Scenes Of Northlandia

Northlandia in Black and White, And Some Color

This may be my favorite. This is a small hillside cemetery just east of New Windsor and west of Alpha. An old wrought iron gate opening is all that is left of what must have been like iron all around this acreage. The symbolism and irony is striking.

This is Emerald City's library, in day and nighttime. (Thirst for knowledge nevers sleeps.) It was built in 1915 by a Carnegie grant. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation built 1,628 free public libraries in the U.S. Grant monies were usually around $10,000 to cities and villages across the country. Towns had to prove they wanted one, and had to provide the land for the structure. A surprising number still exist - many have been remodeled but many have not. Having been inside this one, my guess is this is the original layout. Aledo is lucky to have it.

This is the old Northside school. They bussed us Seaton kids over to this Junior High when I was a kid. Now it is empty. I recall getting my first "D" from Mr. Stroud. I was devastated. Mr. Lotz was a cool teacher during my junior high days. He remains in my head because he once said that in war you should not follow any rules. In war survival is paramount. Last time I saw him I was driving out of Geneseo after a car show. A car came up next to me in the left turn lane. He honked his horn. He was wearing a jaunty beret and saluted.

In my Emerald City early morning walks I came across something you see in movies but never see in real life. A tire hanging from a tree limb. This iPhone picture looks like a painting.

I accompany the Wombie on his early morning water jobs to Seaton and Joy. The above two pics are from Joy. Main Street America has been decimated.

The above three pics are from New Windsor. I was driving through one time heading to either BFE or G-Burg and saw these worthy subjects.

This final pic is an old barn with a nice cupola I spotted near G-Burg. I'm liking black and white more often.

That's it for today. More coming soon.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

Existing In BFE

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