October 6, 2019

Sitting on the rock of the creek...

The man in the middle

A man waded to get to a rock in the middle of Boulder Creek. He stayed there a long time. I don't know what he was thinking.

Last week in Boulder, Colorado.

ADDED: See the bridge in the background? I walked up that way and stopped in the middle of the bridge to look upstream and then downstream. As I switched sides, I was surprised by a woman in tight black jeans carrying a large coffee cup and sauntering in a straight line who seemed determined to walk straight across the bridge in a manner awkwardly devoid of awareness of my presence. Then she stopped and apologized and, as I was thinking okay, that was weird, I noticed her companion, a woman with a camera. It was a set up shot. Wow — I thought — I have encountered an Influencer in the wild.

Such a contrast — the meditative man, barefoot on a rock in the stream and the tightly clothed and scripted woman on the bridge. The unbridgeable distance between them felt so funny and sad.

58 comments:

rehajm said...

He was high...

Roughcoat said...

He was thinking "oh wow." It's Boulder.

rcocean said...

Sitting on a rock in the creek, watching the ripples go downstream, Sitting on a rock in the creek, wasting time...

gspencer said...

"I don't know what he was thinking."

Probably wondering why the rich and lawless get away with so much, as he held a picture of the Obamas and Hillary at a party.

Lyle Sanford, RMT said...

watching the time roll away

Lyle Sanford, RMT said...

watching the time roll away

robother said...

"I don't know what he was thinking."

Damning, if true. I don't know if I can continue reading a blogger that can't speak from the third person omniscient point of view.

Fernandinande said...

I used to live and raise trout here, about two blocks from Boulder Crk (the funny looking grid); it used to be a Tivoli-style brewery with the water supply a block uphill, but it looks like that's all gone.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

"woman...sauntering in a straight line [...] in a manner devoid of awareness of my presence."

They grow those here. Sorry.

traditionalguy said...

A creek runs through it. Beautiful place.

tim in vermont said...

Travel around Europe and you quickly get sick of those cloying cuties with their always nearby boyfriend with a camera. At first I would respect their attempts to get a shot, but after a while I just walked through their little setups if that’s where I was headed.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

History: About Eben G. Fine

Eben Givens Fine was born in Missouri in 1865. He came to Boulder in 1886 to take a job in George Fonda's drug store. In 1907 he became part owner of Temple Drug Company. Fine retired from his profession as a pharmacist in 1927, and was elected secretary of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, a position he held for many years. He was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, serving twice as its secretary.

Fine helped raise subscriptions to build the Boulderado Hotel, and helped organize the Semi-Centennial Celebration in 1909. He was instrumental in bringing a group of Ute Indians to Boulder for the celebration. Fine lectured extensively on Boulder, making annual tours around the country to promote Boulder through slide lectures. He became the city’s biggest promoter, earning him the nickname, “Mr. Boulder.” He wrote a book of reminiscences shortly before his death called "Remembered Yesterdays." Eben G. Fine died on April 30, 1957 at the age of 91.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gilbar said...

Our Beloved Professor said...
A man waded to get to a rock in the middle of Boulder Creek. He stayed there a long time. I don't know what he was thinking.

I can Tell You what he was thinking; He wasn't thinking ANYTHING. That's the advantage of being in the middle of running water. It's a BILLION times more effective than meditation...
Unless there's Trouts; Then, you're thinking about Trouts

Ralph L said...

You were supposed to be in the Bucky Badger outfit this time.

Shane said...

I asked him and he told me...he was thinking about the tide rolling away, and Ukraine.

Michael K said...

Lotta crazies in Boulder.

Kyjo said...

But he’s using his smartphone—perhaps to look at her photos on social media.

Rosalyn C. said...

I'm not sure but it looks like the man (assuming gender is always dangerous) on the rock is looking at a cellphone. The other humans are also interacting with electronic devices as is the person blogging about it and the people reading about it.

Quaestor said...

The fast flow of instantly appearing comments is over. I hope this inspires your writing.

Yes, long terms of enforced isolation do produce inspired writing: Thomas Malory, Kit Marlowe, Oscar Wilde, Dostoyevsky, Solzhenitsyn... everybody should try talking to a stone wall.

steve uhr said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

along these lines, maybe a little more intense--
Subway comes to a stop, doors open, and a jovial clown with a rainbow wig steps in on one end, while someone is being beaten and dragged out at the other end.

the homeless eating breakfast outside Tiffany's is a curiosity

BJM said...

Looks like a good spot for stacked rocks? See any?

Heartless Aztec said...

Where's a mountain lion when you need one? Now that would be some influencing.

MayBee said...

It was a set up shot. Wow — I thought — I have encountered an Influencer in the wild.

hahahahhahahaha!

Temujin said...

I don't know what he was thinking.

I love mushrooms.

Michael K said...

Still gone for the day.

Maillard Reactionary said...

"I don't know what he was thinking."

Perhaps, "I've finally found a place where people won't ask me what I'm thinking."

That has sometimes been my thought when sitting on a rock by a stream.

