Three Things: Crowd Searching Edition

Time for another imaginary word, I believe. Today we’re revisiting The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, and landing on one of the more gorgeous words in the collection:

waldosia
n. [Brit. wallesia] a condition characterized by scanning faces in a crowd looking for a specific person who would have no reason to be there, which is your brain’s way of checking to see whether they’re still in your life, subconsciously patting its emotional pockets before it leaves for the day.

Judging by the response on the blog’s entry (over 7,000 people have shown their appreciation so far), I am not alone in having experienced this condition: finding oneself searching for someone you know is not there, harboring that tiny glimmer of hope that they somehow will be anyway.

This week: three black and white photographs, each a perfect setting for a moment of waldosia.

Alexey Titarenko, Untitled, from Black & White Magic of St. Petersburg series, 1995–1997. Photograph. www.alexeytitarenko.com

Michael Light, Untitled/Downtown Dusk, from LA Day/LA Night, 2010. Photograph. www.michaellight.net

Louis Faurer, Man in Rain, 1946. Photograph.