Oliver Wasow

Forget the proverbial thousand words, this picture isn’t talking.  Or maybe it’s talking, but it’s not making much sense. It’s all hints, innuendo and promises, but the pieces aren’t adding up. Of course sometimes a picture is about what’s missing, but let’s break down what’s here: It’s a black and white photo of a black man and a white woman, taken sometime in the middle of the 20th Century. The woman is standing, above the man.  The man is holding a baby, probably their baby. They look happy, in love. See?  It’s not adding up.  I suppose it’s possible they’re in England or France. Maybe the woman isn’t white, maybe she’s a light skinned black woman. Maybe the man is holding the baby because it’s father’s day and he does that on father’s day. Maybe. But if there was ever a picture to defy cynicism, this is it. These people are in love. And if there’s a different story, I don’t want to know it.