Ducks in Sturbridge, Massachusetts in May of 2002. I had packed up all my stuff and was moving back to Niskayuna for the summer. My car broke down mid-voyage, forcing me to abandon ship at the first town I could find a Mass Pike exit for, which was Sturbridge.
My car was, effectively, toast. I was ripshit pissed, just beside myself. It could be fixed, but I couldn't continue as is. I called my mother and asked her to drive the two hours to come pick me up.
I was standing in a gas station asking for directions to a place that could come take my car to be fixed, when two ducks wandered in the open door. The clerk said, "Oh, they come in every day, don't mind them."
I bought a camera immediately and followed the ducks around, while they crossed the four lane highway (stopping traffic) and walked through another few lots before finally taking off.
I spent the rest of the hours of fading light walking through the woods in Sturbridge, using the rest of my film. I got some nice shots of rural roads, rock walls, culverts, and streams.
The anger, at the situation, at being stuck and having my trip home cut into, at having my car go kaput, was all gone. It was really an amazing day, though hard to describe.
