Small Towns, Abandoned Lots and Old Friends
I have more pictures from my Whidbey Island trip. These pictures were taken in the small town near the cabin we stayed at. It was a cute little town to explore.
Today I saw two interesting sights. The first I saw while stuck in traffic. I wish I was stoic and patient while stuck in traffic but usually I feel antsy and irritated Luckily, today I was stuck in traffic in a spot where I had something interesting to view. I was next to a large abandoned lot. Once there was a building there, but it must have been condemned as unfit for human occupation. The building was torn down except some cement walls. These walls are now covered with bold and colorful graffiti. The rest of the lot is full of weeds- long wispy green weeds and colorful blooming weeds. I am an admirer of weeds. They can be frustrating in one's at-home garden but they turn abandoned lots and sides of highways into something beautiful. Dirt and rubble are transformed into wild gardens brimming with flowers and greenery. While sitting in my car I wished I could instead go explore this lot with my camera. And, on further observation, I was not the only one who felt this way. In the back of the lot by one of the painted cement walls were two men, one with a camera. This photographer is far more adventurous then I am because the lot is contained on all sides with a chain link fence topped with a barbed wire. The other man was the subject of the first man's pictures. At first all I could see of the second man was that he was wearing shorts but no shirt. When I was finally able to inch my car a little bit further down the road, I got a better view of the two men and saw that the shirtless man was wearing boxing gloves. While his photo was being taken he struck various fighting poses, a punch here and punch there and so on. I have two theories about the scene. The first theory is that the photographer was doing an art project- maybe about urban decay and the young mans fight to stay civil in the urban jungle. Or the slow decline of industry and the youth's fight to prosper in a declining economy. My second theory is that the boxing man was a professional boxer who was having his photo taken for his boxing card (like a baseball card). Either way it was interesting and I was a bit jealous that I wasn't exploring that lot with my camera.
Later in the day I walked by a restaurant when out front I spotted two old women. They were huddled close together and lightly giggling and softly muttering to each other. I looked at them closer and saw that they were identical twins. They must have been about eighty with the same gently crinkled skin and pale gray hair. They had almost-matching outfits. Both twins wore ankle length skirts and blazers. One twin wore a bright lavender blazer with a flowy lavender and blue floral skirt. Her sister wore a white blazer with a pale pink and white floral skirt. The best part was their hair because it was done-up beautifully. They had long hair that was sculpted almost like a mini-1960's beehive A braid that wrapped around each of their heads like two crowns. I saw them walk away from the restaurant toward the parking lot. The sunlight caught in their flowy skirts so they looked like they were glowing. I like the idea that two people in their eighth decade who have known each other for their whole life can still get such a kick out of spending time together that they coordinate matching outfits and hair. It was a very sweet and hopeful sight.
Today I saw two interesting sights. The first I saw while stuck in traffic. I wish I was stoic and patient while stuck in traffic but usually I feel antsy and irritated Luckily, today I was stuck in traffic in a spot where I had something interesting to view. I was next to a large abandoned lot. Once there was a building there, but it must have been condemned as unfit for human occupation. The building was torn down except some cement walls. These walls are now covered with bold and colorful graffiti. The rest of the lot is full of weeds- long wispy green weeds and colorful blooming weeds. I am an admirer of weeds. They can be frustrating in one's at-home garden but they turn abandoned lots and sides of highways into something beautiful. Dirt and rubble are transformed into wild gardens brimming with flowers and greenery. While sitting in my car I wished I could instead go explore this lot with my camera. And, on further observation, I was not the only one who felt this way. In the back of the lot by one of the painted cement walls were two men, one with a camera. This photographer is far more adventurous then I am because the lot is contained on all sides with a chain link fence topped with a barbed wire. The other man was the subject of the first man's pictures. At first all I could see of the second man was that he was wearing shorts but no shirt. When I was finally able to inch my car a little bit further down the road, I got a better view of the two men and saw that the shirtless man was wearing boxing gloves. While his photo was being taken he struck various fighting poses, a punch here and punch there and so on. I have two theories about the scene. The first theory is that the photographer was doing an art project- maybe about urban decay and the young mans fight to stay civil in the urban jungle. Or the slow decline of industry and the youth's fight to prosper in a declining economy. My second theory is that the boxing man was a professional boxer who was having his photo taken for his boxing card (like a baseball card). Either way it was interesting and I was a bit jealous that I wasn't exploring that lot with my camera.
Later in the day I walked by a restaurant when out front I spotted two old women. They were huddled close together and lightly giggling and softly muttering to each other. I looked at them closer and saw that they were identical twins. They must have been about eighty with the same gently crinkled skin and pale gray hair. They had almost-matching outfits. Both twins wore ankle length skirts and blazers. One twin wore a bright lavender blazer with a flowy lavender and blue floral skirt. Her sister wore a white blazer with a pale pink and white floral skirt. The best part was their hair because it was done-up beautifully. They had long hair that was sculpted almost like a mini-1960's beehive A braid that wrapped around each of their heads like two crowns. I saw them walk away from the restaurant toward the parking lot. The sunlight caught in their flowy skirts so they looked like they were glowing. I like the idea that two people in their eighth decade who have known each other for their whole life can still get such a kick out of spending time together that they coordinate matching outfits and hair. It was a very sweet and hopeful sight.