Monthly Archives: March 2013
Crider’s Motel may be past its prime
I had a feeling that there’d be something good to see in Johnson City. And I was right. Crider’s Motel was exactly what I was hoping for.
The sign by the lobby entrance used to say “Weekly – Monthly – Carpet – Alarm Clock – Budget Rates” making this the first time I’ve seen carpet AND alarm clocks featured as selling points for a motel. One or the other, sure. But both? That was completely unprecedented.
I also like how the big sign says the motel is 1/2 block away, when clearly it is RIGHT THERE. But I guess that was a way to lure people in from the highway which is (you know what I am going to say), about a half a block away.
Along South Ave F, just south of Main Street
Johnson City, Texas
photographed 3.9.2013
Refrigerated Products
My weekend plans were this:
1. Go to Austin.
2. Attend a Bruce Cockburn concert on Friday.
3. Spend Saturday taking pictures of stuff (to use a highly technical term).
4. Go home.
All four items were accomplished. Item 2, the concert, was excellent. Item 3, photographing stuff, resulted in this shot (and a few hundred more).
This store is for sale, so if you are looking for a roadside-commerce-based opportunity in the Volente, Texas, area, this might be a good opportunity. And, if you are thinking of selling refrigerated products at your roadside commerce location, maybe you can negotiate this cooler as part of the deal. But leave room in the budget for some work on that ceiling…
Volente, Texas
photographed 3.9.13
“What do you see?”
Sunday morning in Austin, killing a bit of time before I have to head to the airport. I see this stripe in this parking lot and like how it looks with that tent way back there, by the alley. As I stand up, after taking the picture, a pedestrian stops, looks toward the same stripe, parking lot, tent, and says, “What do you see?” I try to explain, but even I can tell that my explanation seems lame. He’s unconvinced of my artistic vision, but I can tell that he may be convinced of my lack of good sense.
I get that a lot.
Corner of West 4th and Guadalupe Streets
Austin, Texas
photographed 3.10.2013
It all falls down…or gets bulldozed
Even though this church’s website doesn’t mention any sort of building demolition, but the reflection in the front door indicates that something is going on here.
The day I stopped by, there was demolition going on across the street, and now I wonder someone working on that project backed a bulldozer into the corner of this building. I’d say a return visit is in order – I’ll let you know what I find.
5th and Ave. U
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.2.2013
The loading dock story
Our local newspaper is called the Avalanche Journal, a curious name for a paper representing a city on the high plains (with no mountains, our annual avalanche numbers hover around zero). In Mrs. Rankin’s fourth grade classroom, we were taught that the name came from the desire of the paper’s first owners to provide an “avalanche” of news. Wikipedia gives a slightly different account, noting that the founder of the paper chose the name based on his desire “that the newspaper surprise the citizens of Lubbock.” Either way – it’s what we’ve got.
(Note: the rumor that the newspaper’s motto is “If it happens in Lubbock, it’s news to us!” can be neither confirmed nor denied.)
(The AJ’s best headline ever said “Drinking: educators should do more.” I have an active, fertile imagination but even I couldn’t have made this up.)
During my extensive research* for this entry, I learned the following: During strikes over crop support prices in 1977, an editorial published in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal infuriated farmers, who blockaded the newspaper’s delivery docks with their tractors. The unsigned editorial accused farmers of using the “anti-social tactics of union goons.” Farmers demanded an apology and formed a tractor blockade, preventing trucks from the delivering newspapers. Editor Jay Harris spoke with the farmers and indicated the editorial was not intended to imply that the farmers were goons. (from Wikipedia.)
When I was there, I didn’t see any tractors. Or farmers. Or reporters, for that matter.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.2.2013
* Extensive research means I read the ENTIRE Wikipedia article. All 462 words. I am quite the researcher, aren’t I?
One Day | One Image 