Photo of the Day
Normally this picture would not warrant its own post, but I did say that my posts might get a little random during NaBloPoMo, right? So here we are. We live very close to a rapid transit station (BART), and you can see the mailbox in the background, which is where I mail letters and postcards and such. Yesterday I had a couple of things to mail, so I stopped by on my morning walk. Then I came across this tableau. A brand new walker, tag still attached, leaning against a bench. What’s the story? Does the fact that it appears to be wet underneath the bench mean anything? Was someone waiting there for a ride (the area where one picks up and drops off is right behind where I was standing), got piled into the car, and they forgot the walker? Were they magically cured? Raptured? Distressed by the death of Dick Cheney? Worried about elections, here and around the country? Happy about any of these things? I HAVE QUESTIONS. What say you? Any answers for me?
36 Comments
StephLove
It is a puzzling image, especially with the tag still attached. It kind of reminds of that famous 6-word story. For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
J
Oh, that’s the saddest 6 word story, isn’t it? I hope this one is happier.
AC
That is weird. You’d think it would be difficult to forget something like that although I suppose that I could manage. There seems to be an attached label. I wonder what it said.
J
The label was whatever tag it came with, meaning it was brand new.
Sam
My vote’s for magically cured. Also, I feel like I might have walked right by this without noticing how odd it was.
J
I almost did!
Suzanne
Ooooh I am so intrigued! WHAT is the story?! And we will probably never know, Julie! Unless you stake out the bench and record any and all walker-related interest or activity. I am going with the Miracle Theory, myself. Oh! Or maybe it was some sort of awful catfishing incident!
J
I went back today, and it is gone. WE WILL NEVER KNOW.
NGS
Oh, man. This sort of makes me sad. Someone bought it and then forgot it?
When my father died, my mother, sister, husband, and I sat around to make a to-do list. There were some obvious things, like call his work/call the VA/deal with life insurance/figure out payments for bills, but then there was silence and my sister said, “we have to return the damn walker.” They had bought a walker for him the previous week and he hadn’t used it.
Maybe that’s why this makes me so sad.
J
What a poignant memory, I’m so sorry Engie. I hope this walker has a happier story behind it. Like OK, they forgot it, but they came back and got it later. It’s not there today.
I have a similar but happier story, about my friend Neva and how she had to rehome her mom’s lift it chair, which I am pretty sure was also never used.
https://jellyjules.com/happy-ending-for-a-chair/
Allison McCaskill
What the heck? The only explanation that doesn’t upset me is that the person was suddenly magically healed and didn’t need it to walk anymore. My dad needs a walker. We bought him a walker. He won’t use the walker. Sigh.
J
My great aunt was like that about her walker too. FRUSTRATING.
Nicole MacPherson
Oh wow, I have questions too. I’m sure the answers are not happy ones.
J
Maybe they are stubborn and refuse to use it. I used to throw my glasses behind my friend’s fridge when I was a kid. So Person’s adult child bought it for them, and Person said, “Oh hell no, I’m leaving this here.”
Tierney
I think this is a very plausible explanation. Somewhere in a parallel NaBloPoMo universe, someone is writing a blog post about this walker under the prompt, “Worse ‘present’ I’ve ever been given. I just know it!
J
LOL, I love that! And if that’s the case, I hope the person is right and they DON’T actually need it!
ernie
You often stumble across little mysteries, like the shoes on the car not that long ago. This walker – well, my dad has a cane and maybe a walker? He refuses to use it, so maybe it was someone who left it there because he /she felt it wasn’t necessary. Hoping it wasn’t anything emergent.
J
It’s pretty congested around here, so there are plenty of mysteries!
DB Stewart
Love this riddle of a short-story of a photo. I’d like to vote for spontaneously cured.
J
Agreed!
San
Strange indeed. And I love how your mind went directly into contemplation mode 🙂
J
I wanted to know, what the heck happened?
Martha
Lol! I definitely have questions too. That’s so random!
J
Totally random.
Sarah
Definitely rapture or the laying on of hands. You should write this story.
J
I looked and looked yesterday, but couldn’t find a picture I took a while ago. In front of a building with a sign in the window that says ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’, a lone crutch splayed about. I love to think that the person was CURED.
nance
Maybe someone bought it and it was never used, so they dropped it off here, hoping it would be picked up by another person who needed it.
My mother is very vain and hates all outward signs of her aging (she’s 95! come on!). She will use her cane, which is tastefully covered with a floral design, but she refuses to use a walker, which is so much safer. Not worth the battle, so we sold the walker at a garage sale.
J
Sigh. My great aunt didn’t want to use one, she decided that since my grandma had been using one and fell anyway, the walker was the problem.
Margaret
I love your speculations about it! It’s a very basic walker but the fact that it’s brand new makes it more of a mystery.
J
Exactly!
Daria
Hmmmm….. Thought-provoking!
I don’t know but I wanna believe it was rapture!
J
LOL, the rapture happened and so few people got taken that no one noticed. I mean, except for this situation. It’s POSSIBLE, right?
Tobia | craftaliciousme
That such a puzzling photo. And I an’t understadn how this walker is working. is it folded? It seems 2 dimensional. Weird. And the puddle underneath… I didnt see it at first only after your mentioning.
J
Yes, it’s folded up to fit in the trunk of the car.
Michelle G.
J, I love your sense of humor – the wet spot under the bench cracked me up. I’m choosing to think the walker story had a happy ending!
J
Me too!