Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Amuse-bouche, a la commode Brunswick

We’re trying to form the habit of carrying our handy little camera with us as we schlep around town in the family truckster.  Because Brunswick “is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”

But we know this.  If you get too much of it, you could get a belly-ache.  Or your belly could ache from laughing so hard.  Or you might just become a public belly-acher, like some other folks in town.

Herewith some recent examples:

1) LEEDS, weeds, and seeds:

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As we travelled by our latest monument to civic pride, we came upon some major landscaping renovation on the grounds of Harried Beecher Stowe School.  Best we can figure out, the entire lawn area around the playground is being ‘redone.’

We confess that late last summer and fall, we thought the subject lawn area was, to put it gently, dead.  But we are not wise in the ways of modern-day organic landscaping and LEEDS certification, so we just figured this was a new ‘earth friendly’ strain of permeable surface coverage that contributed to the overall sense of self-esteem associated with the school.  And perhaps at the same time distracted one’s eyes from the architectural dissonance and visual unrest of the structure itself.

We can’t wait to see what is going down on the ground now; could it be astro-turf?  How else will you keep the kids on recess and local school yard players from doing in the new planting before it has a chance to set roots?

We can’t wait as well to find out how this is being paid for, and how much it costs.  Or could it be part of an AP course in landscape design at the High School?  One way or tuther, it will probably surface in budget discussions.

2)  Composition is everything:

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Interesting photography depends first and foremost on composition, and interesting composition that occurs ‘naturally’ is the ideal.

Here we note one of our favorite ‘imagine and invest’ signs, sans $ figure, juxtaposed with a road commode.  If you look carefully, you’ll see that the commode tank is sprouting a fire hydrant, which is a nice touch, we think.

We’re not sure if this is the latest in economical rest stops along the highways and byways, or whether a local ‘performance artist’ is preparing for a weekend show.  Or maybe the road ‘artist’ in question was expecting a lost participant or two from the Boston Marathon to need a relief stop.

Perhaps the most ‘imaginative’ explanation, though, is tied to the sign. The commode might be intended as a roadside receptacle for ‘investing’ in our schools. Drivers ‘whizzing’ by could toss from their cars some coins, or if they’re too pooped to do so, pull over and deposit some paper currency.

It would work better, however, if the lid was up.  And we’ll forgive you if you suggest that the commode could provide a tank bank.

Some folks will try anything in the way of corny bathroom humor to get a laugh out of Brunswick’s mirthless residents; good luck with that.

(Note: the spelling ‘error’ above was unintentional, but when we caught it, we decided it was poetic and so let it be.)

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