Caption This 72

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Montreal, QC, May 2008 [Click to enlarge]

It's ironic that the hospital where my father is is the same place where I was born and the same place where I spent so much time as a child. Soon after my own medical adventures there - 6th floor, paediatrics - they closed the ward and converted it to geriatrics. Time marches on, I guess.

So every time we visit my father, I feel this need to wander the halls at least once. I try to remember what it felt like when I was a child - and by extension what it's like for my father now that he's there, too. I walk slowly down near-deserted halls, trying to record everything with my eyes. But visuals are only part of the equation. Hospitals all seem to have a certain spirit to them. They're scenes of immense joy and even more immense tragedy, and everyone has strong feelings at the mere mention of the word. During these walkabouts, I try to capture that in my mind's eye as well.

This time, I took my camera. I know it's pretty much verboten to shoot in places like this, but I figured it's better to beg forgiveness after the fact than to ask permission beforehand (I know that makes me a bad boy. So be it. I wasn't shooting people, and indeed I didn't pull the lens cap off until I was sure there wasn't anyone else around. Which is a pretty easy thing to do in a place this big. The bigger they build them, the more empty they seem.)

Perhaps more than any, this image seemed to capture the mausoleum-like quiet of this place. I immediately knew it would make a great captionable photo. Now, over to you...

Your turn: Please suggest a caption for this photo in a comment. You may leave as many as you wish. I'll post the winner next Sunday.

About last week's image of my daughter's eye: I'll never run out of different ways to photograph our kids, and I hope they never tire of my lens. This week's honorable menschens list is full of some great, thoughtful captions. It was a tough week to choose:

• Barb: "Forward Focus"
• Aol: "The eyes have it!"
• Jacie: "The window to my soul."
• Bob-kat: "Looking to the future"
• Marcia: "Eye see the future"
• Omykiss: "Eye full ...."
• Terri: "My what big eyes you have."
• Heidi: "See the world... but don't lose your soul."
• Robin: "Eye on the prize."

Christine's "Limitless possibilities" resonated deeply with me this week. Her blog, Mommy Matters, has been one of my must-reads for much of the time I've been a blogger. Please drop by her place and congratulate her...and stick around for a bit of reading. You'll be glad you did.