stand in the place that you are (rem)

A development: In honor of Ollie Mikse and his compulsively articulated wishes, I will begin endorsing correct capitalization rules as laid out by the MLA in these blog posts. WHATEVER.

The item: A forgettable bookshelf
The source: A trash heap on Kelker Street
The story: A contextual aside to this story is that I no longer live in a house that has a washing machine, which means that The Laundromat has rumbled back into my life. A few nights ago, Joy and I shouldered everything we each own to whatever-that-place-is-called on 2nd Street and sat in the grass along the river between loads (and waited for a certain recently discovered singing citizen to walk past. You'll recognize him by his practice of walking around Harrisburg singing. Loudly.) On the way back from the river, we found the pictured forgettable bookshelf on the sidewalk junk pile.



Back at the ranch, I formed a plan. And by formed a plan, I mean that I did nearly all of this with zero forethought. I first decided to fill the lame-o holes with whatever spackle-style-substance I could find in the basement. I found industrial sheet rock, which I still feel funny about, but which worked just fine. As an afterthought, I decided to add a little visual interest and texture to the top. I did this by spreading industrial sheet rock, which I still feel funny about, over the top and then scraping out a quoted poem (I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floor of silent seas) with my finger. I then painted it with one of the scrap leftover cans of paint crowding the closet in hopes of using it up. BAM, new bedstand. (In honor of this Mother's Day, let me also tell you that the photo on display on the new bedstand is my OWN mother in the Cloisters on her first date with dad.)

The cost: $0 (reclaimed forgettable bookshelf) + $0 (found industrial sheet rock, which i still feel funny about) +0 (the remains of an old can of paint) = $0



And now, welcome to a segment we call This Person Has Surpassed Me in which I catch wind of someone doing excellent work, and I want to tell you about them. Today's guest is Luke Eshelman, a OnceUponATime coworker at the Midtown Scholar Warehouse and an incredible photographer (unbeknownst to me until quite recently). Luke, now situated in DC, is gaining a lot of recognition for his craft, and I have been especially impressed by his unique wedding shots. This is my favorite wedding he shot. (AT THE ZOO?!)