"Ode to a PHOTOGRAPH"

PHOTO CREDIT
Jon VanGilder
Photography

Darkness has it own life, different from day, mysterious and seductive, transformational, and yet to some even frightening. I set out to capture its essence in the stillness that surrounded me. Magnified by the illumination of tiny lights looking down this corridor. I see a wet street filled eerily with fog with no sign of life. It’s reflection in puddles from the recent rain, cast an other worldly dimension to this image of quiet emptiness. Walking past closed shops, and forgotten alleyways, it’s like moving through time back to a street in a dickens classic novel of gaslights and cobblestones.

A photograph can say a thousand things to a thousand different people, continually finding new meaning with each new gaze, and thus the story becomes eternal. So to that end, I look through the lens yet one more time, aligning my exposures and aperture settings to maximize the effects, and create the finest illusion possible. 

The shutter clicks, and the image is forever preserved in time. Never to be lost or relegated only to the confines of my memory, for I would never adequately be able to explain that which my eye can see in words. But, with the timelessness of a photograph, ahhhh yes with that, I leave to the world a legacy of inspiration, elegance, and beauty that otherwise might never have been seen, and quite possibly would have gone overlooked.

Copywrite Theresa Stuart 2017

" Never Forgotten"

She came by the bull-riding arena earlier in the day, unmistakably to taunt some or all of us, her eyes penetrating, and deep, just watchin’ us. With a presence you could feel, palpable in the air. Now she was back, she walked over to me and wished me luck, as she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Taking the hat from my head, smoothly she placed it on hers, turned and left stopping only once turning at the waist to glance back at me, with a wink. 

Next thing I knew my name was called, time to go compete. The bull-riding event was risky and dangerous, but I loved the rush it gave me knowing I could outlast the best of them. The wet behind the ears greenhorns, and even most of the experienced riders, I’d been on this circuit a long time and still placed in the top three of any Rodeo I’d compete in. This was a rugged life, but a rewarding one. If there was anything I had to regret, it was that I had never settled down. Had me a girl once a long time ago, I was older; she was the new Rodeo groupie young and gorgeous. We dated all of a week, I moved on to the next rodeo and never saw her again, but her memory has never left me, and I had always hoped our paths would cross again.

After a good ride with good numbers, I had a moment to wonder if my mystery lady would return my hat or just keep it, never to bee seen again, I didn’t even know if she had watched me ride. There was something familiar about her, something that tugged at my memory from a thousand years ago, “did I know her?” Now it nagged at me, She seemed so familiar; yet different, from any of the women I remember meetin’ at any Rodeo I’ve participated in over all these years. Still her eyes, her scent, it haunted me. But I really did not expect to be seein’ her again any time soon. 

I headed back behind the arena to where my old Pick up truck was parked same one I’d had since the beginning of time, she’s served me well over these years and shows a bit of wear, but all in all got a lot of life left in her. I like to think my ol’ truck is kinda like me. 

When I rounded the corner, I’ll be damned if my mystery lady wasn’t sprawled out across the front seat of my truck, my hat square on her head. As I came a little closer she sat up on her elbows just staring straight at me. Hell, she was just beautiful. I walked up next to the truck leaned on the open door. 

“Hey there Pretty lady, I see you found my truck …and my hat sure does look a might better on you than it does on me”

“Bobby, Don’t y’all remember me?” “I mean sure, it’s been a long time, but I never forgot you. Just had a heap of growin’ up to do. I heard you never did get hitched; so when I got back to town, Well, I was hopin’ for at least another week ...before y’all had to leave again”

“Angeline! Is it really you girl? You sure have grown into one beautiful woman.”

Bobby picked her up, swung her around and kissed her then putting her back down on the ground.

“But, I don’t think I could spend just another week with you.”

“Oh, so I am too late after all, there is someone else, I’m happy for ya Bobby, and I’m sorry for intruding, but it was sure nice to see ya, guess I’ll be on my way, …you take care now.”

As Angeline stated to walk away Bobby grabbed her by the hand and turned her toward him.

“Girl what the hell, are you talking about? “I said I couldn’t take just one more week, but if you’ll have me, I’d offer you the rest of my life, there aint never been no one but you. You ruined me after the first night we spent together.”

The smile grew across her face, and she jumped back into his arms.