Two Ladders

January 31, 2024

It’s hard to describe, but on seeing these two workers, standing atop two ladders, working on two different trees… it just caught my eye.

I’m very out of practice, taking photos on the way to work. A lot of my early blog posts were about the random things I’d encounter, going to and coming from work.

But Covid drastically changed my commute, and the frequency with which I go to/from work has dropped.

It’s an odd thing, but I feel like I lost a skill. Not that my photos were ever that skillful. I’m talking about a way of looking at the world. I’m out of practice.

I felt this way about writing poetry, in particular. I did it a lot when I was younger, in grad school, and during my early years in Chicago. But as I slowly replaced writing poetry with writing code, I feel like I lost a certain point of view. I feel like I lost a way of looking at the world.

This blog was (and is) a way to counteract that loss. A way to remind myself to keep looking at the world anew, in a different light. But with me going out of the house less and less, that task feels a bit further away; that skill, a little more coated in rust.

Today’s encounter isn’t a great photo. But it was a moment that reminded me of other moments, reminded me of a way of looking at the world. I guess I’m looking ot capture the feeling and the moment, more than the image. But it’s the image that reminds of me that feeling and of that moment.