aren’t all gifts “to go”?

Maybe you were here a few days ago when I talked about how much fun I have with language…

Technically, aren’t ALL gifts “to go”? (As an example of the things that crack me up a little bit more than they should.)

O’Donnell, Texas
photographed 3.5.2026

braille-ish

This place has five mailboxes which makes me think it is some kind of downtown apartment. But I can’t read the Braille* on the sign so I can’t really tell for sure.
Also, usually a pile of leaves in a doorway would indicate the building is abandoned, but it’s spring in West Texas, so all that probably means here is that the wind had been blowing. (Because OF COURSE the wind had been blowing. it is Thing That Happens on the regular.)
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.4.2026
*Because it was too far up to reach. And also, because I can’t read Braille anyway.

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.4.2026

his dead eyes saw everything

There’s a lot going on here. For example, the way that red reflected light looks like a corsage. Or his cold dead eyes. Or the way his eyebrows look like he’s had feathers tattooed on where his brows used to be. Or the way that one false eyelash is hanging half way off. Or the haughty angle of his head

Thank you for attending my seminar “Why I Photograph Mannequins.” (Upcoming seminars, including “Really? You Think is a Photo?,” “I Meant For It To Look That Way,” and “This Photo Wanted To Be In Color,” will be scheduled soon.)

Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.4.2026

the unfriendly playground

I suppose using leftover rebar and expanded metal and pipes is a cost-effective way to make playground equipment. And this is beside a small church, which was no doubt working on a budget that only had room for donated materials and volunteer labor.

There are a few safety concerns, though, with such unforgiving materials.

But, naturally, the main thing I thought about was how “Suffer the little children”* was taking on a whole new meaning.

Levelland, Texas
photographed 2.28.2026

*Matthew (19:14), Mark (10:14), and Luke (18:16) all reported it. John was silent on the matter.

monday – friday

All I know about Jonathan, who died at this rural intersection, are his birth and death dates.

He was born on a Monday and died on a Friday.

Separate from his cross, there were three others; they were wooden and unmarked.

Lynn County, Texas
photographed 2.28.2026