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July 18, 2008 |
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Old Man with Umbrella
FOUND by Matt Pettengill
in Augusta, Maine
I found this picture in a milk crate full of random photographs and papers at a used furniture sale just outside of town. I thought it was nice snapshot. The woman who ran the sale said I could have the picture.
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Fleet Week July 14, 2002 |
Lady with Horns October 07, 2005 |
Forever May 30, 2006 |
Message in a Bottle September 18, 2005 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
I think his name is Saul.
Don't be afraid of the rain, Saul! Water is good for all growing things.
His name is Saul, yes, I think so too. Doesn't the building look sort of like the find from a few days ago?
Saulie needs that 'brella so his ciggy don't get wet.
This looks like the first low-budget audition of the Disney Movie - Mr. Poppins!
"Hey you kids... Git offa my lawn!"
looks like an old mobster who's kinda surprised that after he got out of jail there's no little wiseguys around to hold the umbrella for him...
poor uncle saul
Fantastic find--a keeper. it always surprises me when photographs like this end up in a box at a thrift or antique store. Someone is missing out on a wonderful story about their father/grand father, etc. Then again, I'm glad to have fodder for my own imagination.
The composition is really nice too. His round eyeglasses and the round wheels of the get-away-car. The darkness of his umbrella and pants suggest somewhat of a mystery . . . a mob story or a jail break.
What a great way to start my day! thanks, Matt.
SAUL is smokin'nnnnnn in NO rain!!! (hence, singinggggg in the rain!)
This photo does look older...just from lookin' at his or the vehicle behind/side him, yes?
That, thuurr tire, looks as tho' it might have more miles on it than, let's say, a 30 year vet in the *Pro*stitute business!
How about that badass car....Saul is a gangsta ridin with his tommy gun.
This is a great picture-
This is a photo of the original Batman in retirement. Note the Bat umbrella. Note the front end of the Batmobile behind him.
(or I suppose it could be Alfred on his day off, having taken the Batmobile for a joyride....)
Check the window grilles! Can't be a jail or they'd be shaped to fit, instead of not going all the way up. Factory? Maybe it is that mill we had a week ago.
Great photo. I think there's a story there! Smallbear--any ideas?
What a clever and highly original title for this find.
It doesn't even look like it's raining!
A milk crate full of random old photos is my BIGGEST weakness! All those forgotten ancestors! In fact just yesterday I spent WAY to much time and money on a boxful of random old photos. But I HAD to!
Oh, and it DOES appear to be raining- but it's only just started. See all the darkish spots on the sidewalk?
Dark spots? Rain? You never been to the site of a gangland-style shooting, have you?
This is all wrong. His pants are entirely too low for that era. In those days, you were suppose to reach over your shoulder to get to your wallet.
But when I look at his face, all I can hear is, "You fuckin' comin' inside or what?".
while i don't usually favor the photos, i do enjoy this one - perhaps that is because, i, like matt pettengill, have ancestry in maine and olde new england.
@ baby basil: right about the windows - those grilles are to keep people out, not to keep people in. must be something of value inside.
harry potter in 60 years.
"allrigh! Which one of you punks dented my fender?"
"allright" ..... sigh
my haiku:
Out for a smoke now
standing in the old alley
One more day to go
It seems that old people always wore their pants too high. I wonder what happens to their body that makes them do that. Gotta love those goggles.
(*maynard, I actually liked the allrigh! It makes it sound like he's from Butte or Chicago or something.* one of those tough ol' boy, hoarse voices.)
In all seriousness, though- isn't this one of the old dudes who was in the movie Coccoon?
I was about to call him Uncle Morty, but it looks like we've settled on Saul. Close enough.
It's not raining. The umbrella is actually to keep the sun off. You see, Uncle Saul was raised on the Ungava Peninsula and isn't used to the harsh rays of the Maine summers.
The windows on my grade school had metal coverings like that on the ground floor. We used to speculate that it was to keep the kids from escaping, but more likely it was to keep fly balls from breaking the glass.
Great photo! Thanks, Matt.
Hey, I think this is my alley! I saw Saul at the Italian American Club last week.
