Goodbye My Love

 I wrote this for Craigslist, I thought I would share it here.

She was a scant 12 years old... maybe a little older. I feel like we didn't spend enough time together to really know one another. Perhaps it's because a short while later her twin came along. I tried to use both equally. With such a brilliant lens and so easily pocket-able it would always be with me. However, not much more than a year after I found her at Goodwill for what should be called free (that's $2.69 USD) with a fresh battery included. That battery lasted me well, being swapped out between her and her twin. Whichever needed power at the time. And considering how much they were used, that battery was amazing. It continued to show full power on the camera's LCD, until last week that is. I lost her, I lost her for good. The 24 exposures of Tri-X inside were lost as well.

She was an Olympus Stylus Epic. A black one. She was beat up, had gaffers tape in spots. Was missing the little clear piece of plastic for the back. Yet she still fired up and said "hello" every time I opened the clam shell. Springing to life with an eagerness to capture light and direct it onto silver. There were no light leaks, she didn't ask for much power, just a fresh roll of film every so often so she could stretch her legs.

Yet when I was competing in the Great Urban Race, somewhere between eating a scorpion and donating to Ronald McDonald charity I thought I moved her from one pocked to another. Yet 30 minutes later I went to pull her out of my pocket and she was gone! At this point however it had been a while, and we had walked a few miles taking many turns down different streets. It was pretty much garunteed I wouldn't find her again.

 

 

 

So I thought I would reach out. If you competed in the GUR a few weeks back. And found a black Stylus Epic I would love her back. I will give you a reward, just name what you'd like. I have cash, can develop some BW film for you, will give you another camera in trade. Whatever! There is a roll of 36 exposure Tri-X inside. About 24 shots were taken. The last one being a snapshot of my girlfriend walking down the street. There is still hope she's alive out there! She has a waterproof case, and has seen rougher days. I haven't given up hope yet! She gave me some great shots, and I would love to get a few more from her. Thanks for taking the time to read!