Red, White, and Blue, Black and White Dream
It was a lay low 4th of July. By lay low, I mean we got up and hit the road by 8am, back to Frazier Park, scene of an estate sale where Penny found a worthy cabinet the other day. This time, we had the truck. it’s not that this cabinet couldn’t have fit in the Volvo, but maybe it couldn’t, and Penny didn’t want to scratch my car, and it’s always good to have an excuse for a road trip, anyway. We stopped at the Pilot, where we encountered a Freedom Racing Monster Truck driver on his way to Pomona. “Unnamed and Untamed.” Up the hill we went for the cabinet. I don’t get to move stuff yet, hernia and all, so I wandered out to the back deck then up the hill to shoot a tractor at the house marked “Rock N Roll Avenue.” Set up a comedy coaching session with Corey for later in the day, with a caveat we might make a last minute change of mind. Back down the hill and down the road to Old Town Newhall, where the barbecue was just ok. It’s Independence Day, and I’m going to have some ice cream, by golly. Yeah, I know, no sweets since over a year ago. Other than a couple of stray moments, I’ve been solidly dessert-free since emerging from my one bout with COVID-19. There’s a place in Old Town Newhall called Pops, where you can get flavors like mamey/zapote, or watermelon ice. Watermelon ice for Penny, waiting in the car, and just as the ice cream girl was about to make a waffle cone of cookies/cream and vanilla for me, I noticed the half coconuts with the custard inside. “Hold on a second, what’s this?” I asked. She explained how they torch the creme brulee, and that’s all I needed to know. “Stop what you’re doing, I’m having this instead.” Topped with waffle cone chips and chocolate sauce. I won’t lie, it was just what the doctor ordered. Assuming, of course, the doctor wanted to send you into a sugar coma.
These are the last of the M Monochrom shots. Tomorrow, this beauty from the time machine is going back to B&H for a full refund. Why? As much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE this iconic beast of a black and white picture machine, it’s a bit like having a Model A as your daily driver. I boxed it back up without thinking too deeply. This camera journeyed through the hernia episode with me and gave me a helluva test drive. I might feel differently in the morning. I can ignore the RMA. But I’m not going to. I’ll be sans camera for a few days. Except for my iPhone. There’s also an old point and shoot on the desk. I could rent something if I get desperate. Or shoot pictures in my mind. Life is but a red, white, and blue, black and white dream.
