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January 07, 2006 |
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Poo Bear
FOUND by Eli Meyerhoff
in Los Angeles, California
I work as a sanitary engineer for the City of Los Angeles's Bureau of Sanitation, at their largest sewage treatment plant. We process 350 million gallons of wastewater each day. Some engineers in my office recently vacated their cubicles for cushier jobs downtown. Their spaces are now mostly empty except for a few stray pens and staplers, and to my surprise, one forgotten carousel of slides. The first slide I picked out of it was this one. On the back it says April 1976. None of the other thirty slides in the carousel were nearly as interesting, mostly technical and serious pictures of wastewater processes, like activated sludge and deflocculation.
I can tell that this picture was taken at a wastewater plant (the balcony in the background is the same color and structure as the City of LA's plant up in the Valley). But what is a bear doing in a sewage treatment plant? A yellow shirted man wearing a shiny plastic, bizzaro-disneyesque mask of what appears to be a brown bear, poses with his arm around an Asian gentleman, a much younger and less cynical version of the previous resident of the cubicle in which I found this slide. The Asian gentleman's facial expression portrays a forced attempt at composure, while his left hand betrays how disconcerting it feels to be accosted on the job by a bear. I call him Poo Bear, patron saint of sewage treatment.
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
The words "slice of life" come to mind. No context. No meaning. Just life. Weird.
Poo Bear is one of my favorite finds. When I see him I think of a trip to Disneyland as a child and I imagine that Poo Bear and his friends must have run the sewage system for the park because it really seemed that every employee at Disneyland had to wear a costume.
Actually, I do believe that is an earlier incarnation of Oskie, the University of California at Berkeley's mascot. Perhaps that guy was a Berkeley student...
This is a fantastic find.
I agree...that looks like Oski bear!
i can imagine all the old fundamentalists saying let a man marry a man now theyre letting men marry bears!
The guy on the left looks mighty suspicious.
Eli, your analysis is brilliant. Thank you for writing this up. The picture by itself didn't speak to me, but your description is a treasure. It animates the photograph and infuses it with meaning.
am i the only one who thinks this looks like a hostage situation? haha
"you want proof? tigger get the camera and take a picture of me with this hostage....we'll show them how fuckin serious we are"
My husband works at a wastewater treatment plant and after they opened a new facility, the management wanted to host a picnic for the public. Maybe if they had hired Poo Bear, the idea woudn't have seemed so unappetizing, it might have even been a little festive.
I think he really looks like Yogi Bear...the guy on the right that is...
I wish the Sewage treatment plant in my city could be runned by a big yellow bear!
haha, this is so awkward. awkward things are my favorite<3
Why does this photo creep me out?
It kinda creeps me out too.
I wanted to find an old picture of Oski, but I couldn't. I am glad that some other folks recognized our mascot. GO BEARS!
the elbow "get the hell away from me" push is a classic.
None of the Cal people who correctly identified Oski tried to explain what he/she/it was doing at a sewage treatment plant. Did Oski lose a bet with Tommy Trojan or UCLA's Joe Bruin and have to go for a swim at the plant?
Today is my birthday and I was feeling kind of low. I saw this picture under one of the other "finds" and thought it looked promising. Man, I am SO glad I took that look! The picture by itself isn't outstanding, but the description just ROCKS!! I laughed so hard and it totally lifted my spirits!!
Thanks for the wonderful gift of laughter on my B-day, Eli from LA. I couldn't have asked for a better one! :D
OH MY GOD, IT`S HIRO!
Reminds me of the saying "does a bear s*** in the woods?" Guess not.........
Definitely has a last-known-photograph feel to it...
That's Oskie from my beloved childhood next to UCBerkeley!