Blog Archives
Facing the tracks
Dime Box, Texas, is not the funniest town name in America. Traditionally, that honor belongs to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. I prefer Scratch Ankle, Alabama, Gnowbone, Indiana, or even Humptulips, Washington. Nevertheless, Dime Box, as a name, caught my ear, so that’s where I headed the next morning out of College Station.
– William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways
Even though William Least Heat-Moon’s visit to Dime Box was written a while back (Blue Highways was published in 1982), much of his description of the town sounded as though he’d been there earlier the same day as my visit. For example, he describes this scene as “worn brick buildings facing the Southern Pacific tracks.” Maybe that bright aluminum door has been added since his visit, but my guess is that the rest of the block looks much the same as it did the day he drove over to Dime Box from College Station.
Dime Box, Texas
photographed 2.28.2014
Underneath the lights
You know how I always like to go around back when I am shooting, just to see what I can find? I also try to remember to look up. Which is how I found this interesting array of lightbulbs hiding (in plain sight!) under the marquee of the Mesa Theatre in Clovis, New Mexico.
I wasn’t able to find anything much out about the Mesa, other than it had a fire in 1948 and was rebuilt. Perhaps my Research Department can take over from here?
Clovis, New Mexico
photographed 5.25.2013
Zia. Zia.
Zia. It’s everywhere in New Mexico. On the flag. On license plates. Twice on this building in Clovis. Even, according to this article, on public toilets.
But it’s also a sacred symbol of the Zia Pueblo, a tribe of about 850 members, who feel that perhaps their tribal symbol is being used in ways that are not in accordance with their beliefs. The current session of the state legislature has asked the State Department of Cultural Affairs to prepare a report on the matter. A previous fiscal impact study on the issue said the Cultural Affairs Department should consult with Zia Pueblo, but cautions that “there is potential for conflicts of interest between the state and the pueblo, particularly if the report is intended to include recommendations.”
Clovis, New Mexico
photographed 5.25.2013
The ghost of what once was
This wall beside a parking lot tells a story about what used to be here, before asphalt rectangles with space numbers painted in yellow were more valuable than buildings.
Speaking of rectangles: kind of a lot of them here, aren’t there?
Austin, Texas
photographed 5.11.2013
A substantial sky, 2
Another substantial sky, as a follow up to this one.
When I was in Chicago last spring, I was able to check out a bit of the city between sessions at my conference*. One afternoon, I went to Navy Pier to see what I could see. Maybe I was there on the wrong day, or in the wrong season: there wasn’t too much going on.
Oh, except for that storm.
Chicago, Illinois
photographed 4.15.2013
*I really did go to the sessions.
One Day | One Image 