The Early Bird Catches Pneumonia by CoreyBlack
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Description
I made this picture a year ago, in early March of 2009. I don't know how the month of March is anywhere else, but here in Chicago it's still considered winter. Sub-zero cold and blizzards are not out of the question. The night descends later in the day than it did in January, and once in a while, the all-present overcast cracks open to reveal an almost forgotten object known as "the Sun." It is decidedly not spring.
On this particular day I believe the temperature was about 40 degrees with a cold wind wafting in off of Lake Michigan. Imagne our surprise when Chip and I came upon this hearty soul, "sunning" in the park near Hollywood Beach.
I've seen guys like this before and have to admit that I don't understand them. These are the sorts of fellows who jump naked into frozen lakes or walk around in single-digit temperatures in gym shorts and tee shirts chiding everyone else for wearing coats. I've often marveled at their vigor and what makes them tick. Do they have superior genes that make them impervious to the cold? Do they lack nerve endings? Are they alien/human hybrids? Or have I just been watching too many X-Files episodes again? All I know is that if I tried a stunt like this, I would catch Pneumonia and die.
Comments (10)
danapommet
This guy has to be nuts but cool capture on your part. Dana
beachzz
40 degrees is still pretty cold--even I wouldn't try that!! takes all kinds and you stumbled upon one for sure!!
MrsLubner
My father believed that cold temperatures were the safest. No self-respecting germ would live in the cold. Our house was always chilly and if your nose ran in winter, you went to bed with snot-cicles hanging off your nose. This guy is nuts. Great shot though.
auntietk
We have 'em here, too. There must be something about a cold and rainy climate that makes people take their clothes off whenever the sun comes out, regardless of the temperature! I'm fairly comfortable without a jacket in chilly weather, but really ... SOME clothes are necessary! LOL! Great capture. I'm with Chip ... you're amazing at this sort of thing!
durleybeachbum
SO funny! I know the type, I think they have spread widely so they must still be able to breed. This is such a good pic, not just because of the madman, but we get to see another face of your city, looking out through the trees onto the water.
Chipka
I'd originally commented earlier, then I noticed a typo which completely changed the comment, so here it is again, with the typo corrected: What a difference an "a" makes. *** I think he's a Viking Berserker...those guys could withstand anything! I think they just had their brains disconnected from their afferential nerves or something...and this dude is obviously a modern take on that. Funny. He's talking on a cell phone too, so at least his auditory nerves are still connected. I really like this shot, because I remember that day. I was still reeling from culture shock (a thing I'll never forget...it sucks to feel culture shock when you return to your own country! It makes you feel so displaced and so...well...like an orphan. And seeing this guy didn't help.) I love the casual manner of this picture. It's like one of those nightmares you have on occasion...you know the kind, where everything seems so completely normal but so utterly wrong. I don't see it as a bad thing in terms of this picture though, it's just a bit wacky! You have such an eye for this kind of thing...that sort of urban discontinuity that defies logic or completely redefines irony, absurdity, or just plain weirdness. I'm sure that this guy is just some regular Facebook Twitter-er, but when I look at this, I wonder just what shade of blue his fingers and toes must have turned on that day. Well seen and presented.
njb2000
Last year St Patricks day was better then summer I spent all day opening scallops at the hotel!
watapki66
I'm thinking nuts is a probability ~ Great shot on your part!
bmac62
He certainly has the park to himself. I see this and recall old film clips of Russian men chopping a hole in lake ice and bravely or foolishly doing a cannonball right in the frigit water just to say they did it. Well done Corey.
mermaid
OH Corey, first thanks for your wonderful comment on my Summer in Provence... and then, coming to your gallery this title just got me laughing out loud...still giggling here... have seen them too this aliens and also still didn't succeed in figuring out, what makes them do so. We have one guy here, a professional physical therapist, who walks bare foot all seasons and if you know how cold winters can get over here, I just can't believe it. My educated guess is he must have told himself his ancesters go back to the time, when first humans showed on this planet and so coming from this sturdy line, his genes must allow him too to walk like an neanderthalian despite the evolution which took place since. I would have catched peumonia instantly too, but yet, my line doesn't go back directly to neandertalans and I have to admit, it might have become a bit dandy over time...lol