Fiddling & Whiling Away Time
Tuesday, November 05, 2019
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| Caitlin Legault |
In that past century and for 15 years in this one when
boredom hit I would tell my Rosemary, “I am going to the darkroom to fiddle.” I
would make myself a large mug of very strong tea, mix and pour the chemicals
and then to my photo files which were in another room.
There was the excitement of the routine (a paradox in a way)
of the smells of fixer and the selenium toner I used to make my negatives and
photographic prints archival. Sometimes I used sepia toner which had a strong
smell of bathroom sulphur.
This was a welcome routine in those days best written
here in Spanish , días de ocio.
That was taken away with our move to our present
Kitsilano duplex. My oficina and studio fotógrafico used to be the garage. It
is warm, well it and behind this monitor or to the door to my right I can see
the garden and in this gray day there is my Rosemary putting plants away for
the winter.
Behind me and on the sides are my files. I picked two that
you see here just because I can. There is no ulterior motive for placing the
photograph of J with those of Caitlin Legault except to state that I
am fiddling and I have been trying to fill empty blog holes in October (that’s
done) and now to November.
As for
fiddling my grandmother used to tell me, “Cuando el diablo no tiene nada que
hacer, con el rabo espanta moscas.” That translates to, “When the devil
is bores he swats flies with his tail.” This is a tad better than when I told
my abuelita that I was bored she would say,
“Chúpate el codo,” or, "Suck your elbow". That would keep me busy for many
minutes.
At this point I no longer miss the chemical smells and I enjoy the warmth of my oficina as I sit facing my monitor.
