Anatomy of a solid

Drowsy was right, it is the photo-op that launched a thousand handshakes, inspiring people all over the world and a much-discussed solid fresco on the South Side of Chicago. Seems innocuous enough: Jerry Brown on the campaign trail, circa 1992, greeting some Main Street well-wishers in a flyover state. It’s the scan of a photocopy of a smudged newspaper clipping (now unfortunately lost to posterity). But it is the Rosetta Stone of the solid shake. And the sooner you understand it – and appreciate the subtleties that make this tableaux so important — the sooner you can take a step up on the enlightenment ladder. So, I sent the image down to Sam at the lab to process and highlight these key elements.


Part the FIRST: A SIMPLE SOLID.
The first of course is the most obvious and most important: the solid itself. Were it just two people in a vacuum greeting each other this moment would still be worthy of our attention. But nature abhors a vacuum and rightly so. Read on.



Part the SECOND: PRIDE, IN THE NAME OF LOVE.
Notice the expression of aloof gravitas JB is wearing. Serious and only mildly engaging, but obviously thinking about weightier issues, that certain air of quiet superiority it’s so important to cultivate. In other words: ain’t no thang.



Part the THIRD: GOLLY.
Like electricity, the solid is a circuit. Two contact points join and the energy flows. (Get your mind out of the gutter. You don’t have to work blue — you’re better than that, dammit.) In this case, the force is even stronger because of goober’s excessive fawning. He is awed by the whole business. And well he should be. To his credit, though, he does seem to recognize his moment in history and responds with a solid, albeit a groveling one.



Part the FOURTH: ACCESSORIES TO A SOLID.
A few key visuals illustrate and reinforce the previous point. It’s trucker hat versus turtleneck. Never stood a chance.



Part the FIFTH: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN.
Notice there is another person trying to shake JB’s hand. But that individual is reaching for the reduced-fat mayo. The governor deftly avoids this trap. Do likewise, friends.



Part the SIXTH: LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
A further layer to this historic moment (and to any solid for that matter) is the people who are watching. The bystanders. You can just barely see these smudges that are impressionable onlookers (note to self: dock Sam’s pay for shoddy work). You never knoW Who might be Watching, especially with that Wacko in Washington. Remember the kids. Teach them well and let them lead the way.



Part the SEVENTH: BLOWUP or In the crossfire.
If a tree falls in the forest and there isn’t a photographer nearby to shoot it does the tree make a noise? Here, the photographer in the background is clearly on top of his game. Check out the light meter. And allow me to blow your mind this time (pace Delfonics): there is the aforementioned photographer AND the photographer who snapped our illustrious photo that we’ve been examining.

CONCLUSION
A lot to digest. A lot to reflect upon. Some deep analysis of this the objective correlative of the solid. Reality is often like looking into a Chinese box or into one of the monitors behind a local newscaster that has all the other channels playing and his own image as well and you're trying to see his image in the monitor in the monitor. Either way, just KISS. Keep It Solid Stupid.