Up on the roof

· by · in Cincinnati, People. ·

While walking around Cincinnati this afternoon, Todd and I happened upon an unusual scene.  Off in the distance, up high, were two men, perched on the edge of bravery and stupidity.  At first, I thought they might be guardian angels.  After seeing them a bit closer through my zoom lens, I realized that guardian angels usually don’t wear sweatpants and slippers.  And of course, they did not have wings.  Then I thought they might be shape shifters, one minute man, the other a bird.  But after thinking about their attire again, I realized they were not shape shifters either.

Regardless of the reason these two fearless or crazy (take your pick) men were up on that roof, it was an interesting sight to see.  I guess to some extent, we are all dancing that line of brave or stupid and fearless or crazy.  To think about it further, we are all on the proverbial edge. We sit atop our roofs, feeling as though we can conquer the world, not realizing that one bad move and our lives are off the roof.

Nice view.

Nice view.

What a conversation!

Brave or stupid?

Look up.

135 responses to “Up on the roof”

  3. Fun set of photos! What luck to be in the right spot at the right moment… and, heck, it’s even two cute men too, so all in all, a good photo op! 🙂

  5. Love these photos. And I think they’re brave. Only I don’t think they are. I have a feeling they’re not worried about their situation at all.

  11. Doesn’t that roof look a little icy too? Goodness. Well, you have immortalised their bravery/stupidity. Hope they see this (and the comments) one day. Loved the pics. Something to think about.

    • I can guess. They are doing a lot of renovation in that area and I imagine it has something to do with that. We can’t tell (and I forgot to look) if the roof flatten outs on the other side. I’m thinking it does and they might be planning a roof room.

  14. The Finns are great do-it-yourself types, and that includes roofing. Personally, I am very uncomfortable with heights (unless I’m surrounded by a good solid brick wall) and seeing people perched even on a flat roof makes my legs turn to jelly. The guys in your pictures simply have no imagination!

    Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 02:37:19 +0000 To: malcolmpemberton@hotmail.com

  15. Hi Seth,
    A real “kick in the gut” shot. Nobody can just be indifferant!
    I was on a flat roof once during the “saison des cerises”. Intrepid, I was not, for sure!
    Cheers!!

  16. Might be? Covert operatives? Thinking the house was bugged, lets talk about the mission on the roof…safe & secure, just don’t slip!!!

  20. Not for me…but in some northern Scandinavian Countries they have roof men who are just employed to be on high roofs to clear the snow and ice for ‘Safety’ reasons. As I said….not for me and I used to love Rock Climbing and then with age came common sense.

  28. You don’t realize how high they are until the last image….this must be the conversation spot…..I’d like to know how they get up there. Fun post and your statement at the end is so true! Enjoy the day! Robyn

  32. Great photo opportunity. I would have thought that perhaps they were ‘high’ on something other than the roof, but the footwear indicates that they were sensible enough to ensure they would not to slip on the tiles!

  37. One of my favorite photos of yours. Wonder what the heck they were doing up there? Aren’t they cold??? And, they’re really cute. Just sayin’! Thought I’d point out the obvious.

  44. So surreal! Regarding the photo entitled “Brave or Stupid?”, I’d have to respond “neither”, as they don’t even appear to be even remotely aware that they are in an extremely safety-compromised situation. (Just look at how slippery and steep that roof is, 3+ stories above the ground!) Thanks for noticing this bizarre moment and capturing it to share with us. Wow!

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