Our own famous and fabulous beloved author, Susanne Bacon, who comes to us as a gift from Germany, challenged me to write another Double Take feature with her.
Susanne and I like our Double Take columns because we start with only a kernel of an idea, such as a word or a photo. Without consulting each other, we independently let our two minds run free. When finished with our independent writing, Susanne and I compare our columns. It amazes us to see that our two minds, beginning at the same starting point, move in such divergent directions. The exercise displays and compares two human minds in action.
I sifted through my eclectic 17,135 photo collection to find what I considered my best choice. We thought the picture would provide a focal point to inspire our individual writing efforts for another edition of Double Take.
Clik here to view.
We challenged each other to independently write a column related to how the image stimulated our individual thinking.
The words that follow describe where my mind went as I gazed at the photo.
The mover man in the photo is seen carrying two boxes out of a moving van into my new Delaware home. He is using the balanced, powerful, and little-known human hand truck strap method.
This image helps document my leaving Washington State after 77 years, 51 of which were in the City of Lakewood. Washington State is our 42nd state, having been admitted to the Union in 1889. My new home is in our 1st state, Delaware, which was recognized in the year 1787.
Within 60 days, my wife and I bravely made a whirlwind decision to sell out, pack, move, and land in Delaware after 43 years in our Lakewood home.
The photo reminds me that while we managed to box up and move what George Carlin always referred to as “stuff,” none of my boxes were large enough to carry my friends to Delaware.
Friends such as…
Ruthann,
Elisabeth,
Frank & Twila
Bernadette,
Ben,
Rob & Janice,
Rosanne & Gary,
Jim & Wendy
Susanne,
Larry & Sandy
Jim & Lori
Skip & Kathi
Niki & John,
Sharli & Larry
Bert,
Biff,
Laura,
Gabe & Cyndie,
Dave & Dave & Dave, & Dave, & Dave & Dave, & Dave, & Dave (I have a lot of friends named Dave & I am not kidding.)
Drew & Patricia,
Edmund & Vikki,
Starbucks baristas Edra & Peggy,
Erik,
Corey,
Fred & Lark,
Brothers Peter & Robert & Horst,
Michael,
Marie,
Marianne,
Mary,
Mel,
Micah,
Ralf & Thelma
Ralph,
Peggy,
Steve,
Brothers Rick & Ron,
Shane & Diane,
Sharon,
Shelly,
Peter
Skip,
Sonja & John,
Tonya,
Tim.
Lenny & Sandie
If I forgot to mention anyone, I hope they do not see this column and thereby discover I forgot to mention them.
My stuff did fit into my moving boxes. My friends did not.
Yes, my photo says it all. I miss my friends and the Suburban Times readers who followed my Westside Story columns.
Conversely, if you allow me to be frank, or Joe, for that matter, I can honestly say I will not miss my baby sister, Peg, who is two years younger than me. She has been a Washington State resident for 75 years. It does not bother me, in the least, to be 2800 miles away from my sister’s Seattle home.
Before you think I am a mean and uncaring brother, I hasten to inform you of a mind-blowing fact. My sister independently, coincidently, and simultaneously is moving to the East Coast too. Now, this fact makes me wish to return to my study of statistical probability.
Think about it. A brother and sister, who are a part of the third generation of the Washington State Boyle family, decide, at the same time, to move to the East Coast. What we have here can only be thought of as a Double Take.
Care to read Susanne Bacon’s Double Take? Click here.
Joe Boyle, author of the Suburban Times’ column “Westside Story”, and Susanne Bacon, novelist and author of the Suburban Times’ column “Across the Fence”, are sharing their thoughts about a variety of topics in their joint project of double features called “Double Take”. Comments are more than welcome, as they know that the world has more than their two angles – the more the merrier.