Stop Sign of the Subconscious

Posted by Pete

April 28, 2008

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My daughters had a drama rehearsal last week for their big Saturday night dinner theater. The drama teacher is notorious for going long on time, which is not a bad thing, but it does entail a lot of suspense-filled waiting, akin to watching water come to a boil. The question of the moment on every parent’s lips is, “Are they done yet?” Even the most involved parent’s demeanor can be shifted from excited hopefulness to that of a sedated mental patient with a simple horizontal nod, at which time they resume their sidewalk pacing and small talk.

Finding myself in this undesirable situation, I did what anyone else would do - I paced around and stared at the concrete sidewalk, stopping once in a while to engage in some small talk. After what seemed like hours, the late afternoon sun lit up the street in a way that only the late afternoon sun can. Feeling a subconscious urge to mentally stop and redirect my attention, I took out the camera phone and started shooting.

I like traffic signs for some reason. Maybe it’s the precision of the message they deliver (though it’s not always precise enough). Maybe it’s the symmetry and angularity. Maybe I’ve got some strange attraction to lines and angles. Maybe I was a stop sign in a previous life. Whatever the reason may be, it was certainly enough to make the Monday morning edition of the blog.

With regard to the rehearsal, it finished late as expected, but I learned that “late” is relative. Without the time to pace around and process my situation, I’d have never caught this photo. Having a sign that says “stop” was a great mental cue as well, one that I will pay a bit more attention to in the future.

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Comments

Comment by Chica on April 28, 2008 @ 12:16 pm

I was only a part of one play in my life in 5th grade, and it took forever to complete, even though it was a blast. I played a firewoman in a Davy Crockett play, it was fun. I bet your daughter is having a blast too.

The pic is cool, I like how you caught the shadow in it too. :)

Chicas last blog post..Campground Memories

On April 28, 2008 at 12:45 pm, pete said:

They enjoy it, but my youngest says that “she’s over it.” Looks like she’s a dancer, not an actor.

Comment by Joe on April 28, 2008 @ 3:21 pm

Dude, my daughters’ dance teachers both let them out late every week, so annoying. I like the picture, perhaps the analysis of the picture a bit more… 8.5

On April 28, 2008 at 5:41 pm, pete said:

Now I’m on the 10-point rating scale…man you’re brutal! :)

Comment by Diane on April 28, 2008 @ 4:48 pm

I think it’s the primary colours that make them such striking subjects for photographs! And the simplicity…
I used to love watching my boys in school plays…although the tension of hoping they didn’t fluff their lines was horrendous!

Dianes last blog post..Cherry blossom time

On April 28, 2008 at 5:41 pm, pete said:

I think you’re on to something - I like bold, solid colors. That could be it.

Comment by Marsha (at JustMe1947) on April 30, 2008 @ 10:34 am

Great shot and great background story to go with it! Enjoyed the post!

Join me for my Wordless Wednesday post if you can:

Just Some Thoughts

Marsha (at JustMe1947)s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday

On April 30, 2008 at 7:23 pm, pete said:

Thanks, I’m not on WW this week, but I’ll stop by and see you.

Comment by soapbox mom on April 30, 2008 @ 3:06 pm

Great shot. 5 from me!

Re: the play. But they’ll look back on it and remember that you took them there, right? So…that’s fantastic.
;-)

soapbox moms last blog post..Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…

On April 30, 2008 at 7:26 pm, pete said:

Thanks for the 5! And yes, they will look back with fond memories of the Dad Taxi. I’m off to movie night with my girls. :)

Pingback by Inflating My Shadow’s Ego | My GPS Camera Phone on April 30, 2008 @ 11:09 pm

[...] while waiting for my most awesome wife, Nancy, to pick me up from work. Taking a note from the Stop Sign of the Subconscious post, I used the hour to take photos of things. I’m particularly happy with this one, aside [...]