Doggerel, as you surely recall, is light, as in "not serious", verse or poetry. Sometimes doggerel can take on, even more lightly, or loosely, a photographic form ; which is exactly what happened this past Monday when I was strolling around Paris, well, sprinting, after my daughters who were in a shopping frenzy, but at one point they went into a department store, and left me, like a dog tied to a sign post, outside to await them. So I started looking more closely at the signpost I was "tied" to, and what I saw were the results of a commendable effort by the City of Paris to encourage dog owners to scoop up their pet's poo poo and dispose of it properly, rather than leaving it on the sidewalk like mines in a mine field as had been the common practice in the past several centuries of Parisian history. . . (imagine Louis XIV exclaiming, "Merde, I've just stepped in doggy doo doo !" outside the Louvre) The sign says, loosely translated, "Because I Love my neighborhood, I will diligently persevere in scooping up my doggy's poop, no matter how loose his bowels, every day, or else I may be fined 457 euros ! :
.
I took this next photo a few minutes later (as I am a dogged photographer) outside the Samaritaine department store, which is no longer a department store; the building is closed for a major makeover. While being renovated, the old store display windows have charming murals displayed in them. It wasn't until this morning, looking through the photos from Monday's adventure in Paris, that I noticed how closely these two images resemble each other, the angle of the leash, the postures of man and dog. . . now if that is not serendipity-do at work, well I don't know what is !
.
And a few minutes later a lovely young lady walked by the same spot, finding the whole story just hilarious :
.
..
Posts
6 comments:
Yeah! I love your story and the juxtaposition of photos. It works beautifully.
Thks for the award too, you're very kind. I have no time to do anything about it now and to tell you the truth I never post the awards I get, I find that such displays border on auto-congratulation and I'm not all that comfortable with it. But the intention is much appreciated anyway.
Ah, yes!...It's a thrill when things "tie" together like that!
Waoouah...! ! ! Là, t'es plus qu'excellent, t'es SUBLIME ! Le coup de maître, putain ( je l'ai écrit tant pis ! ) Quel spot !... La vache !
Very excellent Owen, nice shot !
Ceci dit, la nana à l'air pas mal non plus ... Mais le mec, la dégaine sur cette photo...! La vaaaaccchhhe ! SUPER Owen ! Mais... attends... il me... mais c'est JOJO ! Là t'as déconné Owen ! C'est JOJO un pote de la tante à ma grand-mère ! Le mec sur la photo je te dis que c'est l e p o t e à t a t a Germaine ! ... Quand il va savoir qu'il est sur ton blog.............. Prépares le porte-feuille Owen ! je te le dis !
Mais quelle nouille je suis !... Super dans tous les cas Owen !
Allez, à plus ! Tu reprends encore de la tisane au fait ? Moi, tous les soirs ! Pourquoi ?
Ah Zut Jeff ! A cause de l'affreux JOJO et ses avocats il va falloir que je quittes l'hexagone pour aller m'installer en Mongolie du Nord, sans ADSL, dans un yurt... et je ne bloggerai qu'une fois par mois quand je descends à Ulan Bator faire le plein de nouriture à chameau... et je vais amener un gros sac de ton poudre pour tisane, car je commence à l'apprécier, de plus en plus ! Merci !
Jill, yeah, it was the leash that tied it together for me... magic was in the air.
Nat, glad you like it, I had to wait a long time crouched on the steps of a subway entrance, with people going by thinking I was out of my mind just sitting there not moving, with my camera poked through the railing at sidewalk level... ah, the things one does to get a photo ! I understand about the awards, although I don't really see it as auto-congratulation, as the congratulations are coming from elsewhere... but I respect your integrity in that sense... "To thine own self be true", right ?
I hope the shoppers had as successful a mission as you did!
Boringly clinging to the point at the beginning; I don't want you to feel deprived, but I believe the Courts of French Kings had special doggies called "Mange Merdes". Some functional, low to the ground breed. And you thought kissing pigs was nasty!
Post a Comment