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The Commonplace

Raindrops © 2020 Claudia Ward

“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual." Edward Weston

I have enjoyed this quotation since I first read it years ago, probably because it seemed to give me license to do what I often do naturally, photograph something simple in a different light, manner, angle - the way it caught my eye and imagination.

We've had a lot of rain recently and the raindrops made this fascinating design on our newly cleaned patio table. I love the shapes but I particularly like the color which is the result of the surrounding blue sky and green hedge colors merging.

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Cosmo the Crewcut Cartoon Character © 2019 Claudia Ward

I know I've seen this character somewhere before but research has revealed nothing. Does anyone out there recognize this dude  from days of yore? I've nicknamed him Cosmo for the benefit of alliteration. In reality, this dude is a photo of a children's swimming pool taken around sunrise from a balcony five floors up.

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And finally, meet Jacinta ...

 

Young Lady Wearing a Mantilla © 2018 Claudia Ward

This reminds me of a young lady wearing a mantilla, which is a traditional Spanish veil. In reality, I made some almond butterscotch cookie cups last Thanksgiving and I had to let them cool and take shape by drooping them over an "upended teacup or glass". This was my solution, one I found quite entertaining.

Even the commonplace can be unusual.

Have any uncommonly usual images or even unusually common images. Share them I'd love to see your imaginations at work.

 

Chain Mail

Believe it or not, I had a devil of a time trying to find a single photograph of a chain in my not so small inventory of images. This is all I could find with the time that I had.

I generally don't care much for those chain mail emails that are so prolific across the internet. They generally are interesting but I hate the feeling of obligation that comes with them, an obligation to forward them to others in your circle, many of whom guard their privacy dearly and find them immensely annoying. Well one arrived in my in-box about a week ago that listed 45 lessons of life. The lessons struck a chord with me - perhaps because the anniversary of 9/11 is just a few days away and that always makes me feel a bit philisophical and a lot grateful. So I'm sharing these with you now, hoping they may strike a chord with you too.

These were reportedly written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. Those that truly resonated with me are highlighted. Let me know those that rang true to you.

"1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 

5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 

24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 

27. Always choose life. 

28. Forgive everyone everything. 

29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 

33. Believe in miracles. 

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 

37. Your children get only one childhood. 

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 

42. The best is yet to come... 

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 

44. Yield. 

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

 

Boredom

"Boredom: The state of being weary and restless through lack of interest". In French, the word is "ennui' which is derived from Old French enui - annoyance. 

A short while ago, I mentioned that I’m on Grand Jury Duty and did a post explaining what that means. When I wrote that post, I had just learned what a Grand Jury is and does, and I won’t repeat those basics here. What I had no appreciation for at the time was how much “down time” there is when you’re serving on a Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is an arm of the court and needs to be available to the District Attorney’s office to further the process of juris prudence. When the Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) are ready, so must the Grand Jury be, BUT until they’re ready, the Grand Jury must wait. 

There have been days in the last three weeks that we were in court no more than 31 minutes! The rest of the day we 23 jurors are sequestered in a long, narrow room in the center of which are two tables end-to-end. Together they are probably 2.5 feet by 14 feet in dimension and accommodate 14 of us at any point in time. Six more chairs line an inside wall and straddle a water cooler, and there are ten chairs lining the outside wall with windows. Thankfully, there’s plenty of light because without it, this would feel much like a dungeon of sorts. There's a micro wave oven but no fridge, and a bookcase full of magazines and games.

The 23 of us range between the ages of 19 and 69 (or so) and have varied backgrounds. The one thing we all seem to have brought to this service is a sense of humor – thank goodness! As we sit here waiting to be called in to hear the next case, we muster all our resources to fight the boredom. 

Boredom, in the adult form of our species, is quite interesting to watch day after day. It appears to be mildly uncomfortable at best, spawning some entertaining behavior, and painful at its worse, truly testing patience and common courtesy. Some fight off the boredom by reading, others listen to music on their iPods or play games on their PCs. Some play solitaire or poker, another teaches cribbage, several assemble jigsaw puzzles, and others sleep. 
In the past three weeks, I've even seen boredom reduce grown men to lads once more coloring car characters with crayola crayons. Small circles chat about everything from tugboats to T.J.Maxx, and jokes pepper the conversations more and more each day. 

But, as the days and weeks pass, it takes more and more effort to be patient with the process and each other. By now we know the Grand Jury process and are more than familiar with most of the law that we need to consider for the crimes being brought before us, but read it they must "for the record". And, every day we get to know one another a little more. What we found entertaining in someone one day may become mildly annoying another day. St. Augustine wrote in the 5th century, "It is a common proverb that too much familiarity breeds contempt”. Let me not mislead you, it certainly has not come to that but frustrations ebb and flow depending on the day, the hour, and the case load.

Our group is a good group, a favorite of the ADAs and court staff - our collective good nature, and sense of fun and humor, gets us all through. Despite our exhausted patience, our naturally good intentions show their faces nearly daily ..... when one of us sneezes, in unison 22 others say "God bless you"!

Dancing in the Rain

It's a dreary day here in the northeast in the aftermath of this week's storm, and I have a day of paper work ahead of me so I thought I'd share with you something a friend shared with me after reading "Stop and Smell the Roses" earlier this week. It rang true to my ears and brought a smile to my face.

"Life is not about how to survive the storm, but rather, 

how to dance in the rain."

Photo by Claudia Ward Copyright 2010 - Taken in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

Thank you John, and rest assured, when I captured this rose last spring ... I was dancing in the rain!

Have a great day everyone, and let us know your thoughts, on anything, leave a comment by clicking on these words or the word "Comment" below ... let us know you're there. 

Churchill Quotation

Quotations are posted to my homepage everyday from Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare and Benjamin Franklin. What can I say, I enjoy little pearls of wisdom, from varied perspectives. When I first read the quotation from Churchill yesterday, I thought I liked it but as I began to ponder over it I became more perplexed. Is Churchill being sarcastic or sincere?

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

   

Is this sarcasm or genuine admiration for an under-dog? 

What's your read on this? Let us know.