24 November, 2006

Windows to the past

I occasionally hear someone remark about a tree, the front steps of the county courthouse, or a piece of antique furniture, "Oh, if it could only talk." I feel the past too, but it's usually modern ruins that trigger those feelings in me. Maybe it's a derelict filling station or a weathered farm house with a tree growing through its roof.

The other day, I was digging through a CD full of images I'd scanned from photographs taken back in the early '80s, when I walked a lot and nearly always had my trusty Olympus OM-1N slung around my neck. This is one of them, perspective-corrected, color-tweaked, and with a bit of noise added. The "Main Street" sign is also my addition and sort of sums up my motivation for taking the shot of this abandoned warehouse that actually was on Main Street.

Main Street

Meanwhile...

...back in the present, Turtle and I had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving with our adoptive grandparents, their family, and a few more strays like Turtle and me. The wine flowed, the dining room table groaned under the weight of a spread of such quantity and variety that it was overhwhelming.

We may not have spend the holiday with the ones that birthed us, but we were with family.

10 comments:

Lou said...

Glad to hear you two had a great Thanksgiving. We had my sis in law and mom in law down to celebrate. We had some good food and today we were amongst the "Black Friday" crazies doing some Christmas shopping.
Glad to hear all is well.

Anne said...

So you didn't head to Glasgow for turkey? We don't have to travel for holidays anymore - very thankful for that.

Foo said...

Lou: You can have that day-after shopping thing, man. I break out in a froth just thinking about having to deal with those crowds—and for what? A battery-operated Santa that gyrates and sings "Blue Christmas"?

Anne: No, we didn't go to Glasgow. There would have been no point. Only my one sister still lives there, and she and her husband always come over to Mom and Dad's. My brother and his family came down from the Cinci area, and while it would have been nice to see them, it's just an awful lot of driving when we're going to be up in a few weeks for Christmas.

Gwynne said...

Cool photo! And I love the irony of it being on Main Street. That said, it's nice to see the resurrection of so many Main Streets these days.

Jenn said...

I love that shot....

if walls could talk, eh?

Tink said...

That picture is awesome! I couldn't stop staring at it.

I'm glad you guys had a good holiday. Do you have a turkey hangover too?

Foo said...

Anne & Tink: Thanks for the kind words. It's not a great picture technically—the original is not in sharp focus, and the composition obeys none of the rules—but there was always something fascinating to me about the building.

Something about the almost random placement of the windows; the weathered red paint that must've been quite jaunty in its day; the sunlight-seeking trees growing out the windows; and the many different colors of brick that were used over the years to patch the decaying wall.

I haven't been back to Glasgow since my high school reunion seven years ago. I was in too big a rush to have thought about turning down Main Street, but since digging up this photo, I wish I had. With the way that little town is growing, I have to wonder whether the old warehouse is still standing, or if it's been knocked down and replaced by a parking lot.

Foo said...

Oh, and I didn't get enough turkey this Thanksgiving to have a hangover. Turtle says she'll cook me one for my very own, though. She's got this great recipe for making turkey and dressing in a crock pot. Just plunk in a boneless chicken breast and six hours later it's done!

Gwynne said...

That's some real magic Turtle has up her sleeve..."just plunk in a chicken breast" and out comes a turkey? You said that on purpose, didn't you, just to see who's still paying attention. ;-)

Foo said...

Gwynne: I could lie, of course, and claim that's exactly what I was doing. But it's not. I just referenced the wrong breast.

Your phrase "just to see who's still paying attention" is telling, by the way. Inspiration has suffered as work and other efforts have taken up creativity that used to go to blogging.

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