Rude or Not?

    My legs bent. I aimed the camera. My subject was a dryer and washing machine situated beside the sidewalk. A property owner had made them free for the taking.
    A teenager on a bicycle drove right into my picture.
    Why didn’t he stop? He had ample time to slow down.
    During the last few years, I’ve noticed a change in people’s behavior. They’re more apt to cut into photos being taken. Such behavior was rare until a few years ago.
    Why the increase in rudeness?
    Perhaps cutting in front is no longer considered rude. Smart phone cameras are everywhere. They’re ubiquitous. It would be impractical to stop every time someone takes a photo.
    Call me old school, but I still think it’s rude to cut though a photo being taken.

Anybody Home?

Animal's hole visible at base of tree. Location is the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.

    Early morning deep in a forest.
    I awoke under a tarp. To my surprise, the entrance to a wild animal’s den lay within spitting distance. Was anybody home? A fox? A family of skunks? A coyote? My furry neighbors never showed themselves.
    They must have been curious about me. My scent may have been unfamiliar. Perhaps they’d never seen a human being. 
    This location was off the grid, a blank spot on a topographic map. Belts of mountain laurel flanked the area. No footpaths led through. Bushwhacking was necessary.
    On the previous evening, I hadn’t noticed the den. My attention was distracted by a sense of urgency. Night was coming on. Firewood needed fetching. Complications arose while setting up the tarp. One thing after another.
    People go camping to enjoy a respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But they can ever escape busyness. There’s always something that needs tending to before settling in.
    Hustle and bustle is a necessary prerequisite to rest and relaxation.

Opportunity Cost

    Horse hides must be tough. In Iowa, I came upon two horses leaning over a barbed wire fence.
    When opportunities present themselves, there is always a downside to consider. It is better described as ‘opportunity cost.’ For those horses, the opportunity cost was mild discomfort to their necks. They accepted the cost. In return, they grazed on high quality sedge.
    Some people seize upon opportunities. They don’t factor in the opportunity costs. Later they crash and burn.
    Other people decline opportunities because the opportunity costs are too high. Good for them. They’re acting with prudence.
    But some people, I suspect, shun opportunities too quickly. They are scared by opportunity costs even if those costs aren’t high.
    Successful individuals pursue opportunities only after evaluating the opportunity costs.

Canoe Man

    Public relations flacks hovered around me. I was about to photograph the CEO and founder of a major high tech company. They told me to work fast. Conversation should be held to a minimum.
    The PR ladies accompanied me to the man’s office. Once inside, they stood beside the wall. They watched. They listened. They waited for a misstep. I worried they’d attempt to control my composition.
    Pictures of family members with canoes adorned the man's walls. A paddle leaned against paneling.
    The dude was a canoeist!
    Right away, I brought up the subject of canoeing. I told him about my canoeing trip to Manitoba. He told me where some of his pictures on the wall were taken.
    We were hitting it off. 
    The PR crew silently watched. They weren’t happy. I was going off their script.
    The formalities ran their course. I posed the man beside his desk. At the last second, I noticed his tie wasn’t straight. I walked up, reached for his tie, and adjusted it.
    The PR ladies were mortified. The executive didn’t mind.
    Time for portrait taking. I worked fast with the camera. Things went smoothly.
    Executive portrait sessions often include time constraints. But there’s always wiggle room for a conversation.
    Common courtesies should never be neglected.

Sentinels of Freedom

    A model of a British phone booth stood near a sidewalk. Union Jacks were festooned along its base. I happened upon it this week in Massachusetts.
    Inside the structure were books. Free books. A sign read, ‘Take a Book. Return a book.’
   This structure is called a Little Free Library. It has no affiliation with a municipal library. A private citizen oversees this little library. Anybody is welcome to take a book.
    These little libraries are showing up in neighborhoods around the nation. They’re also taking root elsewhere in the world. Each little library has a different appearance.
    The benefits go beyond access to literature. These libraries promote social intercourse. People chit-chat while taking out books.
    Government has no control over these libraries. Nor can the government easily know what’s being read. The books are hard copy. They’re off the electronic grid. Online surveillance is impossible.
    Little Free Libraries are sentinels of freedom.

Pet Preference

   Last Autumn, when the weather was cold and wet, I happened upon a dog. It was standing in the back of a pickup truck. The dog was sad faced. It had been lost in the woods. The driver of the truck had noticed the dog and pulled over.
    I felt bad for the animal. But my concern was tempered by optimism. A tag was attached to the dog’s collar. The driver would soon contact the owner.  
    People care deeply about dogs and cats, and not just the ones they own.
    I learned that truism years ago. A dog had been struck by a car. People were trying to save the animal. Elsewhere in that community, on the same day, a woman was injured in a car accident. Ambulance personnel hovered over her. Her condition was sketchy.
    On the following afternoon, photos from both scenes were published in a newspaper.
    I was employed at that publication. We received several phone calls. Readers wanted to know how the dog made out. Nobody asked about the woman.
    I’ll bet that reaction would be the same anywhere in the world.

Primal Fascination

A man watches for sharks at Muizenberg Beach near Capetown, South Africa.

    What does our fascination with sharks say about ourselves?
    To paraphrase The Atlantic magazine: ‘Sharks are radically different from the other animals that occasionally prey on us. In lions, tigers, and leopards we can recognize the kin of beloved house cats. In wolf packs we recognize the wild ancestors of dogs. Grizzly bears can sometimes seem deceptively human until it's too late.’
    In other words, we have no connections with sharks. They’re the ultimate bad guys. And that’s why sharks are such a curiosity.
    Perhaps this fascination is not for sharks per se, but with the concept of power. We are naturally intrigued by animals—and people—that wield power. Crocodiles. Napoleon. Lions. Henry VIII. Grizzly bears. Stalin. Great White sharks. Al Capone.
    Consider this fact: Sharks and Adolph Hitler are the two most popular subjects on documentary television shows.
    Perhaps we’ve got a Machiavellian gene in our bodies. It makes some people lust for power. The rest of us are fascinated by the individuals—and animals—that wield power.