Skip to main content

Some Things I Saw


A couple days ago we visited a cemetery near Andalusia.  Today we see other pictures from that trip.  None are worth much, except to me.  You can feel free to skip today's post - only I find this meaningful. 





None of you live in Kitschland so you have a tough time knowing why I provide a picture of cows in a field and why that brings such pleasure.  It is because there are no cows where I am in the state.  What I have is never-ending traffic (OK, it is pretty reasonable in the hours past 3:00 am to about 5:00 am).  I have strip malls, major malls, ma-and-pa malls.  Everyone wants your money - sale ends today!  Insurance offices, restaurants, Walgreens and CVS on every corner.  Turn on the next right and its the same thing for miles.  Turn right and its never ending.  

 That's why cows resting in a field is so neat.




Old worn out farm buildings, silos, and empty lots.  Back when farming was a family business and more than just tractor jockeys.  Those barns were home to hay and straw, cows, pigs and sometimes sheep.  I hate sheep.  Laziest critter ever lived.  Just as soon die than be driven from one field to another.  Damn things.  But I digress.


My mother had a thing about empty houses.  She thought of the Christmases, and kids and things that makes a house's heart beat.  For me, it is abandoned buildings.  People once made a living from these places and provided a service for others.  They put bread on the table because of these shops.  They were something they thought they could count on to make them whole.  And now they stand vacant and empty, dead dreams.   



One could, I presume, make a strong case that my affinity for these farm pics are because I was the second-in-command on my uncle's farm in Seaton for years during high school, college and grad school.  These old buildings are sentinels to a long lost way of life.  Farms and me.  Most of the things we did are considered obsolete now.  My career post, Mary Davis Home, has diminished in scope and vision since my days there, my college is now a University, and my high school is no longer home of the Green Dragons.  My grade school is a vacant lot, and driving through Candor cemetery is like a who's who of folks I knew growing up.  

 Change can be fun, or not.

    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 f...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me,  they came right from the MDH website.  I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access.  After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances.  But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs.  I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered.  The original MDH at this site was just the front part.  The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library.  It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place.   He passed away around 2002, I think.  Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Statuary In North Straub Park

The Vinoy is not the only park in town.  The place is fairly littered with them, and almost all, except Bum Paradise, are pretty nice.  This is North Straub and they have some old pieces in that seem to have suffered from time and perhaps human folly.     These and some 30 other statues were imported from Italy by local developer C. Perry Snell to help beautify the city.  Mr. Snell was in real estate and during the depression he went on a European shopping trip to collect items for the city.  He obtained these from Italy and installed them in this park even after the bottom fell in the markets.  He fulfilled his obligations at great personal loss to his own company and wealth.  Halso continued to pay his staff during those tough times.  He developed many areas in the city, Vinoy, Snell Isle, Crescent Lake and the beach area down around Fort DeSoto.  He lived from 1869 until 1949 and then buried in Kentucky.  I wo...
Post a Comment
Read more