Howard said...

So judgemental for a 60's counter culture libtard

traditionalguy said...

Running and splashing water generates positive ions. Same for city fountains. Feels good around them.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Update

Did you walk over bridge in the photo and thru the underpass to the other side? There is short and steep hike up to red rocks park right after you emerge from the underpass. (to the left) Great views of the city below. Worth the effort.
(yes - another red rocks park)

Clyde said...

I downloaded iOS 13 for my iPhone yesterday and played around with the custom emoji. I actually got something that resembles me. I'll probably go back to the little green snake eventually, though.

tim in vermont said...

I didn’t know you. could “saunter” in a straight line. 'Strut' maybe?

Beasts of England said...

He was probably thinking ‘That lady has crazy hair, but I won’t mention it.’

narciso said...

indeed


https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/eric-zemmour-blockbuster-speech/

Unknown said...

Where in Boulder is that? I went to school there in the 70’s (when we were just as crazy) and I don’t recognize it.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chuck said...

I spent a summer working in Boulder during high school -- 1962 IIRC. Worked at the Bureau of Standards during the week and hiked up by the Flatirons on weekends. It was a small town and it took a decent commute through farm land to get to Denver, which was kind of tiny itself. The population of Colorado has more than tripled since then.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Man with the Purposeful Stride --New Yorker cartoon

https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img/print/the-man-with-the-purposeful-stride-new-yorker-cartoon_u-l-pgqa320.jpg

Published September 7, 1987 The Man with the Purposeful Stride Man walking very swiftly and aggressively past others who look aghast.

wildswan said...

Social Media styles
Blogger style, Influencer style, Reading Thoreau style, Stream of consciousness from commenter boulders passing over me in Milwaukee as I listen to Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, then American Pie style

Ann Althouse said...

“I didn’t know you. could “saunter” in a straight line.”

It’s a fake casual amateur model thing. It looked quite odd, but made sense when I saw the camera.

PluralThumb said...

I’d have to assume he was thinking;
is that a friendly influencer or should I be dubious and prepare for freight or flight response ?
If I was him or her for that matter, I’d call my insurance company and find out if I save any money on a lobotomy post this experience.
At least he chose a rock, not paper or scissors.
Outnumbered though. Sucks to be him.

Crazy World said...

Beautiful

Crazy World said...

Reminds me of Slide Rock in Sedona AZ

purplepenquin said...

I have encountered an Influencer in the wild.

Are you not an "influencer" as well?

NTTAWWT, of course

Tank said...

Watching Warren speak with the sound off, I noticed that, in her movements, she looks like Hitler.

Try it.

tim in vermont said...

It was a major coup for them when they assimilated Drudge into the Borg. “Resistance is futile.” Some of the stuff he is linking just seems embarrassing for him.

rehajm said...

King Warren of the Roundtable

Remember: she's called the frontrunner by many...

tim in vermont said...

Watching the Ukraine conspiricists interpreting the evidence reminds me a lot of when creationists look at the fossil record. Creationists start with an unshakable assumption, then view every piece of evidence through that light. There might be hundreds of millions of years of evolution of simpler life forms laid down on ocean bottoms and fossilized sequentially, which clearly show the evolution of new species from the old, with intermediate forms, the age of which can be verified by dating methods that comport with our best understanding of nuclear physics today, but the response will be “But there is no fossil evidence of an intermediate form between a finch and a tanager! Or God must be directing the changes in DNA! Try to disprove that one!

The crazier theories about Trump that you see on MSNBC tend to be as heavily caveated as when some college professor appears on In Search of Ancient Aliens or some such show. They will say things like “Some scientis believe that it’s not totally implausible that some people think that there is evidence that could be interpreted to mean that these runes might depict an ancient space traveler.”

“I’m not saying it’s aliens.... but it’s aliens!"

Rusty said...

BJM @ 3:26
gilbar knocked em down 'cause stacked rocks get in the way of a good cast. Pocket water is hard enough to cast without some smug fool adding to the difficulty. Ruining my zen
-like concentration. get off my lawn!

rhhardin said...

I finally worked the Tokelau Islands, after several days of trying
https://tokelau2019.com/

He was always very faint, which means I would be fainter; then suddenly loud and I worked him. Some ionospheric bounce fell into place for a moment.

Howard said...

Perhaps Ann meant "gavotte"

Kay said...

rehajm said...
He was high...
10/6/19, 12:12 PM

paminwi said...

Narcissistic at 6:33pm. Excellent article you linked to. Thanks for sharing that.

MadisonMan said...

I find Boulder to be an incredibly white town.

Laslo Spatula said...

"It looked quite odd, but made sense when I saw the camera."

People on porn sets say that all the time.

I am Laslo.

gina said...

"an influencer in the wild" haha love it! Sometimes it seems that's the only wildlife I encounter on a few of my hikes here in GA.

Original Mike said...

"He was always very faint, which means I would be fainter; then suddenly loud and I worked him.

rhhardin is Titus??? I would have never guessed (until now).