The things we see when we look down
New York, NY, November 2009
We'd come to this Dunkin Donuts, tucked into a New York street corner, to fill the kids' tummies with unhealthy fare - I know, annals of parenting... - in the midst of a blink-and-you-miss-it weekend in the big city. The server helping my wife didn't take kindly to my guerilla-dad photographic style, and used her broken English and hand signals to get me to put the camera away. This was the last picture I took before it dawned on me that I had crossed a line. It happens on occasion. This won't be the last time, either.
As I reviewed the pictures later on, this one stood out because it was typically bizarre. I had spent more than enough time that day capturing the usual tourist- kitschy New York scenes - the Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway and others - so it felt right to have something completely atypical as well. I'm willing to bet no one ever walked into this nondescript store and took pictures of the floor.
Makes me wonder what other ridiculously routine scenes await me. Anyone care to guess?
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6 comments:
Makes me wonder what they were hiding that they did not want pictures taken. Perhaps they thought you were from the Dept. of Health.
I stared at the photo trying to see what you found on the floor... then I read the text. I get it. You found a dirty floor
;-)
Aha! That's what they don't want pictures taken of!
I've always been bewildered by the "60 Minutes Response" to a camera entering a place of business. It really makes you wonder. Which I suppose is why I was caught so off guard when the owner of Greensboro's India Palace restaurant not only welcomed my camera and me, but urged me to "click photos!" with the broadest smile I've seen this side of a ... fill in something with a big smile.
I suspect that most of the time though, it's not the authorities they're concerned about, it's the competition. I suppose with industrial espionage at the level it is now, they might have suspected you were an agent of Krispy Kreme. Because you know, the Donut War is serious business.
Carmi ~ After reading the title, the first thing I thought was... "What no cockroaches or rats?" But really I wonder if the reason they didn't want pictures taken, had less to do with the place itself, or was it a cultural thing? I know when we went to Barbados, we were told that they did not like to have their pictures taken because it would take away from their soul. Of course, I did find out that if you offered to pay them, they seemed much less concerned about their souls. One of my favorite pictures was a guy riding a bike which had what looked like a little wooden truck bed behind it that was full of sugar beets. (For making Rum I would assume). ~ jb///
under the heading of 'other random photos':
next time you're in NYC, try to get a snap of the underside of the table.
for balance. and gum.
Cheers,
GAH
Thou dost protest too much?? hehehe.
I know it's best to do the 'snap first and apologize later' thing, but I'm such a chicken. I ask first in a place of business, and in TX they're usually just flattered!
I need to be more rogue! ;-)
I dig the squares.
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