Friday, January 22, 2010

Unexpected Visitor






My Grandpa Max took pleasure in the odd, the surprising. He loved strangenesses and misadventure. If something was out of place, off-kilter, amiss, wrong...even worrying or macabre...I could always catch that glint in his eye (recognizing it because I was exactly the same way). He carefully documented life's mishaps, great and small, with his camera...and he was always on the lookout for mishaps to document.

Imagine his delight, then, when a car landed in his dooryard on an otherwise unremarkable afternoon.

31 comments:

Kat Mortensen said...

Wow! That would be surprising and, in his case, I suppose, serendipitous.

I thought the name of one of the streets was Jerusalem, but closer inspection revealed it to something else.

Cool post, Leah!

Pearl said...

Good to know it runs in the family!

Pearl

savannah said...

and now all y'all have to have is a cellphone! xoxox

Baino said...

Haha not only a classic car but a classic snap as well! I hope he was insured, that fence is looking decidedly dodgy.

Libertine said...

He must have been the only one excited about this whole situation.
Great story.

C.M. Jackson said...

leah-

moments in time--Great job Grandpa! I would love to see the red vw in the shot--never actually saw a red vdub--what a wonderful memory and post-c

Anonymous said...

There's really a
"Jo're a lemon"-Street? Fruity!

I bed it made his day.

Brian Miller said...

ha. that is amazing. had a friend end up with a car in her living room one night. they had just gone to bed. scary.

Betsy Brock said...

Oh, brilliant idea for a post! Love your Grandpa's wit and thrill of the crazy details of life! And I love the name Max...if we'd had any more boys, I'm sure one of them would have gotten that name! :)

mapstew said...

I would very much like a red VW.
Is it still there? :¬)

xxx

Megan said...

That. Is. Awesome.

Tracey said...

I have never heard the term dooryard. I find it fascinating.

Cece said...

Cool. I have to say even though I think we ride different party trains, we still have some common political beliefs, therefore, a bipartisan relationship is in yours and my future. :)

Martin said...

Grandpa Max was an interesting character. If he wasn't a photo-journalist, perhaps he should have been?

nick said...

As you will have gathered, I'm very fond of strangeness and misadventure myself. But I'm not yet in the habit of filing it all way for posterity. Oh dear, now you've given me the idea, I'll have to try and resist the compulsion....

The car landing in his own yard must have been a bit too close for comfort.

Shaista said...

Oh yes I agree, a brilliant moment to capture - I can just imagine the frisson of excitement that must have run through him at the possibility of a Great Picture. Hope his spirit is somewhere enjoying this sharing of his fortuitous photography :)

Hunter said...

Proof positive that hippies can't drive.

Barry said...

It's always nice when company drops in, of course its not polite to drop in unexpectedly.

The photo reminds me of one of my first cars, which was a green VW beetle. I had many misadventures with it, but managed never to crash through the front of a house.

Tess Kincaid said...

At least he took pleasure in this odd incident! I'm afraid most wouldn't. My first car was a red VW convertible, btw.

Mike said...

everything that happens these days can be captured in an instant, but back then, it was special to catch a shot like that.

MuseSwings said...

Well, at least the VW found a parking spot... Great post and picture!

Pat said...

Now that's fortuitous!

New Yorker wannabes said...

Now that must have been surprising! I hope nobody got hurt...

xoxo

L. D. said...

That is a amazing photo. There is so much going on in the photo. I like the designs of the railings along the sidewalks, and people are sure looking it all over.

The Unbearable Banishment said...

Henry St. has always been one of my fantasy addresses. If only...

100 followers! Congrats!

lettuce said...

ha! thats a great photo.


I wonder how it would have been reported today?

FireLight said...

Well, we always hear about how you can park a VW Bug anywhere, but this is taking it bit too far! A great photo! Lots of interesting detail....life in the city!

tony said...

It Kinda Fell Into His Lap (Almost!) It's Great When History Comes To You!

Madame DeFarge said...

Parked by a man no doubt?

Tom said...

Whoops! Was he invited in for a cup of tea?

Princess said...

Dear Miss Leah,
I would have loved to have met Grandpa Max.
My Father too, was a shutterbug. Unfortunately we don't have many Photos to remember him by as he was always behind the lens and very rarely in font of it.
I love it when we find historical evidence to prove a life well lived.