The Unfinished Business of the Abby Road Ducks
You would think that over time this process of grief and loss would get easier. It really doesn’t; it does change though. Now don’t get me wrong here, I still have my bad times. Bouts of depression, anger, and profound sadness are still, and always will, be a part of my life, I understand this. Now that some time has passed these feelings sometimes lead that mass of writhing grey matter in my skull to overthink things. I watch the world and the people in it, I see intolerance, injustice, greed, along with a dash willful stupidity and contrived (and often socially engineered) ignorance.
Are all folks like this? Certainly not. You, my friend wouldn’t be reading these words if you were. Am I overreacting? More than likely, but that does not change the fact that all of the above is going on as well as increasing in it’s intensity in our society and around the world.
In essence, bullying is about power over another person or group of people. This works on a personal level or on a global scale. As the hermetic philosophers of our distant past put it “as above so below”. What happens in small, private places like a person’s mind also happens in social groups, families, communities and nations.
The desire for power is human nature, we all have it to a certain extent. Most religions, philosophies, codes of conduct, etc. go to great lengths to teach us not to abuse power. Often these teachings are twisted and abused to justify the desires of those who can’t ever seem to have enough power. Niccolo Machiavelli, author of “The Prince” and survivor of the violent intrigues and power struggles of renaissance Italy, stated “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”. This is something to always keep in mind.
Obviously I think about things far too much at times.
So combating the dark places that my mind sometimes goes involves keeping those happy memories of Arthur alive. The fun times being together, watching the interesting things he would do, and following that often sideways learning process he used. So here we go.
The Unfinished Business of the Abby Road Ducks
Arthur and I had gone to Pangborn Park in Hagerstown, MD so he could practice with his new camera. We had a great afternoon wandering about talking and taking photos and generally having a good time. I noticed that Arthur was spending quite a bit of time taking photos of ducks, not usually a subject he spent much time on. I was curious but I didn’t ask him what he was doing, obviously he was trying to do something though. Usually I would just watch as his creative process worked out unless he would ask for advice or help doing something. Eventually we got interested in something else and wandered away from the ducks and later we walked home.
Afterwards I found out what he was trying to do. He wanted to get four ducks waddling in a single file line to duplicate the Beatles Abby Road album cover. How he got this idea I have not a clue, not something you would think a modern fourteen year old would think about.
What would he have done with the image if he had gotten the shot he wanted? It would have been interesting to find out…mixed media, computer manipulation, or just a simple photograph. Sadly we’ll never know.
Unfinished business.
Trent Carbaugh, December 2019