Defiant
Delray Beach, FL, December 2009
I've been to this house before (please see here for earlier entry.) In the year since my last visit, time has done it no favors: The weeds continued to choke it off, while even more pieces of its facade had either cracked, warped or simply fallen off. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to still see it standing when we first passed by, as I had fully expected this structure to be gone by now.
A few days after we got here, I went for a walk through the neighborhood in search of a decent view of the setting sun. I hadn't even intended to shoot the house again, but as I walked past in the fading light of the early evening, I caught a brilliant reflection off the west-side windows that stopped me in my tracks. Faded and forgotten, it was still capable of reflecting the beauty around it.
That evening, I learned you don't always get what you came for. I learned that despite this truth, what you ultimately find often turns out to be even more memorable. I also learned that even forgotten houses like this can have enough pluck to hang around long enough to make an impression on someone. We just have to be willing to take the time to notice.
Your turn: Finding opportunity in the forgotten. Please discuss.
Another lesson: we are never useless.
ReplyDeleteWe can always reflect beauty.
ReplyDeleteI love the reflection in the right window. We can find opportunity for service with forgotten people.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you floor me man. The evening sunset reflected in the windows is so appealing. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeletein a way... you were a ghost hunter.
ReplyDeleteCertainly the last glimmers...
Cool shot.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year.
I'm glad you took the camera along when you visited here, because this shot is well worth the price of admission!
ReplyDeleteI think the most obvious example of beauty in the forgotten I've come across in recent years is the abandoned Bethlehem Steel Mill. I'm hoping to get back up that way soon and see what the intervening years have brought to the mill and the town. The mill will be preserved, I'm sure, for its historical importance, but I'd really like to see how the town has responded to the closure now that it's been several years. If I read it right, "The Steel" had only shut down two years before my last trip there, which is nearly 5 years ago now. I hope Bethlehem has rebounded. It's a great little burg.