merry-go-round whirling you through the days and weeks?
ReplyDelete"Wow" is all I can say.
You are amazing, Mark.
The next time I feel tense, I'm going to think of you with the dog poop, skwalling child and dead batteries and see if I'm still tense after that. Call in "Saturday Shoot-Out" and make it a cowboy game. Miss your pictures though--glad B/B are available for banter.
ReplyDeleteYep, we have all been there at some point lately! Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteWe are all photographers with vision, so we can just conjure up our own black and whites and colorful images from your commentary! No problem, Mark....except for those you are encountering! Glad you made it FSO...sounds like you needed a break!
ReplyDeleteShooting from the hip could also be thought of as verbally sparring, or just thinking on your feet in a stressful situation, which I think you demonstrate wonderfully! Get some rest, it will get crazier!
ReplyDeleteYour life, while chaotic, is so rich and full. You may be envied by others not so blessed. (Except for dog poop.)
ReplyDeleteYep I heard all the others echoing what I am feeling. I am missing all that chaos. Sometimes it is so quiet here I can hear the furniture breathing. Or maybe that is a mouse scurring around. I enjoyed your imaginary situation.LOL
ReplyDeleteQMM
poor baby! and I don't mean the grandkids. I love my grandchildren - as much as anyone. I love my children too, but life cycles happen for a reason - one reason we don't have babies when we are 50 or more - is because even though you are loosing your hearing.... baby noises sound louder when you're nearly deaf.... why is that...? but I know for sure this is the reason we don't have children when 'older', two hours of chaos, once a week is enough for me. Poor baby!
ReplyDeleteThat's OK. Bagman did some shooting for you and sent the photos to Dorthea who shared them with me. Fantastic photos. Loved them.
ReplyDeleteFriday or Saturday...., the essentail is that you write something (which always brings me into good mood)! When I read this it's already early Tuesday here!
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