Horse's Ass 2000 Revisited

(Hey, nice ass.)

I was rummaging around my attic last week and came across these old photos. I had to scan them in immediately. These pix were taken seven years ago this weekend but they still reduce me to teary-eyed giggles.

Backstory:
For much of the 1990s, LPD and I would do the Walk for Hunger each May. It was a springtime ritual: We’d start out on the Boston Common, break for some street meat in Cleveland Circle and then -- great humanitarians that we were -- duck out in Brighton (where we lived at the time), toss back a few margaritas and walk home.

In 2000, our home base was in Charlestown and since it was closer to the finish line on the Common, we decided we’d suck it up and walk the full 20 miles like big girls. It was one of those HHH days in the high 80s, it nearly killed us (well, nearly killed me, LPD runs marathons) but we schlepped our way to the finish line, collapsing on a grassy knoll on the Common. We were so proud of ourselves we wanted to take a victory photo immediately.

As you know, the month of May is one of the city’s most picturesque: the apple blossom trees are blooming along Beacon Street, the tulips beds in the Public Garden are bursting with color, etc. It’s difficult to screw up a pic with such an easy canvas.

LPD was about to snap a photo when she realized our situation was dire. It was bad enough that we’d planted ourselves next to a steaming pile of garbage, but a giant horse’s ass was hogging up the majority of the photo frame. Worse, the horse actually started backing up toward us, resulting in what was quite possibly the most unattractive backdrop in the history of backdrops. I don’t know if it was excess endorphins, mild dehydration or a combination of the two but we proceeded to spiral into a hysterical – now historical – fit of laughter that continued on and off for at least 30 minutes. It was one of those moments that on the surface wasn’t all that funny but when placed within a specific mood or context was suddenly hilarious. Kind of like the time James casually pointed out a ghastly toupee at J. Ring’s wedding and I had to leave the church. Others in recent memory: The Turkey Phone and *surprise* morning-after digicam photos of Cameo strumming a guitar at the Chicken Box. (Who has that photo?)