Bumper Crop

Speaking for Boomers, 2010

(Kindly disregard adjacent reference to "Senior Moment.")

Yesterday was a busy day around the old Bonney electronic cottage.

I was quoted and a photograph of me appeared in a national newspaper. Here’s what happens when you appear in a national newspaper:

• Friends and relatives who were staying in hotels the night before call or write to say that you were the first thing they saw that morning. (Some were quick to note that you looked pretty good for having been shoved under the door.)
• Friends who lunched together at Panera find your picture on their table. (At least one says it takes away her appetite. I asked if she didn't mean her breath?)
• You hear from friends around the country you haven’t talked to in a while.
• You find that national newspapers aren’t carried in bulk where you live.
• You hear from people who want to sell you laminated pictures of national newspaper stories. No, thank you.

I also received the biggest check I’ve ever received for the sale of one of my photographs. It’s not enough to underwrite a good trip, but it is enough to inspire splurging on that new printer you’ve had you eye on, or perhaps a really good lens. This comes a few days after receiving my first-ever international funds transfer for the use of another photograph that will soon appear on the cover of a Swedish book about French cooking. A lesser amount, but hey, it’s Sweden. Some day I might visit Sweden and have dinner in a French restaurant where I’ll find the book on the chef’s shelf.

The last big event of the day was that my #3 molar cracked into several pieces, resulting in about two hours at the dentist’s getting a new crown.

It turns out the going rate for a new dental crown is almost exactly equal to a big photo sale check and a Swedish book cover.