Double Take

I could have sworn the swan did a double take.

It had been basking in the summer sun.

It unfurled its elegant neck for a few seconds, seemed to glance at the pond, then tucked its head back to form a gold-kissed feathered mound.

One, two . . . . Whammo.

The swan’s head shot back up and it looked straight ahead to the pond before plopping back down.

It may be important to note that the swan’s initial peek at the pond took place as a giant swan boat glided about a yard away from the swan’s field of vision.

Life is filled with double takes.

” . . . .And we need to get Brady back to the vet to get his stitches taken out, and make sure you bring a sample for Rufus because I forgot that last time, and we’ll need to switch cars so I can go to work from there . . . . Oh, and I was thinking of selling Scooter to the circus now that he can do that left paw trick.  I’m taking bids on Craigslist.  It’s up to a dollar fifty.”

I pause.

“Wait . . . what?”

It’s a daily refrain in my household.  I’ll babble on to a child in a frequency apparently only moms tune in to, and then throw in a twist to catch my daughter’s attention.  If I’m lucky, she’ll do a little double take.

A double take, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “a delayed reaction to a surprising or significant situation after an initial failure to notice anything unusual —usually used in the phrase do a double take.”

I took a picture of a bright vista, an abandoned horse barn in the foreground with a background of distant White Mountains.

Wait a minute . . . First, someone had to point out to me the glaring oddity of a television set on a table just outside the old barn.

Then, when I uploaded the photo, I did another double-take: to my far right appeared a shape remarkably like a pair of pants standing up in the field.

(Once you see it, you can’t “unsee” it, can you?)

Wait a minute. . . . Did those branches spell out “A, B, C”?  What’s that mountain range doing in downtown Portsmouth?  Surely you see the lobster in the ocean-blue sky?   How did I come to be wandering in a space–in the middle of a city of high rises–among seemingly endless Technicolor floral fields?

Technicolor Fields

“Now I know my ABCs….”

Mini Mountain Range?

I’m a fan of the double take: it’s almost always a pleasant surprise.

Author: Stephanie

In her spare time, Stephanie works full-time, and then some, as an attorney. She has published articles and delivered talks in arcane fields like forensic evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and expert scientific witness preparation. She attended law school near the the banks of the Charles River and loves that dirty water; she will always think of Boston as her home. You are welcome to take a look at her Facebook author page, or follow @SMartinGlennon on Twitter and @schnitzelpond on Instagram. Bonus points for anyone who understands the Instagram handle. All content on this blog, unless otherwise attributed, is (c) 2012-2023 by Stephanie M. Glennon and should not be reproduced (in any form other than re-blogging in accordance with the wee Wordpress buttons at the bottom of each post) without the express permission of the domain holder. View all posts by Stephanie