Photo Noir

[Firebird98]

*Cubs fans eagerly await the magical World Series Train to pull into Wrigley Feild...*

[Dan the Goob]

Had an idea the other day. I know that many of the folks here are pretty creative writers. I'm not one of them [img]wink.gif[/img] but I thought maybe I could provide some inspiration. So I'm posting some of the pictures I took when we were in Chicago, with the idea that some of you will post some stories, poems, whatever...



<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 21, 2003 12:45 AM: Message edited by: Dan the Goob ]</font>

[tyledras]

well, the red 'x' in a box is very creative, but i don't know that i can write a whole story around it...


is my comp just acting funny again?

[Jadian]

It's a black and white photo of an underground with evenly spaced people standing along the station floor, their heads turned to the right, presumably towards a train pulling in (no train visible).

[Neophobic Man]

Har-dee-har-har...

[erisesoteric]

And it's dark tonight, even though the lamps are burning.
And we keep our distance, though we're waiting for the same thing.
And soon, it will come and it will take us away, or back again.
And we'll be crowded together to closely for a short time.
And that time will seem so long.
And we won't speak to each other.
It's so dangerous to speak to strangers.
And it's so dark

It's so very very dark...

[erisesoteric]

Oh, and tyle, try this link...

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/DCLULEY2/belmont+sm.JPG

[Dan the Goob]

Part II

[Jelymo]

it's not really creative writing, but the first photo made me think of conformity (i think that's the word i'm looking for. first word that came to mind). it's all so neat, with everyone almost perfectly spaced, all waiting and watching together for the train, a train which will take them to a stop somewhere along the one straight track. no direction; just one path, ultimately leading to the same place. everyone getting off at their "stop" somewhere along the track, like they do every day, and not questioning it. just taking what comes to them. almost monotonous. they don't need the other trains on their different tracks, just this one, because it is guaranteed to take them exactly where they want to go, where they should go, and that's fine with them. no surprises, just the comfortable consistency that it brings them. they never think to get off at an earlier/later stop, or to take another train instead. all they need to make them content is this one path, this path of life, and that is how they live their lives, day after day, year after year.

you could probably expand this further by looking at the complex track systems of trains/subways, and how that is everyone's lives interconnected, but still on their own separate, individual path, sometimes overlapping with another track, but always going back onto its own path. together yet not, each one distinct in its choice of track, not quite touching the other tracks. close but still at a slight distance. together they help other people find their way through the day, through their life, taking one track and then the next to reach their goal. eventually settling in and taking the same path of tracks each day, not questioning it, because it gets them to where they want to go. and then we're back to the first analysis.

sometimes they think "maybe i should take the bus today," or "it's such a nice day, i think i'll walk and enjoy the scenery," but most of them will still take their same train, their rock, the constant that keeps things running smoothly with no forseeable bumps in the way, not thinking about what they may be missing. they like their predictability, and they intend keeping it that way.

personally, i think i'll walk, and take different routes each day. true, will i end up in the same place at the end of the path, but it's all about the journey getting there that makes your life; who you are, who you aspire to be, and how you want to live. i like the walk; it gives me the freedom to change my path whenever i choose. and if i feel the path isn't quite what i wanted, or i stray and find myself lost, the subway is always there as an option to get me back home safely until i'm ready to walk again.

* * * * *

as for the second one, all i can think of is a bad japanese accent and sushi. so i'm no good there.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 04, 2003 03:21 AM: Message edited by: Jelymo ]</font>

[AsIs]

She said I should meet her here,
Here at the Tokyo Motel,
I've been waiting for over a hour,
In the seventh dimension of hell.

What will she say to me?
That we haven't said before,
Has she figured out the answers?
Will I leave wanting more?

Bartender another drink,
No, I'm not really drinking alone,
She said I should meet her here,
Can I borrow your phone?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 04, 2003 12:26 AM: Message edited by: AsIs ]</font>