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forget your perfect offering
Inside a tiny church in the midst of a huge desert…my mind wandered and then the words “forget your perfect offering” came to me as I was making this image.
It’s a line from the Leonard Cohen song “Anthem” – and here’s some of the rest of the song.
Ah, the wars they will be fought againThe holy dove, she will be caught againBought and sold, and bought againThe dove is never freeRing the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack, a crack in everythingThat’s how the light gets inWe asked for signsThe signs were sentThe birth betrayedThe marriage spentYeah, and the widowhoodOf every governmentSigns for all to see
The song is more profound now than it was when he wrote it – give it a listen.
Calera Chapel
near Toyahvale, Texas
photographed 2.18.2025
saddle shop
All I can tell you about this is that it is definitely not a standard-issue let’s-sew-up-a-Butterick-pattern-this-Saturday sort of sewing machine.
Big Bend Saddlery
Alpine, Texas
photographed 2.20.2025
bus
As some point, people had been living in this bus. By the time we found it, the household’s items were strewn about and it’s seeing the things left behind (one tennis shoe, a kid’s homework papers, a tube of SuperGlue) that speak to me the loudest.
Pyote, Texas
photographed 2.18.2025
virgil, reading by a tree
This kid was amazing – he was garbed up in his cowboy gear and seemed to feel really at home talking to all the cowboys at the chuckwagon breakfast. He liked to pose for photos, a thing we noticed and that was independently confirmed by his mom.
And when he’d had enough of all of that, he sat under a tree and read his book (a graphic novel about dragons).
Alpine, Texas
photographed 2.22.2025
a degree of concentration
Every time I go to Alpine I make a stop at the Big Bend Saddlery. I like looking at the stuff, most of which I can’t identify, but that I nevertheless like to see. I’d guess I generally stay about a half an hour.
This time, with my friends in tow, we made a stop…and stayed two hours. The staff were friendly and accommodating about letting us go back into the workroom, where we visited with saddle-makers and leather-toolers and tried to juggle staying out of their way as they worked while still getting photos.
We didn’t just take photos, though: we all left with purchases, too. And those leather gloves I got sure are warm…
Alpine, Texas
photographed 2.20.2025
One Day | One Image 