Debra Darvick
enhance your now in word and imageLAUGHTER
BEFORE NOW
Curio Caption Time
OK, boys and girls. It’s caption time. Richard, are you game? Everyone else?
From Martin and me, “You’ve got me on pins and needles.”
Never Too Old….
Well, maybe I am. But when the waitress served a 6″ high sandwich, I decided it would have been much ruder to try and bite into it.
So I made an open-face sandwich instead. Albeit not sprouting with delight.
photo: courtesy of Debra Darvick
Another Caption Opportunity
Our last evening in the seaside town of Reggio-Calabria, I snapped this shot of the Greek goddess Athena and an unsuspecting tourist. The image made me laugh; thus, its presence in our Laughter drawer.
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, handicraft, practical reason and strategic warfare. Many directions to go should any readers want to offer a caption. Richard Strausz, are you game? Anyone else?
I’ll go first: “No, I am not Cupid. And besides, you’re married.”
“I am Athena, Goddess of handicraft AND strategic warfare. Who else do you think made Mars’ spear and shield?”
Raise Your Cup!
The editor in me never sleeps. When Martin and I drove by this sign I couldn’t help but laugh and imagine the restaurant’s staff explaining the cocktail: “We serve them in cups A, B and C. Double D if you’re sharing.” More absurd was when we went in to check out the food menu, Martin tried explaining to the waitress, whose first language was definitely not English, that their sign had a typo. I stopped him when I realized he was trying to explain exactly what the typo was. The waitress must have caught wind of something because the next time we drove by the typo had been corrected. We haven’t visited yet, but you can bet I’ll order a margarita in whatever sized cup it’s served in.
It’s a…?
This post is categorized as Laughter and not Visuals as you might initially think. I thought it would be fun to invite you to supply a caption to Martin’s photo. He had seconds to align this shot of Lisbon’s Memorial to the Discoveries with an incoming jet.
The 107′ memorial, museum and observation deck overlooks the coastal city of Belem near Lisbon. Unveiled in 1960, it was built to commemorate Prince Henry the Navigator’s discovery of the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde. Prince Henry, at the prow, is flanked by 32 statues featuring navigators, captains, cartographers and others of Portugal’s 15th century Age of Discovery, including Vasco de Gama and Magellan. It’s good to be reminded of the courage, determination and sheer audacity of the discoverers of yore.
Walking across the wavy-patterned plaza, I felt wobbly and off-kilter as if I were one of Magellan’s deck hands trying to get my sea legs. The 150′ compass rose mosiac in the forecourt of the monument was crafted from different types of limestone, including a rare beige limestone found only around Lisbon and Sintra. Architect Cristino da Silva’s (1896 – 1976) Mappa Mundi measures 50′ wide. Its design depicts the established routes of Portuguese ships opened up during the Age of Discovery. Before heading to the observation deck, I tiptoed across the Mappi Mundi, crossing the world in a matter of steps, not years. No scurvy either.
(photos courtesy of Martin Darvick)
Memories
Scene: Shabbat morning services.
Dramatis Personae:
My friend who recounted this story.
A young boy seated behind her.
Friend overhears young boy sighing to his father in exasperation, “When is the service going to be over?”
Friend, after the service: “You know, when I was your age it was hard for me to sit through the service, too.”
Young boy, his eyes widening as they take in her white hair and mature face: “You mean you can remember back that far?'”
photo credit: