I was over by the willow tree across Post Dispatch lake from Wildlife Island trying to catch the swing of the branches in the wind when I saw the debris by the park bench just a few yards away. I thought at first that one of the many homeless people in the area had left a few items there, but when I wandered over to take a closer look I saw a pair of socks and boots, while lying between them was someone’s wallet with a $10 bill peeping out of it, a can of Grizzly chewing tobacco, a set of keys and some change, and, on the grass beyond the concrete bench pad, a cell phone with its charger and pair of red headphones.
Yep, I thought it was strange, and immediately, having been watching a lot of cop shows recently, suspected foul play. I took several photos of the situation and reached for my phone to call the police. That was when I realized, after checking each of my pockets three times, that I had lost my phone. I could remember the last time I had it, as I had sent myself some notes from on top of the hill above the boathouse, and somewhere up there, in all the undergrowth, was where it must be hiding.
I picked up all of the items there by the bench and walked to the visitor center to turn them in, and then hiked to my car to find a friend with a phone. It took a while to navigate rush hour traffic in the one mile to my studio (it seemed everyone was in slow mode), but I managed to get there, set up some of the necessary things for our Thursday night shoot and then rush back to find my phone with Tracie, my friend Shaw’s niece. Tracie stood at the bottom of the hill and rang my phone while I combed through the thick vegetation of the woods, listening carefully for the usual annoying ringtone of my iPhone. I was within 20 feet of where I had sent myself my last note when I heard the ring. What a relief! Rejoice with me, for my phone was lost but now it is found! I shouted all the way back to the studio. Tracie laughed at me.
The Three Graces of the twenty first century. Click for more photos!