By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings
I muse joyfully today on a picture I took in July 1995 in Prague.
This snapshot shows a man with a map, a man with a unique fashion sense, a man uncertain of his next move. I do not know his name, his nationality, his destination.
I simply know that in all of the thousands of pictures I have taken in the years since July 1995, this is the one I keep.
And why? Is it the shorts he wears that quite possibly are bathing suit trunks?
Is it that Hawaiian shirt he thought coordinated with said trunks? Is it his black socks coupled with his white sneakers? Is it his face, so red he obviously forgot to pack sunblock? Well, dear readers, it’s all of the above and more.
I laugh at this picture but identify as well. I feel like this man at least thirty times a day.
Where am I going? What aisle are breadcrumbs on in Market Basket? Did we feed the dog? Do we have milk at home? Where the hell is this detour taking me? How do I add a hashtag to my Twitter profile?
The day this picture was taken, I was sitting in the center of Prague with my cousin, Sarah. I’d driven down from the Netherlands to meet up with my aunts and my cousin in Poland and then we piled into my Peugeot and traveled around Austria, Hungary and, of course, the Czech Republic.
Sarah and I had grown weary of churches, of museums, of gift shops and we sipped coffee on a bench and watched tourists like ourselves navigate the center of Prague. It’s at this moment, I took this shot.
I fell in love with this moment, this stunningly glorious epitome of a tourist, this clueless man. He’s stayed with me, captures my everlasting confusion in life, in decisions, in map reading.
And today, today I employ and muse joyfully on the gloriousness of confusion and hesitation in all that I do. Wait. Where am I? Where is my map? What day is it?
Happy 2020 dear readers. May you be wearing your own unique fashion statement – and if it includes black socks, swim trunks and a Hawaiian shirt? Bravo, dear friend, bravo.
Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.
The opinions expressed are those of the writer. InDepthNH.org takes no position on politics, but welcomes diverse opinions. email nancywestnews@gmail.com