Little Town

One thing that always inspires me to get out both the pen and the camera is a little town. I find myself there quite a bit -- when I forget to put gas in the car before leaving town, if I have a flat tire, when I'm on one of my never-ending quests to find the shortest distance between two places (tangent: ever read "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"? A great story, and one that gives me pause as I'm wandering backroads).

Anyway, there's something beautiful and sad about these towns. Whether it's Leonardville or Green or Jamestown or Dorchester or Friend or Oketo or Walnut or Glasco or Herkimer or Keats, you can see what the town once was, even as it stands slowly crumbling, like beautiful bones beneath a scarred face. They all feel a little bit the same, almost like being home again; the sidewalks feel familiar, even when they aren't. The same broken paned windows, the same grocery store Safe-Way signs, the same pigweed growing up at the curb of the uncleaned street. At the same time, it feels unreal, like walking onto the set of Hoosiers.

Here are some shots from recent small town wanderings. Certainly there will be more.