Low and behold

The first adventure of ”Driving Around Brockton” took place on Friday, January 18th… 

I was leaning to the right, extending my right arm out to the passenger-side window, I pressed the button and the camera began to work.  I’d been wanting a photo of the old Ortendahl billboard.  Just then, a sudden angry rap on my window startled me.  I dropped the camera onto the floor and tipped my coffee all over. 

The man at my window resembled Phil Esposito when he played for the Bruins, but his hair was stringier and sprinkled with patches of baldness which had plans of soon uniting, like burnt lawn, or warm lava globs meeting up in the lava lamp you had when Phil Esposito played for the Bruins.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hollered. 

“Hooh, Jesus!” I said as I side-scampered. 

“Are you parked here in the middle of the road taking pictures!?”  he shouted. 

‘Yeah, yeah.  I guess I am…’ I thought to myself.  I looked in my rearview mirror and was startled again to find that there’d formed behind me a line of cars about 11 deep.  I could see grumpy old Esposito sorely shuffling towards the open driver’s side door of a big yellow garbage truck, shrugging his shoulders and holding his hands up — perhaps asking the universe what he’d done to deserve having ten minutes added to his work day.  

As I turned onto the East Nilsson Street Bridge, my heart was racing.  The drivers of the cars in the line I’d caused were pressing their horns and holding them down for effect.  I could sense it — frustration…  I sped over the bridge and sank into the fourway stop on Clinton Street. 

The above photo is the result of this Drive Around Brockton.

~ by brocktonthebush on February 3, 2008.