Saturday, August 16, 2008

Table for two


Waiting
San Francisco, CA, July 2008

You may think I'm a bit odd for making this observation, but I've always thought that freshly set tables at good restaurants seem to have a quiet grace about them. When the textures and light are just so, these temporary mini-scenes-where-life-happens seem to almost glow with potential. No one quite knows where the evening will end up. But for now, it's perfect.

And, yes, scenes like this have a poignancy (hey, that's this week's Thematic Photographic theme!) that stands in stark contrast to the mess that remains after the guests have left. It isn't a black and white progression, though. It's how the shades of gray present themselves between the time the two unseen diners arrive and the time they leave.

For now, the mind boggles with possibilities.

Your turn: What's in store for the folks who will occupy this table?

One more thing: A new Caption This post is headed our way later Sunday. We're still accepting entries for last week's photo. Click here to join in.

5 comments:

craziequeen said...

What's in store for these lucky folks?

Myriad possibilities - much like a neat tidy new house waiting for a new family....

I see a celebration; amiles, laughter and kisses. Or I see a sad occasion; tears, recriminations and loneliness.

Like you, I wonder which.....

cq

Mojo said...

If restaurant tables could talk...
CQ's mentioned the two extremes... the mean often gives us the most poignant of moments. Twenty years in, the last of the kids off to college... the nest is empty, and the poppa bird is getting the momma bird out for some Just-Us Time. No balloons, no streamers, no cake and hungama just you and me kid.

On second thought, that looks like a pretty spendy place. Might have to wait until that youngest one graduates for that.

Or will it be that we start at one extreme... but end at the other? I can think of lots of ways that could happen. And they're so no poignant!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I love the romance in this picture. Wow.

This one could inspire some very cool fiction. If it does, I'll let you have a sneak peek.

Anonymous said...

What's in store for the folks who will occupy this table?

"Possibly, cheeseburgah, fries, and Pepsi?" Nah !

Chad Oneil Myers said...

"Romance"...that's what's in store. At least, that's what I'd hope to have served up at a table like that.