the bridge
We had Friday fun with Britney, now it’s time for free-thinking Monday fun.
Tell me what you see in this photo.
(click photo to enlarge)
Some thoughts to get you started:
Would you prefer to go over the bridge or under it? Why?
Who/what do you imagine is on the other side?
Who/what are you leaving behind?
Are you carrying anything?
What are you wearing?
How do you feel?
Come on now–don’t be shy!
There are no wrong answers, and as my friend Sara is fond of saying,
you’re not being graded on this!
The only requirement is to have fun.
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[tags]bridges, black and white photos[/tags]
31 Beans of Wisdom to “the bridge”
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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Hey! Cute post! I was thinking go under – then I got worried about snakes and bugs…I didn’t get past that.
I am not thinking well today. Your friend Sara would give me a “C”!
I would go under, as I love archways. They allow you to move forward, but also to keep an eye on the past. I’d look at the brickwork of the arch – is it cracking? is there moss? are ferns growing out of it? When I got the other side, I might move on, or I might go back and try go over the bridge as well, just for fun.
“Loss of innocence” is the first thing that came to mind for me. I don’t really have an explanation as to why. I just thought I’d type what popped in my mind first. 🙂
I wish to state clearly that this applies to this bridge only, therefore it can’t be used to prove that I am insane.
I would walk under it because it looks old and I am interested in the structure and also what has dropped or been thrown down.
I think the other side is like this side, but there’s always the possibility that there’s a tramp living over there. One could talk to him.
I am leaving my high heels and pantyhose behind, because they won’t do for that terrain.
I might be carrying water. A camera?
I’m wearing loose jeans, hiking boots and maybe gaiters. T shirt with a sweater over the shoulders just in case. Hat, yes. There might be ticks.
I feel a bit curious, free, healthy and virtuous for getting off my blogging ass and doing some exercise.
Well, becasue I am an explorer..I would go both. First, I would walk over it and look at the view from above. Then I would go under it. What do I see…I see myself walking through the arch…into the rest of my life in Italy…and leaving my old life behind. 🙂
I think I’d prefer to go over it… going under looks a little treacherous!
I’m not feeling very creative at the moment so I can’t exactly say where that bridge is leading to… I guess since it’s about lunch time, I’m hoping there’s a nice restaurant on the other side!!
well, i would go under first
and look directly up
to see what the underside looked like…
i would carry my adventure
along with my camera in my hand.
i would watch out for falling snakes
because i know all too well about those
here in florida.
i would be wearing my heart
on my sleeve
and hope in my eyes
because *why not*?
🙂
i would snap shots of the somepinkflowers growing there.
[there would be tons of them
due to the hope in my eyes,
you see.]
i would not want to miss a thing.
on the way back home,
if the sun was still high in the sky,
i might examine the bridgy part
for going over
on the next trip
as this looks like the kind of place
i might want to revisit…
like your entertaining blog.
I am not leaving anything or walking towards anything. I am kust walking and the bridge is part of my journey, on the other side there is more road to get me where I am going. I like the sun, so I feel like I am just wandering, peering over the side as I go to see what is below.
i am fond of crossing over bridges, with a pause in the middle to see the sky’s reflection (i am assuming the bridge spans water) or listen to the water trickles & babbles…i have some serious wanderlust & always want to know about the other side.
what is there? it is an amazing mystery!
what am i leaving behind? whatever i don’t need to continue my journey…
carrying? hope & my camera!
wearing? whatever is necessary…
what am i feeling? excitement…just like on any journey
Oh, definitely under it, with my Camelbak backpack (with water and snacks…maybe a picnic lunch packed) Stopping every few feet to stop and look around, and take pictures. I’m leaving my guy behind, but only for a moment until he catches up, because he’s a photographer and always looking for the right shot…moving forward into my future…sigh. (and if the bridge is in Italy…moving ever forward to the next gellatoria!)
I would definitely go under! But knowing me I would go over and then under. I would also love to stop under and sit leaning against the bridge and read a book, and maybe even eat a picnic!
I might even take a nap after I have eaten and read enough!
