Friday, November 8, 2013

TRIPODS...

I should know better.
I made the mistake of looking up the word in my various dictionaries; they pretty much agree on the three-legged business – whether talking of furniture, cookpots or stands – but my 1770 Johnson is most specific: limited to furniture and described as “...a seat with three feet, such as that from which the priests of Apollo delivered oracles.”

Priests of Apollo notwithstanding, other uses for tripods developed; here’s a photograph of one from my magical box of family photographs.

This is my father at engineering camp in 1938(give or take a year or two), while he was a student at Brown University.
After college, after World War II, he went on to become a successful civil engineer; he built a swing bridge at the harbor in Osterville, Massachusetts in 1946 (the year I was born – it’s still referred to as “Deb’s Bridge in my family).
During the early 1950s post-war transportation expansions in the United States, he built bridges on Route 128, the “new” highway around Boston; one of those bridges won an award for the Best Bridge in Massachusetts, (but was torn down later when the road expanded again).
          And then we moved to Maine, where he built a series of bridges in South Portland. They are still standing, and I drive over them occasionally; my tires thump over the joints between the sections of the bridge, and I am amazed that he is, in a sense, still holding me up...

Other tripods?

Well, how about The Tripods, a series of young adult, post-apocalyptic novels written by John Christopher in which tripods are three-legged mechanical walking machines (controlled by “masters”) who dominate humans...ended up being a British/Australian TV series (any British or Australian Sepians care to comment?).
And then there’s James Lee Burke’s Cajun protagonist Dave Robicheaux, a detective with the New Iberia, Louisiana police department. He’s an alcoholic, a Vietnam veteran and is, consequently, plagued by various demons; he also has a three-legged raccoon named Tripod.

There’s also a tripod fish (it has a ray that extends between its two pectoral fins to create the tripod effect – it’s pretty amazing!); a tripod headstand in yoga (your head and your hands are on the ground); and, finally, Garden Tripod Magazine, a fine arts publication.

I’ve even heard of people calling three-legged dogs and cats “tripawds,” but that’s a little over the top, don’t you think?

To see what other Sepians have contributed, visit:

29 comments:

  1. How interesting, I am so glad you went with tripods having this great story and photo about your father.

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    1. Funny how Sepia Saturday forces you to think about ordinary things in extraordinary ways, eh? A tripod, for goodness sake!

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  2. Excellent & fun research on the tripod & in so many different ways, too! But I have to say this: no matter how many bridges he built - & I love your comment about his 'holding you up' when you drive over one of them, your father was one handsome dude! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Gail -- he WAS a handsome dude; stayed handsome well into his 70s!

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  3. Oh my goodness, I hadn't heard of a tripod fish before, but the images of them on Google are very interesting. Some photos make them appear like they're standing on three legs (?)! I'd love to see one in real life, in a tank!

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    1. I know, Karen -- those fish are pretty amazing looking, aren't they? Sepia is such a learning experience....always!

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  4. A very interesting post about tripods and the connection with your father and his bridge-building career. Love the tripawd idea too - we have a 3 legged cat across the road, as a result of an altercation with a car a couple of years back, but he seems to manage perfectly well without his missing limb, so that you actually have to look twice to notice it's not there. He can't walk on 2 legs like Corky however :-)

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    1. I, too, had a three-legger, Jo. His name was Charlie, and he was pretty adept at catching things, even with only one front leg.

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  5. A lot of education here on tripods, tripawds, etc...and a nice photo

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    1. Thanks, Patricia! Learned a lot on this little tripod trip of mine!

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  6. And what about John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids'. Didn't they have three legs?

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    1. Don't know that one...is this another British author?

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    2. He is more well known than John Christopher.

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    3. I'll have to see if he's in our local library!

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  7. "Debs bridge". That is lovely. I would love to see a picture of it. I tried to google but didn't have any luck.

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    1. My father gave me a framed photo of MY bridge (nothing fancy, just for fun!); it's somewhere in my house...and if I find it, I'll do a post on it sometime.

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  8. When I think of tripods, I automatically think of the kind used to hold cameras.

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    1. So do I....but that concept was totally beyond my 1770 Johnson dictionary!

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  9. The legs of the tripod in that photo look like crutches.



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    1. Oh, you're right, Wendy! I never noticed that before..and the legs on the Sepia photo look like crutches, too! Good eye!

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  10. Would love to see a post on Deb's bridge sometime - how great!
    My husband was involved in the work behind the scenes of a really fancy bridge here and always calls it 'his bridge'.

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    1. I'll try to find that photo, Jackie...and when I do, I'll wait for a Sepia post that has a bridge in it....and will contribute!

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  11. I shali have to see what I can find out about The Tripods as I hadn't heard of it before. Any bridge builder has my admiration.

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    1. I'd never heard of them either, Bob -- will be checking out my local library's supply of sci-fi lit!

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  12. Well tripod has only one meaning for me and that is my husband playing ariound with his hobby theodolite on its tripod. And interesting post.

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    1. Ah! Theodolites? Know 'em well; how could I not, with a civil engineer father?

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  14. Great take on this Sepian topic. Love the story of Deb's bridge.

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    1. Thanks, Pauleen! Someday I'll post a photo of that bridge...

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