I moved to upstate NY a few years ago and am amazed by the architecture and history. My brownstone row house is older than my home state (CA). All the alleys look like this in the historic district downtown. Troy was one of the most prosperous cities in the country because of the Hudson River and manufacturing.
These guys are all still around - I was moving the lawn in my backyard and heard someone walking down the alley singing in Italian. I live in a movie.
Opposites are way better than math.
Yeah, we are really strong here. I moved the lawn then mowed it.
@John--I like the name Morty,too! This is a good Find--very nostalgic. I can't tell, but does he have on a fedora, too? That would make it even better.
@Helen-It does sound like you live in a movie! But don't go moving your lawn too far. Morty likes things to stay the same...
dasdardly
bumbershoot
ghetto cruiser
He looks little like a tall, chunky Woody Allen. Maybe it's the glasses.
It really looks like the same building from July 13, without the snow. Rhode Island and Maine aren't very far apart, so maybe it's the same place.
http://www.foundmagazine.com/find/2560
In this picture, the weeds growing at the bottom edge of the building, and the parking lot going right up to the edge suggest a factory or warehouse I think, more than an apartment or school, where there are usually pedestrian areas or sidewalks or lawns or gardens right next to the building.
I thought Woody Allen, too. Maybe it is a relative.
I like this find. I have a picture of my grandfather, in a similar stance with a cigarette or something hanging out of his mouth.
@Clover- the windows are different. The color find has smaller panes. This is just 9 squares.
You guys are too funny!
Aww, this guy reminds me of my relatives. You know, the loud, gruff uncle who smells of cigars, but who, when no one is looking, will slip you a five and tell you not to tell your mom?
Helen, you're right! I was only looking at the shape of the windows and the sills underneath. There must be a lot of buildings back east that have a similar appearance. I like your description of your movie life. You make NY sound cool. I've never been there. I do love alleys!
And I love this photo too.. but I usually do love the photo finds!
I love this photograph! I wish I could see his hat better. My uncles were all farmers and they wore clothing just like this and one of those hats that are all mesh except the front...
I also wish i could see the full car. That would help narrow down a time line. Could it also be the hood of an old pick up truck? It looks like it sits higher up than a sedan.
"Hey, who's that little old man?"
"It's Paul's grandfather."
I had to sneak one more in before I walked out the door.
"He's very clean you know."
"Martha, hurry up and take the damn picture! I'm freezing my balls off."
At least, that's what I think he is saying. I mean, look at his expression - that is aggravation. Or it could just be his face... but I think it's funnier with him yelling at Martha.
@ LIBRARIAN- Great eye...it could very well be, Alfred from Batman...on or off the set, on or off from work. The time and or era could also very well fit for the series of *Batman*, the 60's (ie. car, clothing, photo, 'brella-'ella-'ella-'ella! etc...)
@ NOT HANGING AROUND- LOL!! I too, thought the Title to this FIND to be VERY highly intelligent!! Somewhat of a genius must have thought of it, huh?
@ HELEN- Ahahaha!! I blew the Earl Grey Tea I was sipping out of my nose, on to my computer monitor and keyboard because of your post!! Hilarious, girl! Instead of correcting a typo, you so simply used it in your following post!!
Brilliant!
"Where is he then?"
"Who?"
"Paul's grandfather."
"He's concealed about me person!"
can we tell what kind of car it is? also, the ground he's standing on looks really interesting too, like tiny coblestones, dirty concrete, not sure.
Yeah, Staying Up, I think Saul is a great name for this fella. Especially cause Saul would be grouchy and yell at Martha. And those noisy neighbors down the hall - damn communists! hehehe
I think it's an apartment building.
Beautiful picture.
Hey, Helen.. I used to live in Schenectady! Now I live in a different Tri Cities, on the other side of the country.
My then BF used to go to a gym in downtown Troy. (ca late '80's) I didn't spend much time there, but there definitely was a LOT of brick. When you say "my brownstone row house" I can just PICTURE the street.
Gene Kelly, on the set, before make-up.
Is that a potential find down in the bottom righthand corner of the picture?
