Blog Archives
Almost Open
If the way to tell if a place is open for business is by how much of the “open” sign you can see, then this place is nearly open.
Other – perhaps more reliable – clues indicate otherwise.
Kenna, New Mexico
photographed 5.23.2021
Two Stories
I was around behind an out-of-business place, because of course I was. Otherwise, how would I have ever spotted this magical scene of a pickup cab sitting atop its own bed?
San Jon, New Mexico
photographed 6.5.2021
Plumbing Fixtures
You may remember that I’ve got a little place out in the country; it came with a building that I will generously call a “hut.’ The hut is falling down, incrementally, and I am trying to document its last days (or years – it’s taking a while to fall all the way down.)
This is the bathroom at the hut, with the popular shower/toilet/sink combination right there all in one room. I’m not a germaphobe (even post-pandemic) but the idea of that little drinking fountain apparatus that fit on top of the toilet tank sort of gives me pause. On the other hand, how convenient to be able to sit on the toilet while also taking shower – that could save literally seconds every day!
Yellowhouse Canyon, Texas
photographed 5.31.2021
to die, to sleep
Maybe you’re used to random music lyrics (usually something from Bruce Cockburn), so this is new – a Shakespeare quote:
To die, to sleep
-“Hamlet”
But the sight of this very sketchy mattress in an abandoned building that was behind another abandoned building – and I’m not even going to talk about that pentagram painted on the wall – definitely brought the word “die” to mind. And from there, it was a short leap to Hamlet.
Chaves County, New Mexico
photographed 5.23.2021
…and then one day, no one returned
I’ve written about this before, about the mysterious things just get left behind when a business closes or moves away. This one looks like no one there knew it was the last time – the centerpieces moved off the tables for cleaning, the spray bottle down there on the bar, someone’s COVID mask left behind.
It feels like the last two people there said, “Yeah. That’s enough for today – we’ll come back on Saturday to finish up.” Only….
Lubbock County, Texas
photographed 5.16.2021
