Remember the inspirational posters employers were fond of hanging in the coffee bar, or other areas around the office where employees would congregate to commiserate over dissatisfaction with their jobs? Commonly the poster would feature a photo of some steadfast force of nature paired with a caption like: Determination!, or Creativity!, or Teamwork!, Believe and Succeed!
I confess that throughout much of my professional life in the twenty years or so I worked for a big company that I was cynical around the motivations of management, specifically with regard to their cheap tricks intended to get more and better work out of the rank and file employees. Like those posters, for example.
I snapped this photo recently while out on a beach walk with HW and thought it would make a perfect counter-inspirational poster.
But what about the caption? Tenacity! or Resilience! might work. But in order to be rebellious, consistent with my cynical attitude toward group-think at the time, I thought maybe The Power of One! would capture that spirit. But that’s a little tame, innit? As a writing professor once guided me (dimly recalled), “Your satire works best when the writing is over the top. Don’t fear offending the reader, give your metaphors all the oomph they deserve, say what you really mean.” OK. So how about this for a caption: Fuck Off! Tell me you don’t see that cliff face like the back of a hand, with the lone tree stubbornly rooted like a middle finger raised to the sky. Talk about your force of nature.
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HW & I drove over the border (“the line” as the Canucks call it) yesterday to walk the promenade and stroll along Canada’s longest pier. At the end of which we spotted several people fishing for crabs. We peered over the railing and saw swarms of silverfish just below the surface of the water, wary of the hungry sea lions lurking nearby. One of many statues erected along the promenade celebrating the heritage of the place
Another lone wolf deserving of a caption. Use your imagination.
For all you wondering when the 2023 Nibblet will arrive in your mailbox, I regret to inform you I didn’t pen one this year. This is the first year in fifteen consecutive years (!) this has happened. My only excuse – a sudden, stupendous, and sustained bout of agraphia after the loss of Chester. I’m sorry, my voice and sense of levity were no where to be found this year. We are again getting out of town today. South instead of north this time. We’re going to visit a nursery and then overnight at an Inn near the sea.
We wish you all an uneventful and happy 2024. Wait, it’s an election year. Scratch that. Strap in, hold on, and be your best.