It's been nearly a year since I was sucked back into the vortex that is working full time but this weekend, I had a chance to come up for some fresh air. My husband and I took a lovely post-taxes stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge on saturday. We had barely pushed off from the shore of Manhattan when we started noticing locks affixed to every affixable structure on the bridge (benches, hooks, wires). In some places there were so many locks that they began to look like barnacles. I had seen locks on the bridge before but what we were seeing now was exponential growth since the last time we had crossed. Every lock was different and most were personalized, with initials or affections. The hot pink ode to NYC above was one of my favorites. Another lock looked like it was the first lock ever made. It was over-sized and rusty and seemed to have spent a number of years in the Hudson before someone had dove in and drudged it out especially for the occasion. It was, aesthetically, a perfect barnacle for the Brooklyn Bridge. We started to seek out the locks as we walked and made a sort of game out of who could find the next one first. It was lovely - as if we were on a treasure hunt - and we appreciated this strange lock barnacle phenomenon, even if we didn't understand it. When we got home we did a Google search and then we did understand it. Though I kind of rather liked it better when we didn't. Click here to learn the lore behind the love locks.
