Crumb with Spoon by Chipka
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Description
The best things in life are sometimes the smallest things as well: a spoon, a crumb, a grooved surface intended for the drying of dishes. The light was perfect on the day that I saw such gorgeous and compelling simplicity. I was with Corey, about to each lunch, a slap-dash sandwich with enough mayonnaise to inspire cardiac panic. We’d already guzzled coffee, tea, water, water, and more water…and somewhere between noon and 2pm, we were a bit hungry. Not inordinately so, but our stomachs needed…something. Sandwiches would do.
It was as I expressed extreme generosity with the mayonnaise that I saw an ancient, battered silver spoon; something that obviously belongs to Corey’s roommate, as the roommate in question lives in another time, a strange amalgam of past eras slapped together in a haphazard manner. Old advertisements from the 1940s stared at me: allegedly innocent little kids with red hair and freckles, and Hollywood Screen Beauties—none of whom I could name, even if I cared to. I ignored all of those cloyingly “sweet” faces and declarations of wholesome nutrition or Hollywood blur-filter glamour. I made ham and cheese on wheat bread with tomatoes and gobs upon gobs of mayo. I like mayonnaise, but not that much; I don’t like wheat bread…not American-style at least. I grew accustomed to Czech bread and Russian black bread, and as a result, I find American breads to taste rather like sawdust. And so, as I made lunch and talked with Corey about something extremely important—probably Angelina Jolie’s lips—I spied a spoon, and a crumb. I grabbed my camera, moved my lunch aside, and snapped this shot.
Whenever I visit Corey, the influence of his roommate instills a kind of temporal dysfunction. The 21st Century fades and shimmers out of existence and I find myself in a strange nether-region as socially and technologically sophisticated as that odd period between world wars. Most times, this phenomenon is disturbing, but in conjunction with a spoon and a crumb, something else happened. Maybe it was the light. Maybe it was Angelina Jolie’s lips. Maybe it was the microwave oven that Corey purchased shortly after moving in…or maybe it was simply a bit of hunger. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it. I found a spoon. A battered silver spoon. It was heavy. It was a teaspoon, intended for use in some vaguely post-Victorian parlor. I liked the wear, the scratches, the scuffs, and the manner in which things didn’t actually reflect in the concave bowl. Ah, there were reflections, but they were mere blobs of color without shape, distinction, or retro-temporal definition. They were something new, something intriguing, and all of it was contained in the bowl of a teaspoon. It was the crumb, however, that drew my attention. I don’t know what it was a crumb of, but there it was, a diminutive moon orbiting a spoon.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting on this brief journey into the reality of aged and battered tableware. Hopefully you're all on the verge of a great and fun weekend.
Comments (19)
wingnut55
how can such a slim guy write so much about food ??
kgb224
Outstanding capture my friend.
mbz2662
Such a cool spoon :)
MrsRatbag
Excellent still life (the narrative) and photo to go along with it. You MUST put these into a book!
watapki66
Wonderful spoon and words!
MagikUnicorn
He hee Old one ! COOL
beachzz
Spoons, crumbs, and you turn them into the MOST amazing story.
helanker
Yes, that you can get so many thoughts out from a silver spoon, is indeed amazing, but also fascinating. I like it.
dakotabluemoon
Wow fascinating story and love that spoon i like old stuff better than the new cause it all has a story behind it.
durleybeachbum
It is endlessly fascinating how your mind works, Corey! Your story is quite 'diagonal' if you know what I mean, and I think I should like the composition to be so too. Hope you won't be offended by my preference!
Meisiekind
Did Andrea just call you Corey??? LOL.. What an entertaining piece of writing and I immediately realized that I missed lunch today between baking cookies for my upcoming holiday and visiting with Kayla!! I'm hungry and off to make a sandwich now! Fantastic old spoon Chip and a wonderful image! :)
ladyraven23452
cool+20
myrrhluz
I, with some trepidation of losing any respect you may have for me, must admit that I knew who Ramon Novarro was. Well, I recognised the name and was pretty sure he was an actor from the silent era. There was a time, in my teen-aged years, when I was very interested in that sort of thing. In fact, I was hugged by Fred Astaire in a dream. He didn't dance with me though. Even a dream Fred Astaire knew better. But I never hung pictures up on the wall. Looking around my room, I see only two pairs of eyes looking back. One pair belong to my son James and are looking out of a drawing I did of him. The other pair belong to a cat in a painting I did. I don't really like eyes staring at me from pictures. I suspect that this spoon may have looked a little tacky when newly formed, but now, in its tarnished and scratched state, it is of great interest and beauty. The bowl is a wonder to look at on zoom. The gold and green with the hints of red and the deep parallel scratches. Wonderful slightly diagonal lines of the drying surface. And that single crumb is deep red and solid. Not your average run of the mill crumb! Excellent image and narrative!
dadon72
The crumb is most likely long gone, but I'm sure the spoon still lives on... I love older, used stuff like this. Great shot and intriuging story.
KatesFriend
I always love the write ups of your photos because they seem to take my thoughts in directions I least expected to go when I first view your images. This time is no exception. Your comparison of the crumb on the edge of the bowl as a moon or satellite. Orbiting in an elliptical path like all celestial bodies. And no more than a faint fluff of matter to the mass that binds it to its eternal route. The bowl of coarse, a general relativistic representation of gravity. Einstein's universe brought to mind by this sturdy antique. Good old Albert, he pops up when you least expect him. So many thoughts.
auntietk
I love reflective surfaces, no matter how dull or cracked they might be, and this is a good 'un. Sometimes it's more fun if you have to work for it. Wonderful image!
marybelgium
superbe !
anaber
I love the spoon and the misterious background!The contrast grabs me!
romanceworks
I, of course, imagine the tasty morsels that filled that ornate spoon over its long lifetime. Great image and fascinating words. CC