Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Dr. Heidegger's Experimental Sidewalk

Even stamping it in pavement can't change its transitory time with us. I wonder who tried? I wonder who attempted to retain it, right there in old cement?

I know, it's just somebody's name. It's a signature for whoever poured the foundation of the now old house that was, back then, young. But maybe Ponce de León was just a few centuries early and on the wrong coast. It's not a fountain of youth after all. It's a sidewalk.

And I'm going to linger on it every time I walk by.

11 comments:

Judy Williams said...

I always say the first thing that comes to mind when I see an image and This Song immediately came to mind.

I like the juxtaposed word "young" with the old leaves that have fallen from a nearby tree. This image gives me pause. :)

Mister Earl said...

Or This One

Or This!

Anonymous said...

You want to hear something strange and wonderful? The walkway to my porch has my name and my sister's name stamped in the concrete. This was done long before I moved here.

How did they know?

Fryewerk said...

Well, if you really want to know, go to the South Pasadena library and ask for microfilm for the city directory of the year your house was built. You can look up a property address and see who lived there and even their occupation. Young may have been the first resident, or a contractor (which you could probably also look up.)

Our house was first occupied by a man who worked at the photography department at Macy's in 1955 and then opened up his own camera shop on Mission.

Shanna said...

Yes, we do try, don't we?
I've been feeling like a falling leaf this week, drifting and tumbling though the air.

Virginia said...

I love love your poetic eye my friend.
How's my girl BTW??? GIve her a big old hug from Mumsie.
V

Jean Spitzer said...

Terrific image for this season. One great thing about South Pas and Pas, is that you can look up stuff like this. The history is treasured.

Dixie Jane said...

Judy, I loved Jimmy Dudrante's, Young at Heart. I used to sing that in my singing days. And Mister Earl, I never tire of hearing Frankie. Thanks to both of you. Laurie, you are so good at finding things to inspire us. If I knew how to do links I would do, Autumn Leaves. It's a beautiful time of year.

Dixie Jane said...

Oops! I know how to spell Durante. No dud there. Sorry.

Laurie Allee said...

Thank you, everyone!

JF, I am so glad to know we can look up this information. Our neighbors have told us a lot about the owners of our house, mostly because people across the street have been there since it was built -- grandfather built it and all subsequent kids have lived there. I've never lived in a place that relished its history quite like the San Gabriel Valley. It's lovely.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I call them contractor stamps. Very cool