@ EGGS1234- It surely could be a potential FIND! You Eagle-eye, you!
Although, it looks to be...an Ace of Spades from a deck of cards....? Saul cheated while playing poker with all his mobster bad-boys!!
Is it me, or is that a picture of Gene Hackman?
I see Gene Hackman; a man's man. Do you guys remember the incident a couple years ago where GH (age 70) was in his car at a light and a car bumped into his. Two young 'punks' get out - not recognizing my man - and start pushing him. GH puts a whoop ass on them both!!! Yeah, that's what this man makes me think of......someone older who could still take you down. Then ask for a tumbler of Scotch and a fresh cigar.
@Holly the Homemaker in Toronto, why don't you just put your Earl Grey in a Neti pot?
Boxes of old photos found in thrift shops are usually there because the owner has passed away with no family to pass them on to...or, the surviving family does not want them. It's a sad thing.
Does anyone know if that's the real Eggs?
Don't tell Alan that Holly got the Sex Pistols and the Clash mixed up.
G: That's not your grandfather.
P: He is you know.
G: But I've seen your grandfather, he lives in your house.
P: Ay, but this is me other one.
J: How do you reckon that one out?
P: Well everyone's entitled to two aren't they?
And he's it.
Standing in the rain
Belt holding up my pants, tight
Cigarette, dangling.
Old man with glasses
Leaving jail forever
Misses his cell mate.
Rain falls on Batman
Getaway car, old
He will have to walk.
@Smallbear, tu sei strepitoso!! Haiku--is there no END to this man's abilities?
Chapi-chapeau.
Whoever asked about old guys' pants...a lot of men shrink as they get older, both in height (osteoporosis and/or untreated scoliosis)and girth. But they see no reason to throw away clothes they've been comfortable in forever...with men of a certain age, they refuse to even buy new clothes until the old ones hang in tatters from their frames. So the waist comes higher up on the body as the body shrinks into the clothes; kind of like Paul McCartney in that OTHER movie, the one where he takes a bath in Coke sitting in an ashtray...blergh, two vices for the price of one.
You notice there's a LOT of sleeve rolled up there, too. A certain gentleman of retired age of my acquaintance is going through this process; he's losing his appetite and gets thinner and thinner, while his spine progressively bends forward. He will end his life staring at his toes, willy-nilly.
Woody Allen has
put on a little weight.Oh
he has to diet.
Batman's umbrella
is protecting Alfred, now
who will drive the car.
Saint Valentine's day
massacre,only one spry
Seen here is Mr. Saul.
Opps, sorry should be a question mark at the end of: "Who will drive the car?"
Just realized that Mister is 2 syllables. How embarrassing.
So a correction:
Saint Valentine's day
Massacre, only one spry
Seen here, is Saul.
Hey he does look like Gene Hackman- in his role (as Brill) in Enemy of the State.
This picture reminds me of my Grandpa...caught off guard with his cigarette.
It's sad that this picture would be forgotten (but good for us that it was FOUND). I never met my Grandpa and all I have are pictures like this that I have to make my own stories for.
He's a nice old man isn't he?
Well, he's very clean.
In the Bible - Saul became Paul.
See the connection?
It IS Paul's grandfather.
I just wanted to try out my new name.
Amazing haiku's Smallbear. I hope that Saul will see himself and tell us, hey, that's me. I think his last name is Mortimer. Saul Mortimer. Or Maul Sortimer.
Saul? Come on yous guys. All that guy needs is some square rimmed glasses and he's Uncle Junior. Maddon.
LOL @ a Ghost in the Lost and Found! If not for George on Six Feet Under, I'd have had to Google Neti pot. Never heard of 'em before that. (and your comment? Priceless.) I can think of worse substances to splurk out your nose five times a day. But not many.
This has got to be one of my all time favorite Found pictures. I LOVE it!
This man makes me think of my grandfather. My Mom grew up in upstate New York, after reading Helen's post I'm wondering if that's why.
@ Searching, you can get Neti Pots at most drug stores. Heck, I found mine in the cold medicine section of my grocery store. I'm pretty sure you were joking, but they are seriously great for people with chronic allergies.