Friday, November 3, 2017

Birthday Wishes and Autumn Leaves


I often skip the ritual of wishing people "happy birthday" on Facebook. It's easy to do, but there are so many people and so many birthdays, and I just get careless about sending a message to all of my 450-plus friends.

But having just gone through my own list of "happy birthdays" from many of my friends, let me just say that it is very cool to hear from so many people who I otherwise don't communicate with directly. Friends from elementary school, former work colleagues from Florida and New Jersey and New York, cousins and aunts, old family friends -- it's great to get a message from each of them. In some cases, it's the one time of the year we say something to each other directly. So I have to remember that and be better about sending the same messages myself!

As it turned out, our activities here were pretty subdued -- I didn't have my martini and we didn't watch "Stranger Things." Instead we watched a very troubling documentary about sexual harassment between older and younger men and boys in Hollywood. It was a well-made film and I only heard about it through an article in The Guardian -- apparently the producers have had trouble getting it distributed because it goes after the Hollywood establishment. Given all the current discussion about harassment, it seemed worth watching.

I have a little project going on Facebook where I post a picture of a single autumn leaf each day. I don't know how I got onto this -- I guess I saw so many interesting leaves lying around, and I was photographing them anyway, and it occurred to me to share them. People seem to like the idea. This photo was "today's leaf" -- I found it on Monday when I went to sit in a park near work during my lunch break.

I'm off to the hospital this morning to have my chest x-ray and blood test done. I hope to be at work by noon at the latest!

9 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

The picture of the leaf is stunning Steve! So simple and the long shadow with the light defining the autumn leaf's colours make for a brilliant composition. Good luck at the hospital today.

Anonymous said...

I agree with YP, it's a lovely photo. Good luck with the tests, hope it's nothing serious. A belated happy birthday!
Xoxo
Barbara.

Ms. Moon said...

I have come to love the way light shines through the color red. I think that, as silly as it sounds, this has come from observing my roosters and their lovely combs and how they look when the sun is going down.
And that leaf is a perfect example of sun-through-red.

Be well, Steve. You are loved.

ellen abbott said...

I'm really liking the leaf photos and this one is really good. I'm also bad about send birthday wishes via FB. there's just too many! though like you, I do like receiving them.

Red said...

I learned the importance of wishing people happy birthday from middle school kids. They were devastated if they weren't wished happy birthday over the intercom.

Anonymous said...

I love your leaf photos. A wonderful meditation on color and light. I don't list my birthday on Facebook. Although I do have the true joy in wishing others a Happy Birthday on their day.

Sharon said...

I love the leaf photo! Perfect light. The documentary sounds interesting and very timely. I'm kind of the same way on Facebook and then when my birthday rolls around I feel the same way. I really do need to be better at that.

Catalyst said...

I hope your medical tests come out all right.

That's a beautiful leaf photo.

Oh, and a belated happy birthday!

jenny_o said...

I couldn't have described "why" in the same way YP did, but that photo is beautiful and he has nailed the reasons for it. I see individual leaves of interest while I am walking but my photos never turn out like yours--not even close :)