As long as I can remember I have been drawn to abandoned buildings, corroded weed-covered cars, churches whose bricks have crumbled upon each other, dilapidated barns, and houses that have been left to ruin. I look at them and wonder. Who worked there? Did they drive that car to the prom? Where did the people who prayed there go? And why aren’t they praying there anymore? What kind of animals were tended to in that barn? How many kids played in the yard of that once inhabited house?
I have my parents to thank for this, I believe. Many of our family excursions consisted of getting some ice-cream and taking long drives into the hills and ridges of the towns south of ours. I’d sit in the back seat, looking out to find these old dwellings, and I’d make up stories about them. Being an only child I had a vast imagination, so this was something I did often.
Luckily I met and married a man who shared my love and appreciation for long country drives. Often times we’d take off, on our motorcycle, zooming through the Allegheny Mountains. I’d be on the back of the bike, looking around, taking it all in, finding beauty everywhere and in everything. In the trees, the weeds, the dirt roads, the broken barns. Then we moved to New Orleans for a couple years. That place is one of insane history and beauty. Everywhere I looked there was some sight to behold and some story for me to happily concoct.
We have since passed along the tradition of the country drive to our children. We pile into our van and head out to explore the mountainous region that we live so close to. Being at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains there is much to see and it seems that there is an abundance of old and broken-down places. Sometimes we hear complaints about the rides, but the promise of an old-school bottle of Orange Crush or Grape Nehi will usually quell any grumblings.
This past New Year’s Eve the kids and I set out to run some errands. We grabbed some lunch and after our bellies were full, and we had our movies and snacks picked for the evening, I turned down the road that would take us the long way home. We ended up on a little dead-end street that we had never seen before. At the beginning stood a what-used-to-be-white little shack of a house that had a ‘for sale by owner’ sign on it.
“Mama, it looks like there’s some cool stuff in that place. We should stop,” my eldest son, Mikey, said to me.
“I see that, big boy. Let’s go have a look-see,” I replied as I prepared to make a three-point-turn.
I got out and approached the little dwelling, but I didn’t expect to see what I saw. Inside it was as if time stood still. Everything was in it’s place, and it wasn’t of modern time. What was this place? A little restaurant? An office? Who worked there? Who sat smoking at that desk? What kind of cigarettes did they smoke? Was it hot the day they laid the horseshoes in the fresh cement? These are the questions that raced through my mind. Inside and out there were remnants of something different. That “je ne sais quoi” that makes up the beauty of time and space.
10:21
Time stood as still
As the gourds and Indian corn
The once occupied desk empty
Unlike the ashtray and walls
Drinks are no longer cold
And the snack bins are void
Only a rust and dust cover
Can be found
Upon the place where time stands still
Where the clock reads 10:21
-Mishelle Lane
January 1, 2009
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Mishelle Lane can be found ’shooting from the hip’ at
Secret Agent Mama and Mishelle Lane Photography.
©1974: Macedonian/American Daughter, Wife, Mother, Cousin, Niece, True Friend, Coffee Snob, Photographer, Home Schooler, Blogger, Music Lover, Ex-Smoker, Gun Shooter, Lead Foot Taxi Driver, Dog Person, Laundry Bitch, Head Cook, Hip Soccer Mama, Weight Battler, and so much more.
#1 by river on January 8, 2009 - 1:22 AM
This is beautiful. I also used to wonder about ruined buildings, mostly abandoned farms, that I saw through the car windows everytime we drove the 4 1/2 hours to visit my mum.
#2 by LaskiGal on January 8, 2009 - 1:41 AM
Absolutely lovely. What you’ve captured and the context in which you’ve placed it is riveting.
I remember being enamored by the possibilities of the past each and every time I passed this long-abandoned old school along Gratiot Avenue in Detroit.
I was so engrossed is what it once was that I started to do research on its history. Finding out about the school became a near obsession for me. Thankfully I was able to turn all the work into a project for a policy class I took in college.
The moment it turned into homework the luster of the project was gone, but the mystery and my secret obsession with the building has never left.
LaskiGals last blog post..The Zen of Toy Extraction
#3 by connie on January 8, 2009 - 1:53 AM
What a beautiful post~I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this. Absolutely LOVE all the pics! Great job Mishelle
connies last blog post..Weekly Winners=Dec. 28th 2008 thru Jan. 3rd 2009
#4 by Mr Lady on January 8, 2009 - 2:28 AM
Mish, someone really needs to pay you large sums of money to take photographs for the world. Seriously.
