Twenty-Three by Chipka
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Description
A truck sat, in the throes of mutiny: without wheels and without brakes. A truck sat, wasted and unused—the victim, perhaps, of professional indifference. It was necessary for the truck to work on the day that it didn’t. Repair was necessary, and slow in coming. It has been weeks since that particular need arose. The truck remains motionless, and without wheels, or the brakes that control them.
It was sunny but cool on the day that the largest truck in its fleet sat, uselessly. There was precious little to do, for those unskilled in the art of truck repair. Skilled in a different artistic discipline, I wandered around, looking for things. It was a cool day, and still too near the end of winter for anything to grow. There was no greenery. There were no woodlice or wasps; there were no Japanese beetles, sputtering through the air and buzzing with wing-sound like insect flatulence. There was sunlight, however; and, there was rust. On a day that promised little, shadows and rust, rust and sunlight were enough.
* * *
There are times when a picture exists—in abstract and in concrete form—for reasons as vague as the ultimate photographic subject. I took this photo, simply because of rust and shadow, rust and sunlight. It was the byplay that intrigued me, the color, the bumpy bits and a number. That was all. It was enough, I suppose, as this picture survived when others vanished into oblivion: deleted without forethought or ceremony. Indeed, this is the only picture from that day to survive. The wheel-assembly (of which this is a close-up) remains un-repaired. Light and shadows fall in different configurations, now. Perhaps this fragment of a truck will remain dead and inert. Or maybe it’ll vanish, one day, rendered into scrap. Who knows?
There are mysteries in truck yards, though most of them are prosaic, and stink of engine-metabolized diesel fuel, motor-oil, and of etherized starter fluids, escaped from dented aerosol cans.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a fantastic week.
Comments (27)
MrsRatbag
Wow, well spotted; an enigmatic and evocative capture. Great dramatic lighting on the glyphs!
KatesFriend
I look at this and wonder what the number '23' must signify. There's a movie script in there somewhere - hmmm. I also wonder about its (at least) twenty-two other siblings and to where they've all been scattered over the years. Who makes markings like this anyways? Who chose the font? Who made the machine die? Who stamped it and where? Interesting who one can examine some old part for some over used piece of technology and try to wonder back to its origins. It was once part of someone's planning process at some point. I agree with you though. The rusty, bumpy texture of this part is rather compelling. I looks like it would tell a story if it could.
Orinoor
This is wonderful, the photo full of mystery and your writing. This is perfection in the moment.
wotan
I like the textures, riched by lighting!
mgtcs
Another spectacular writing ship, great capture!
micturn
brilliant concept and capture
beachzz
23 is MY number; it's my birthday and one I see at the strangest times. This is definitely one of the strangest, even though I only saw it in a foto. I'm sure it means something, though I may never know what. It is a great shot, abstract and just THERE. I like it a lot.
jocko500
cool
durleybeachbum
You have sown the seed of another possible OCD..not rust but maybe house numbers in decay of all sorts..
helanker
It is always a good thing to discover a rusty, sunny object like this one. It is both beautiful and amazing and the surface is just gorgeous and it has even a number. What more can one wish for to get a super shot. I just love this one.
auntietk
It is enough good! Better than enough good, actually. Frakkin' excellent, outstanding light/shadow/rust! LOVE the detail, the depth, and the fact that you may have inspired Andrea to another series.
bobrgallegos
Nice shadows and textures!!
kgb224
Outstanding photography my friend.
fallen21
Beautiful shot.
lonely_wolf
The mystery of the age makes the picture special.
evinrude
Great find. Texture, color, and lighting make this very chilling and thought-provoking. Well done.
Feliciti
the object , lightning and rust speek for itself ....excellent shot !!
costapanos
Outstanding imagery! well seen.
flavia49
wonderful
sandra46
AMAZING COMPOSITION!
bmac62
Love it...of course I had to do a little research to see what you may have unknowingly discovered. I found many things but this 1899 quote kind of wraps it all up in a way that appealed to me (it is a little long but since I may be the last post here for awhile,...why not?) In 1899, George Ade explained the slang term "twenty-three". This story appeared in an October 1899 edition of The Washington Post: "By the way, I have come upon a new piece of slang within the past two months and it has puzzled me. I just heard it from a big newsboy who had a 'stand' on a corner. A small boy with several papers under his arm had edged up until he was trespassing on the territory of the other. When the big boy saw the small one he went at him in a threatening manner and said: 'Here! Here! Twenty-three! Twenty-three!'. The small boy scowled and talked under his breath, but he moved away. A few days after that I saw a street beggar approach a well-dressed man, who might have been a bookmaker or horseman, and try for the unusual 'touch'. The man looked at the beggar in cold disgust and said: 'Aw, twenty-three!'. I could see that the beggar didn’t understand it any better than I did. I happened to meet a man who tries to 'keep up' on slang and I asked the meaning of 'Twenty-three!'. He said it was a signal to clear out, run, get away. In his opinion it came from the English race tracks, twenty-three being the limit on the number of horses allowed to start in one race. I don’t know that twenty-three is the limit. But his theory was that 'twenty-three' means that there was no longer any reason for waiting at the post. It was a signal to run, a synonym for the Bowery boy’s 'On your way!'. Another student of slang said the expression originated in New Orleans at the time an attempt was made to rescue a Mexican embezzler who had been arrested there and was to be taken back to his own country. Several of his friends planned to close in upon the police officer prisoner as they were passing in front of a business block which had a wide corridor running through to another block. They were to separate the officer from the prisoner and then, when one of them shouted 'Twenty-three,' the crowd was to scatter in all directions, and the prisoner was to run back through the corridor, on the chance that the officer would be too confused to follow the right man. The plan was tried and it failed, but 'twenty-three' came into local use as meaning 'Get away, quick!' and in time it spread to other cities. I don’t vouch for either of these explanations. But I do know that 'twenty-three' is now a part of the slangy boy’s vocabulary." Can the number "23" on the brake drum of an old truck have anything to do with the 112 year old speculations above? ;-)
jac204
Great capture and description.
MagikUnicorn
Very cool discovery...I like the Bill reply story :)
nikolais
at times a little part of something may yield a much longer narration or look much more beautiful than the whole it belongs to.. yours is a good example. what is beauty anyway? your experience? .....a wonderful discovery by Bill certainly adds a new dimension
Jay-el-Jay
A well done and interesting shot to go along with your enjoyable bit of writing.According to the writer,Robert Anton Wilson,23 is a very special number as he wrote in his Illuminatus Trilogy and other works.It can refer to the old term "23 skidoo" and it is also the number of chromosomes that each parent contributes in producing a child.
praep
Very nice light. And I like the story ofbmac62 too.
Armahda
I love old rusted items of the past! Great shot!