Speaking of Pho-toes

Originally Posted:
Saturday, July 19, 2008
4:59:00 PM CDT

Pho-toes, as Lisa King pointed out to me earlier in the week, are what I'm known for. Funny, other people are remembered for their smile, others for their laugh or sense of humor, but not me. I'm best known by those who have spent any time with me and sometimes even those who've never met me but have heard "the stories" of the pictures that I take. My pho-toes. I've talked about them before and how they started quite by accident but ended up being more of a memory marker than most of the photos I've accumulated. What I think is most cool is that like a smile or a laugh, the thing that I'm remembered for can be passed on and shared. But, unlike smiles and laughs which are contagious yet only last for a moment, pho-toes capture the instant and transcend time. So, while some people may think theme odd, others that I've passed my eccentricity on to appreciate the meaning and have carried with them the idea of putting yourself in the picture as a reminder of one of those moments that you want to capture in your memory forever.

In the past couple of months I've been honored by a couple former students who took a pho-toe or two on their vacations and labeled them as "this one's for Tracy Pace" on Facebook. Anna High took time to snap one while in the Caribbean while Alice and her new husband Chase too their souvenir pho-toes on their honeymoon. Now, to be honest, I think it might be a little creepy to think of your former teacher while on your honeymoon, but the thought was there none the less and I'm glad it was. While going through Alice's honeymoon photos on Facebook, I noticed a pho-toe of Chase's feet. I thought, "What the heck? Does he know he took a pho-toe? Did Alice make him take it?" Alice answered by questions---- Yes, he did it himself, and yes, he knew perfectly well that he was taking a pho-toe. He had heard about them for five years and decided to take one for himself. I love it! The pho-toes are branching out to second-line contacts. It's pho-toe networking!! So all of his friends will now be taking them too. Okay, maybe not.