Mr Ladys last blog post..On Red, The Seeing Thereof, Etc.
#5 by kompostela on January 8, 2009 - 3:57 AM
This is very beautiful! I love all of your photos. They are awesome!
#6 by Vic on January 8, 2009 - 6:34 AM
Mishelle, that was beautiful. Mr Lady’s right too.
Vics last blog post..Vic the Vampire
#7 by Spoiled Mommy on January 8, 2009 - 6:40 AM
This was awesome!!
I love the pictures and I love how it seemed like I was right there with you. I too, have the same fascination for the same things.
Beautiful!
Spoiled Mommys last blog post..Lil Princess bakes!
#8 by DeuceMom on January 8, 2009 - 7:40 AM
This is incredible. Your words and photography are thoughtful, skillful and insightful. Thank you for guest-posting here. You’re going on the blogroll for sure.
DeuceMoms last blog post..Possible alien abduction
#9 by Corina on January 8, 2009 - 8:55 AM
I love it. I too have always found abandoned buildings interesting. Your photos, your pictures, amazing. You never disappoint.
Corinas last blog post..Photo 365
#10 by Domestic Extraordinaire on January 8, 2009 - 9:02 AM
very cool. I have vowed in 2009 to take my camera with me wherever I happen to go. I always see the greatest stuff when I am without it.
What a great inspiration you are :O)
Domestic Extraordinaires last blog post..Wordless Wednesday-The Wii Edition
#11 by awholelotofnothing on January 8, 2009 - 9:56 AM
You’re so friggin hot w/ that camera.
awholelotofnothings last blog post..Wordless 1.7.9: Three Candles
#12 by roxy on January 8, 2009 - 10:03 AM
Wow! Plundering, discovery, great photos, poetry, and inquisitive kids….this post has it all! I share your passions but my photography is not as good. I think I will go out plundering today.
roxys last blog post..Auld Lang Syne
#13 by SECRET AGENT MAMA on January 8, 2009 - 10:20 AM
@river: My favorite seems to be abandoned barns/farms. My husband and I have made a vow to travel one day and take pictures of them, all over the USA.
@Laskigal: Yeah, I like the mystery of it. But, I think sometimes you’d be surprised what you found.
@connie: Thanks! I appreciate your compliments!
@Mr Lady: Hopefully they’ll pay me for my words, too.
@kompostela: Thank you, my new friend!
@Vic: Thanks! & Yes, Mr. Lady is always right!
@Spoiled Mommy: I’m so glad you were captivated by it.
@DueceMom: I’d be honored to be on your blogroll!
@Corina: I think it’s our connection to the past that binds us to the old beauties.
@Domestic Extraordinaire: I take my camera with me everywhere. I rarely leave it at home b/c I know that the day I do I will see that perfect picture!
#14 by sweetsalty kate on January 8, 2009 - 11:12 AM
ditto with the friggin hot. I adored this, every word. Gorgeous, haunting.
sweetsalty kates last blog post..three love notes and a request
#15 by emily on January 8, 2009 - 11:45 AM
Fabulous, Mishi.
I’d buy the old building just for the coke machine.
And those questions you ask yourself are the reason you are such a great writer.
#16 by Heather, Queen of Shake Shake on January 8, 2009 - 1:08 PM
Awesome. Just awesome
Heather, Queen of Shake Shakes last blog post..The Epic Adventure of Schooling Children. Alternate Title: You Thought Child Labor Was Illegal?
#17 by Sarah on January 8, 2009 - 1:17 PM
Mishelle, you always have the most beautiful posts and pictures. As always, this one didn’t disappoint!! Beuatiful!
Sarahs last blog post..Hell is spelled P-O-T-T-Y
#18 by MommyTime on January 8, 2009 - 1:20 PM
This is really beautiful — both the sentiment and the photographs.
#19 by Margot on January 8, 2009 - 1:43 PM
OMG those photos are GREAT! Of course your writing is too =) They shot me straight back to something I haven’t thought about in decades. Do you remember Eyeball Benders? I can’t even remember where I saw them, but I loved them! Was it some games magazine I had a subscription to??? Anyway, a quick search showed they’re still out there!
