Bill and I drove to Harrisonburg, Virginia yesterday for our semi-annual trip to Costco. It’s about an hour away from home and we could drive the freeway or take the old north-south route that is now almost a country road. We went via the Interstate (a highway engineer’s preference), but then we took the country road for the return (an amateur photographer’s preference). However, getting him to stop for my perceived photo ops was the challenge.
I am always drawn to things that used to be, or things that leave remnants of memories from a long ago prosperity.
And there it was – a weathered old house that simply had to have a story of its own!
“STOP,” I cried and with a screech of brakes and a necessary U-turn, we found a spot to park and shoot.
Main House and
Guest House?
Are There Curtains
in the Windows?
I Named This
“The Guest House”
Was This a Barn?
The paint’s peeling, boards are rotting, and the sad old dwelling and its out-buildings stand in the middle of a parched field. The only real color is in the sky and one evergreen tree. There are no signs of life unless you look very closely for evasive clues. A magnifying glass might help too.
I felt engulfed in nostalgia for the family who abandoned this property.
Did they leave by choice?
Did they die off?
Did they leave in a hurry?
Could there still be someone there?
I think my photographs may hide secrets.
Wait! Do you see curtains in the windows?
Was I taking pictures of an occupied dwelling?
Check out the “guest house.” Do you see a wood pile at the base?
What could be inside either the main house or the guest quarters?
Is there furniture still being used or left there in haste?
Are there cobwebs and the nests of other creatures escaping winter?
Maybe I should knock.
Will anyone answer?
Will it be like the movie, Psycho?
“I’m sleepy. Let’s go home,” said Bill.
I suppose there is only so much nostalgia a civil engineer can take.
And off we went via the Interstate.
Virginia Views 