Friday, October 27, 2023

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 27: "Thirteen and Eight"

"I don't remember when was the first time I seen him, I don't think. Was it the fire at the Havre Hotel last August, wasn't it? When the fella jumped outta the window and lit on the streetcar, got carried three blocks from his nightshirt? Yeah, last August; I guess that was the first time. I seen him a lotta times since then."

Here's an interesting bit of photography lore; news photographers call out "thirteen and eight" when they spot someone trying to photobomb their pictures. That's how this story begins, with our photographer protagonist calling out "thirteen and eight" to get a man out of his way. But none of the other photographers at the scene saw someone trying to interfere with their shoot. And it keeps happening as the photographer keeps seeing a man getting in the way of his lens, resulting in him shooting a dramatic photograph in a split second. Who is this mystery man whom only the photographer can see?

"Thirteen and Eight" was originally broadcast April 26, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.

Image created using Firefly.

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