A Church No More?

Unkept But Not Forgotten

To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.

Thomas Campbell

Behind the church is a small graveyard. As with the church itself Mother Nature has begun the process of reclaiming what had been lost. Someone has left a token of their love for the deceased but have not tried to deter Mother Nature's efforts.

I shot this portrait of Eric and Blake Frohnapfel, players for Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, for our football preview last week. I had to sit on it until in ran in the paper.  I managed to avoid shooting the 20 or so portraits of the featured players but I’m sure I’ll be doing our All-Area spread this year.

A beach sunset is beautiful but also mundane because we expect it to be beautiful. In your life’s travels take a closer look around you for the unexpected, the quirky, the incongruous. These scenes may not be as beautiful as a sunset on the beach but they are a hell of a lot more interesting!

Me

Just got back from a week at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For those of you expecting pictures of romantic sunsets on the beach or scantily clad co-eds playing beach volleyball you should know by now I don't have much use for the expected. Come on gang where is your drive to experience and see new things? ...........OK , here is a site with photos of breathtaking beach scenes, http://photobucket.com/images/beaches/ and here is one with breathtaking photos of spring break http://www.paradiseparties.com/photogallery.asp. If there is anyone left here are some photos of some of the unexpected and interesting sites of North Myrtle Beach...........

Welcome to North Myrtle Beach.....
The main drag into North Myrtle Beach, SC--17th Avenue South. Lined, as expected, by Palmetto trees. You may notice that unlike most beach spots not every inch of space at least four blocks back is taken up with high rise hotels, condos, bars and cheap gift shops. Most of North Myrtle Beach is covered with beach houses without views of the beach--thanks to the hotels on the beach which have such interesting and unique names like, The Dunes, High Tide, and By the Sea. And to add insult to injury at least one has a Tiki Bar. Just for edification Tiki is a male figure in Polynesian, i.e, Pacific, mythology, sometimes identified as the first man. You definitely cannot use the words originality or cultural sensitivity in the same sentence with beach front community.

LEARNING MOMENT--The palmetto tree was adopted as the state symbol in 1861 (On their way out of the Union) to honor Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776.

Typical North Myrtle Beach......
A rather typical colorful and well landscaped two story bungalow two blocks off the beach. In my travels through the city I noted that there was a good mix of housing from small one story bungalows to three story duplexes with balconies, pools, and garages. An egalitarian utopia of sorts. Judging from the beach crowd the mix went from red neck to white collar.

Yes This is Almost Beach Front Property......
As already noted North Myrtle Beach is not your typical overdeveloped beach front. This scene is two blocks off the beach and there are two very nice two story bungalows on either side of this dense jungle lot. There are a number of similar lots through the area. To have reached the tree to put up the "No Trespassing" sign would have required the use of a machete. Getting beyond the tree to trespass would be almost impossible. If you did get past you may never find your way back. I am told that Jules Verne got the idea for his classic work, "The lost World," while vacationing in North Myrtle Beach.

Quirky Times Two.......
Another unique aspect of North Myrtle Beach are pillars all over the place marking, "Public Walkways." These "walkways" cut through yards, between yards, and through backyards. You will note that there are really no walkways involved. You are just walking through someone's yard. In this particular case we add to this beach front oddity the fact that this particular "walkway" is blocked by two mailboxes, a tree, a telephone pole, an addition to the left, a shed, and a bush at the other end. One may think that the city of North Myrtle Beach might want to reconsider this particular, "Public Walkway."

A "Heroic" Weather Vane
With the clouds and lighting behind it this is one impressive weather vane don't you think. A rhetorical question of course. Makes your heart beat and bit faster and gives you a lump in your throat. Have Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," playing in the background and you will feel a sense of pride being a member of the North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina community. Sign me up!

North Myrtle Beach Rorschach Test
While wondering the streets of North Myrtle Beach in the wee hours of the morning I came upon this scene. OK gang--What jumps into your mind when you first looked at this picture?

Look How Interesting Perfection Can Be
For centuries philosophers have debated the definition of perfection. One line of thought is that everything is perfect. I believe it was Descartes who wrote of a rotten peach and asked whether it could not be considered a perfectly rotten peach? Well could this not be a photo of a perfectly overweight, pale, middle aged white guy? Be honest. If this had been a photo of a bikini clad babe you men out there would have given it a quick once over and moved on--a dime a dozen. Ladies, you would be making some unkind comment about my character or lack thereof. But this photo is unexpected, quirky and incongruous, i.e., interesting. By the way for those wondering the guy did twitch after I took the picture.