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Wednesday, June 03, 2009

200 words

I've taken up this meme as seen on Dick Jones Patteran Pages,
and via Dominic Rivron
"I'd hate to be held solely responsible for inspiring a meme but 200 words, let's say, written in the present tense about an old photo of oneself seems quite a good one to pass on."

I couldn't find many earlier photos of myself on hand, but as the concrete stork featured in this one I thought it was topical. Strangely, (I wonder if that's a twitter effect) it's exactly 200 words.




This was taken in November 1991. I am 29. (And I really am. I have not yet learned that old line)
Am I happy? I should be happy with what is in hand, not what is out of reach.
In my hand is a copy of a play I’ve written, about to be performed.
I’m wearing clothing loose enough to move.
The black Swatch with the roman numerals (that a boyfriend said was the nicest swatch watch he had ever seen) is still going.
A friend who would have laughed at that line is still alive
I like the cut of the black straw hat, but it does not sit well, alas, and will be replaced by the soft practicality of the non-descript.
In front of me is my black dog who will stay a few feet away from me for the next 13 years. He is two, in glossy good health.
The garden is tidy and it still rains in Victoria – we have not yet entered the drought that will burn grass, crack houses, kill trees.
The garden stork has presence, and promise.
The computer in my house has 640 kb of memory.
And blog is not a word.
 

15 comments:

boynton said...

3 updates later...
That figure in the second last line may be wrong.
I can't remember the memory in my first PC, a Sharp notebook, so 640 kb will just have to do.

ThirdCat said...

that's beautiful

BwcaBrownie said...

A Post in 3 Acts.

a word on the bird
a blog on the dog
no parse on the grass.

boynton said...

Thanks, Third Cat.
It's a great meme I think.

No parsing? Is that like: No Conjugation sur l'herbe?

Or are my tenses out?

Tony said...

Parst tense.

Norabone said...

Enough memory to store War & Peace...allegedly

boynton said...

I never get past tense.

NB: Quite. The infamous salesman knew the correct language to speak to a self-confessed computer dummy.

I should have asked: But is it a Tols-toy?

BwcaBrownie said...

I never get past tense either, but at least it's Super-pluperfect tense.

Caroline said...

As usual I've got no idea what any of youse are talking about. But boynton, you are more mysterious than ever.

genevieve said...

That's a very fine meme indeed.

boynton said...

I remembered that I had studied these mysterious things imperfectly at School long ago...

Mysterious? I (had)thought I was being quite revealing here ;) Given that I'm 29 and all.

Yes - there is something very appealing in the meme as an exercise, the dialogue between past and present in (roughly or exactly) 200 words.
The posts by Dick and Dominic are fabulous.

Dominic Rivron said...

Pleased you enjoyed the post! This is a good one, too. Quite absorbing, old photos. Odd, I find, noticing things in them I've forgotten about. I tried blowing mine up on the computer (thankfully more than 640Kb these days) in search of details I'd missed. Really got me thinking about personal history and memory.

boynton said...

Hi Dominic.
Thanks for devising this meme. I think it's the parameters that add to the creative appeal: present tense/200 words.

And I've just found my way to Robert Frost's banjo so thanks for that too.

Juke said...

While this won't likely extend toward the two hundred weight and doesn't relate also in photo nonetheless I wanted to say your affect in that photo was exactly as I imagined you'd have appeared then.
I'll get to the meme when I can, as it would be productive fun, but as of now I'm living way back in the woods with only a car battery for lights and all the amenities either outside or nonexistent as well as it being an hour's drive toward any computer worth the name. As well as fuel costs to do that. As well as time.
But when I'm here, I'm here - if you get my drift.

boynton said...

I'm honoured, sir, that you are here.

I thought this meme would appeal to you as a variation on db's voluminous thinking 'about photography'.