Sunday, February 16, 2014
Pine Buff, Arkansas

I have serious doubts that when Bill and/or Freda etched this public statement of their connection in wet concrete on the south side of the new Shell station 15 or 20 years ago, that the emblazonry would ever be displayed for all to see on the World Wide Web.  Concurrently, I have serious doubts that the homey who recently deposited his empty 25 next to said emblazonry intended to be the art director who set up this shot.  Regardless of their intentions or knowledge, here it is, immortalized in pixels.

When I looked down and saw what would become this image, I had the feeling that the time was a serendipitous occasion, but not exactly why.  The serendipity did not occur to me until I was working on the image to bring out its best points.  Then the lights came on.  Two widespread events had to occur at exactly the right time as a setup for a third event, my arrival on the scene.

None of the parties who had a hand in creating the event had knowledge of each other until the event occurred, and three of those, Bill, Freda, and the depositor/art director are in all likelihood still unaware of each other or the event.

It gives one pause to think:  In how many such events have I been an unwitting participant?  The questions from this point could keep coming with belt-fed frequency, but rather than go down that slippery slope, let us suffice to recall the immortal Fats Waller observation:  One never know, do one?