051007
probably it would be nice to dedicate the set to the lost kansas town of greensburg. so sad and frightening to see it flattened like that. we used to pass through on the way to meet the girls’ dad at a halfway point from new mexico, when we first moved here. once we stopped at the Big Well. it was a little old town like the kind i love to go see and photograph.
this past weekend my poet and i went on a little wander. i returned to Winchester, which i had passed through once and wanted to look at more closely. then went to Nortonville, which i was very surprised by. i can’t quite put into words the way things were layered and so visually interesting for me. i probably could have stayed there all day. next time i shall ask my poet to bring a book and some snacks and let him stay in the little park while i investigate. sometimes i am afraid i am taking too long. then to Atchison, which is really a little city. lunch by the river, olives, foccacia, juice and chocolate. waxwings and western kingbirds. then wandering around the Benedectine College and surrounding victorian neighborhood. quite nice.
in each of the little towns, someone came out a door (of a business, not home) and asked “can i help you?”. it was disconcerting. i wasn’t sure if they had watched too much television and were paranoid about a person with a camera. or if they just wanted to chat about their little town. i didn’t know quite how to respond. i almost felt guilty. finally in Atchison, in a neighborhood, a man was mowing the grass in front of a wonderful house. actually the one with that window. he was happy to stop and chat about his house for a bit. so we listened. it was a good day.