Friday, February 8, 2008

A Heater Epiphany



Click on the image for a larger view . . .

I was looking through some envelopes that contained prints from my days of working as a news photographer, when out popped a 4”X5” Transparency, the one shown above.

Those were times characterized by “no furniture,” and other strictly defined boundaries. They were good times. As in this image, there was a lot of warmth.

I recalled an epiphany (sorry for the reference, I was raised Catholic) that involved a heater. The brand was called “Warm Morning.” One of our heaters was a city gas run “Warm Morning,” in Pittsfield, N. H. There was a large glass front with a long line of firebrick that became red with the flame from the gas. It was always worth a bit of unintentional meditation with coffee in hand.

Times can crossover in a thoroughly non-linear manner. Much later, I was sitting in the Charlottesville Bus Station on West Main Street, staring at the wall, waiting for the Bus that comes from Dulles Airport. There is an inset wall heater, and I found myself staring at the metal logo, “Warm Morning.” The heater itself seemed to separate itself from the background environment, and suddenly I was aware of myself, and I remembered basking in the light and heat of the Warm Morning in New Hampshire.

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