It’s Wednesday Vignette time again! How quickly those weeks do pass.
I’m choosing a blossom from a globe amaranth (Gomphrena sp.), an annual here. I bought it from the local farm stand in late June or early July and it looks like a winner, going strong here in early September.
What I especially like about this photo is the ant, of course, but more, that something about the flower — the fuschia, the yellow bits, its shimmery nature — reminds me of a ballgown, or a ballroom, which cast my mind back to 1975 and the TV movie Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, with Maureen Stapleton and Charles Durning. I have always remembered it as sad, poignant, imbued with regret and melancholy, but apparently (on reading the synopsis), it’s the story of finding love again. I think the nostalgia of the 1940s ballroom music and the yearning of the main characters left me with a forlorn feeling, long after the plot faded in memory, or maybe it was something (also lost to memory, if so) that my mother said while we were watching it.
Today I found the whole movie online. The first 30 seconds of the credits, with the shimmering ballroom lights and mirrors splashing onto the floor, looks like this flower to me … minus the ant — but perhaps the ant is dancing as well.
What a wonderful association… Isn’t it interesting how something as simple as a flower can transport you back in time, and awaken feelings you thought you had forgotten. Great photo, and powerful memory!