Hmmm...a non-descript (except for some kind of tape wrapped around it's barrel) PaperMate Extra Fine Plastic Point pen.
Well, the tape is on there for a reason...because the pen was used to sign an autograph and we wanted to keep it for posterity.
Yep, there it is, being used to sign a pamphlet of some kind...
Zooming out a little, we see that the autographer (is that a word?) happens to be Billy Crystal. And, if we zoom out a little more, you can see another reason that this isn't just a simple pen...
The locale might not be immediately recognizable, possibly due to the fact that it no longer exists. It's the top of the World Trade Center (South Tower).
And no, we don't have BC's autograph on display here because we didn't ask for it. Me 'n' Ed were either too hip (or more likely, too shy) to approach Mr. Crystal. What happened is that the kids in the foreground didn't have a writing implement, so they borrowed one from my brother. Fortunately, we had the presence of mind to snap a pic of the transaction.
Somehow, having the pen and the photo is a little bit cooler than a mundane scribbled missive from the (then) SNL star.
2 comments:
Ahhhhhhh. Bathed in mega-nuances of a trivial event! I couldn't be happier!! Nicely done, TSG, nicely done.
Something, at least initially, kinda creepy about that photographic venue, huh? Like, there should be some evil, dark cloud overhanging it. But that isn't the way the real world works, is it.
As for that tape; is it there to entrap BC's sweat, exfoliations, and so forth? Or is it simply a way to mark the pen for what it is, to enable identifying it once it becomes co-mingled with other pens of like ilk?
In any event, you KNOW I LOVE pens (and pencils too), provided they have at least some small backstory, so color me highly content right about now!
Re: the tape -- well, since we didn't get an autograph, I decided to save the pen. After all, I had the pen and the picture, that is just as good as the autograph alone. We marked it as soon as we got home from the big city that day. (this was back in the 80s, when Ed lived in Queens)
You know, that pamphlet he's signing is the WTC Visitor's Guide. I wish I could say I still have my copy, but I foolishly sold it on eBay. I got $35, which isn't bad, but I wish I had kept it. Oh well...
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