Once in awhile a true Kodak moment happens, but unfortunately, more often than not the moment ends without a photo being taken. Now, in the age of cell phones being readily available, well-documented unexpected Kodak moments are on the rise everywhere. But in a time before cell phones, way back in the dark ages one such moment has always stuck in my mind and I ask myself where was my camera when I needed it the most.
I accompanied a friend to her doctor appointment one beautiful sunny summer day because she needed moral support. Her doctor was going to take a sample of what he thought were and outbreak of genital herpes. Remember this was back in the dark ages before genital herpes had reached epidemic proportions. I'm sure now a doctor can simply have a look see and correctly diagnose the dastardly sores. After her appointment, we decided to have lunch at a drive-in restaurant that was famous for their onion rings. Their serving sizes were enormous. Even a small order was enough to feed several people or many squawking seagulls sea chickens. So after sating myself with onion rings I decided to treat the mass of local beggars that had formed in the parking lot as we ate our lunch. Their only desire was to entice the drive-in's patronage to feed them, so one by one I slung the remainder of my onion rings out my car window and one by one each onion ring was happily devoured until it happened...a true Kodak moment! I slung one onion ring out my window and it landed perfectly around a seagull's neck like I was playing a game of ring toss. My friend and I laughed so hard that for a moment she forgot the somber occasion that had brought us to Panama City that afternoon. As the seagull flew away with the onion ring around its neck it was accompanied by many of its friends happily pecking away at its onion ring necklace.
Yesterday another Kodak moment happened. This time I was able to photograph it and no, it didn't involve seagulls or onion rings this time. Because I'm lazy, when I'm in my bedroom and when something needs to be thrown away in the trashcan, I usually toss it across the room and 9 times out of 10 whatever I'm throwing lands directly in the trashcan. This time it involved an empty mini can of Coke, but please don't ask me why I drink these mini cans of Coke. As I performed my most skillful shot, the empty can sailed across the room and landed perfectly balanced on the edge of the open trashcan's lid. If I had tried to do that exact shot a million times over, the result would never happen again like it did yesterday. Fate? Was I holding my mouth the right way? Were the planets in perfect alignment? Was it just a freak accident? Or is this a sign I should try out for The Harlem Globetrotters?