I would say to go over it, and wear a pretty sundress, possibly a hat…I feel like there should be flowers in the field…
Wow, it’s just so beautiful. I think I’d go under it. I’m hoping that’s a beautiful little pond filled with fresh aqua water perfect for swimming on a hot summer day. (I’m hoping it’s not an accumulation of rain water!!)
Ouch! Thinking and Monday don’t go well together!!
Normally, I love walking over bridges and enjoy whatever view they offer. But this looks extremely summer-like, so I’d probably prefer to sit underneath in its shade! 🙂
Beautiful photo!
PS… I tagged you for an ‘award’. 😉
I would like to sit on that hill and look at it, feeling the warm sun on my back. 🙂 I’m alone, and reflecting.
I would have to go across the bridge to see where the road would take me.
How does it make me feel? Well, given the collapse on the Minnesota bridge last month, and what I know about the disrepair of the rest of the infrastructure in this country, I may legislate to import Italian engineers in the near future.
When I first looked at the picture it actually seemed like the tree in the foreground was water rushing through the archway, like the floodgates had opened somewhere upstream of this little bridge. So while I’m normally all about doorways and windows and dreaming about what’s on the other side (it’s all about the possibility!), I can’t quite get past my initial impression of feeling like I’d be washed away by an incoming tidal wave. So maybe for now I’d just stand over the archway, up on that bridge, and watch the water rush past.
I would cross the bridge (like Cherrye I worry about snakes) and stop to check out the view. I would probably take a photo and be in awe of the scenery. I would be happy I was on the bridge and not in some horrible cubicle filling out TPS reports.
I would go over it with a book. I would stop half way to read. I would go back the same way I came never getting to the other side.
Hmmmm…I don’t like heights so I guess I would go under it.
I am picturing myself there.
I am weaaring khaki pants, a dark colored T-shirt & Teva Sandals.
I am carrying a small backpack.
I am alone and suddenly I am afraid – I am so used to the city that all that opne space is bit scary.
Wow! that was a lot from just one picture.
Ciao Bella
If I were going North or South I’d go under. If East or West then I be on top. Then again you could be tricking us with a picture of an old acquaduct. Interesting post.
Aqueduct spelled wrong in last post.
I LOVE that photo.
One of my favorites that you’ve put up.
I think perhaps I’d have to go both over and under, that it leads to a hidden abby up in the hills, all tucked away in the trees… where the nuns make wine… and I also think that there is a little rivery stream that winds down from the mountains and finds it’s way, after much meandering, to the sea.
How’s that?
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
I feel, more than anything, a mid-afternoon heat. Since the POV seems to be heading toward the slope and under the bridge, I would follow that. Most definately.
The contrast in this image is so great though, that I feel a mid-afternoon fatigue. I am ready to find a shady place to lay down the picnic basket, have some wine and cheese and bread and perhaps take an afternoon nap.
I see myself going to it but not through it. I can see myself enjoying a spring afternoon with my lover and a picnic basket full of wine, cheese, bread, and olives.
(ok so my lover is my husband and i really can’t eat bread cause i am allergic to it and wine makes me totally giddy but it’s nice to dream!)
Beautiful picture!
I want to go In…
What an interesting post.
i’m walking under it, hiding a little in the overgrown shrubbery. I’m dressed in red & I’m meeting a boy. I’m only 15 & I’ve crept out of my room while the family is all having a siesta. Hope I don’t get busted 🙂
Sognatrice, I love this photo. It is truly the photograph of a dreamer. I would sit on the bank with a picnic and look at the bridge. I love bridges. There is something so comforting about their symmetry and sense of progression. I love the fact that the engineering is so balletic. Even the most stolid bridges have swoops and arches. I wouldn’t mind going over or under, seeing the views etc. It’s just that my favourite thing to do with bridges is look at them. One day I think I am going to write a book about bridges.
Oh I just LOVE all of your responses; I’m so happy that you all played along!
I’m not going to respond individually to each wonderful comment, but do know that I took great joy in following you over/under the bridge or sitting underneath it with you or simply envisioning your thinking about whatever it is you’re thinking about while gazing across the scenery.
I will definitely be thinking of all of you the next time I’m near the bridge (which, by the way, I’ve never gone under…yet).