Only the location has changed...
I was walking Boska in Griffith Park back in 2002, doing my usual walking and reading routine, when I was stopped by a freelance photographer - she was driving and actually pulled off the road when she saw me. Evidently the concept of reading while walking AND walking my dog at the same time was a totally new one for her, and she wanted a picture to submit to the local newspaper.
I happily gave permission, signed the release form and continued my walk while she snapped away and tried to get Boska to look at the camera for the photo. Boska, for the most part, was more interested in sniffing the surrounding foliage and reading her peemail.
I never did see the picture come out in the Glendale Daily News, but a friend of my sister's found it (I still have to get the story on just how she found it so many years after the fact) and sent it to Lisa. Ain't Boska cute? And ALmost looking right at the camera!
I still read while I'm walking Boska. I can also manage a cup of coffee at the same time. Heh. That might have been front page news!
posted by Dana Fredsti @ 2:35 PM
14 Comments:
At 4:48 PM,
Abyss of Silence said…
It's true, she reads and walks. I've seen it happen.
I still can't figure out how you do it. I'd end up reading the same sentence 50 times and constantly trip on things.
At 8:13 AM,
Anonymous said…
Well, the "story" is nothing more dramatic than this:
As you know, your sister and I went to elementary and junior high school together, but in later years we lost touch.
Back in 2002, when I saw your photo in the paper (it was the Los Angeles Daily News, BTW), I took it to work with me, with the intention of trying to locate either you or your sister. I tried Googling both your names, and various other internet sleuthing tactics, with no success (some hits, but nothing that yielded current contact information of any kind).
I set the paper aside, where it remained on a shelf in my office for 4.5 years, eventually buried beneath other materials (kind of like sediment layers building up, over the eons). A month or two ago, in anticipation of changing jobs, I began the laborous process of cleaning out my office, sorting through the accumulated piles of debris (like an archeologist excavating an ancient village site), tossing almost everything into the recycle bin (the question is, why had I saved any of that paperwork, to begin with...?)
Then I reached the lower depths where this newspaper was hiding (perfectly preserved, like an ancient fossil, by the elements around it). Rather than toss this old newspaper, I first tried another internet search. I struck gold with the first Google: multiple hits on your sister's name, including what might have been a current email address. I sent a tentative email to the address in question, and the rest, as they say, is history.
So, one could say that this newspaper photo is responsible for re-uniting old friends who had not seen or heard from each other in over a decade.
Actually, that IS a pretty cool story. (Think we could get on OPRAH...?)
It is also a testimony to the value of being a pack-rat.
Deb
At 9:39 AM,
Dana Fredsti said…
Ah, Abyss, it's from years of practice. I developed pretty amazing peripheral vision after tripping, walking into posts and into oncoming traffic a few times...
Deb!!! I think it's a VERY cool story - frankly, your comment is more interesting than my post! Thanks for sending the picture to Lisa - I really enjoyed seeing it and it brought back some good memories of my old life in L.A.
Lisa told me that you're moving up my way (well, a bit northerly, but more or less). She's planning on coming up here more often, so I think a get-together needs to be planned. Good wine or good scotch anyone?
Hey, do you remember playing Lancelot in Lisa's Camelot movie? HAH! I may have to post about that...
At 4:51 PM,
Other Lisa said…
Don't you dare...
At 9:38 AM,
Kayla said…
"peemail" haha
I've never heard it described that way. Quite accurate description, eh?
Nice photo! And nice pose by Boska
At 10:05 AM,
Dana Fredsti said…
heheheh...you don't want to repress my creativity, do you, Lisa? heheheheh...
Kayla, I'm positive that dogs leave other dogs messages via peemail. And yeah, ain't Boska cute? She really is an adorable mutt, disgusting eater of dead things though she may be...
At 11:03 PM,
Other Lisa said…
Well, I was thinking about that little project - back in the days of 8 MM film and elementary school - and it was really all about wanting to be the heroes for a change. Girls never got to do anything.
This was pre-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you see.
At 9:46 AM,
Dana Fredsti said…
I remember playing one of the ladies-in-waiting and then having to walk home in my dress and feeling really embarassed when Steve from my class was in front of his house, and running full speed down teh hill so he wouldn't see me.
I always wanted to be a hero ever since the Three Musketeers...hence the swordfighting.
At 4:37 PM,
freethoughtguy said…
I always wanted to be a hero ever since reading Superman comix as a boy ... and I wanted my dog to be a hero too, just like Superman's pet Krypto the Superdog. He would stop the bad dogs like Dogzilla from stomping little children's sand castles on the beach.
At 10:09 AM,
Dana Fredsti said…
Awwww! Dogzilla ain't so bad!
At 4:28 PM,
Dana Fredsti said…
I am a good multitasker...Boska is too. While we walk, she eats dead things, destroys sand castles, makes me run after her so she doesn't drown in the rip currents, and poops!
At 12:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
Great minds do think alike. I actually was thinking of the Camelot movie recently. I made a pilgramage to SD a few months ago (last chance before moving back to Nor Cal) and photographed Richard Henry Dana Junior High School (now called middleschool). I labelled the photo: "Where the Camelot movie was filmed."
Jenny P. was Guinevere, I think. Lisa was Arthur. And yes, I think I was Lancelot.
Who has that movie???? I'll pay to get it digitized, is someone can dig up the 8mm.
PS -- my photo of Cabrillo Elementary School featured my favorite landmark there, the tennis courts, site of many dramatic Dodge Ball wars. At that age, girls are still on a fairly even par with boys, and Kathy K. and I were strong enough to dominate the field, even in mixed matches. As I recall, only the Kramer twins were athletic enough to give us a run for our money. Kathy and I were brutal-hard throwers, and completely merciless. There are few things more satisfying that hurling a dodge ball across the length of the court, too fast for the target to dodge, too hard for the target to catch... Watching it strike home, knocking the target over like a human bowling pin.
Good times.
At 8:53 AM,
Dana Fredsti said…
oooh, deb, you were one of those evil athletic dodgeball throwers that the rest of us feared and hated...I'm SO glad you weren't in my class!
Hmmm...I wonder if that movie even exists any more... Lisa?
At 8:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
What can I say? I am a hunter/warrior born hundreds of years too late, who found an outlet for aggressive instincts in DodgeBall. One could be grateful that I did not grow up doing worse things than terrorizing elementary school tennis courts.
And may I take a moment to send a special message to Mr. Donald Rumsfeld: "Na-na, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-yah, good-bye!"
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