#20 by Jeanette on January 8, 2009 - 2:11 PM
absolutely stunning post Mishelle!!
I really wish my husband would do things like that with me… you’re very lucky!
Jeanettes last blog post..Bradley in Black and White
#21 by SECRET AGENT MAMA on January 8, 2009 - 3:09 PM
@awholelotofnothing: Wait till I shoot with it some day!
@Roxy: I have found that practicing daily helps make you better. One full year of taking pictures daily has totally made me develop my eye.
@sweetsalty kate: Thank you, Dear!
@emily: I never tire of such compliments!
@Heather: I can’t wait to drunk blog with you.
@Sarah: Thanks so much. I appreciate your kind comment.
@Mommytime: Much appreciated!
@Margot: I’ll have to do a quick Google, but I think I know what you are talking about! Some optical illusion thingies!
@Jeanette: It’s one of our favorite things to do. Try to get him to go. Promise him “something” after the ride. LOL
#22 by Eve on January 8, 2009 - 3:12 PM
Great post, and I love all the pictures. I spent many an afternoon as a child in the backseat as our family drove through the countryside looking at all there was to be seen. You’ve taken me back to a very happy time.
Note for Lotus: I’ve bestowed upon you the coveted VanGogh’s Ear award for creativity in blogging. Drop by my blog to read about it and make it your own.
Eves last blog post..Winter in Idaho
#23 by Stassja on January 8, 2009 - 3:33 PM
What an amazing find! I am so in love with looking at the old broken down buildings when we’re on the road. I always wonder what kinds of lives were lead inside and when the life went out of the place to be replaced by bugs and animals and plants.
Stassjas last blog post..Oh mah goodness. D:
#24 by Margot on January 8, 2009 - 4:44 PM
Ha! It was “Games Magazine” and it’s still alive and still doing Eyeball Benders! The artistic photographers among you might enjoy them. Thanks for the nostalgic trip back to the 70’s =)
#25 by Maggie's Mind on January 8, 2009 - 4:53 PM
Finally got time to come and really enjoy this post, and enjoy it I did. Tom and I love to explore on Sunday drives sometimes, too, and it’s awesome that your kids are learning the joy of exploring their world, taking side paths and just experiencing. Of course I also love your pictures. Beautiful as always.
Maggie’s Minds last blog post..I’ve Got Answers
#26 by SECRET AGENT MAMA on January 8, 2009 - 6:11 PM
@Eve: I’m so glad that I was able to stir some good memories for you!
@Stassja: I’m so glad I’m not alone in this love of wonderment.
@Margot: I’m definitely gonna look into those.
@Maggie’s Mind: I should have known that you and Tom love to do this. For the kids it is awesome because some day they, too, will appreciate the old.
#27 by Erin on January 8, 2009 - 6:37 PM
Your eye is undeniable. Fricken wonderful.
I wish we had more roads to meander down up here. I miss this about the States. Now, up here, all roads lead to bear.
Erins last blog post..THE BEING COMPLETED
#28 by slouching mom on January 8, 2009 - 8:30 PM
mmm… this was so evocative.
slouching moms last blog post..A happy new year, indeed.
#29 by Patsy on January 8, 2009 - 8:44 PM
Wonderful — that seems to be the only word I use after reading you, but I’m at a lost for what else to say. The pictures are sirring, bring back memories of times long ago with day trip with mom and dad on long dusty roads to no where.
To poem says it all!
Patsys last blog post..Tough Choice to Make & Unconscious Mutterings
#30 by flutter on January 8, 2009 - 10:27 PM
gorgeous, girl. Gorgeous.
flutters last blog post..Bad things happen when flutter gets bored
#31 by SECRET AGENT MAMA on January 9, 2009 - 10:37 AM
@ Erin, I could grow to love taking pictures of bears.. Well, if they didn’t eat me, that is.
@slouchy, I try!
@Patsy, Thank you, my friend. I just love that poem. The clock might read 10:22 but I think it just turned 10:22.. Hence I used 10:21. Yes, I am a bit strange.
@flutter, thank you, thank you!
#32 by Angel Smith on January 10, 2009 - 4:38 AM
Breathtaking imagery.
I have that pull to old, abandoned builings, too. My husband laughs at me, but he comes along with me anyway and promises to not let me get arrested. Or bitten by snakes. Or shot.
(Which he has totally followed through on. So far.)