RAILROAD CROSSING
Tag: New England
STEPPING OUT OF THE PRESENT
Strolling around older neighborhoods of a community like mine, it’s quite possible to feel yourself moving through another era. Imagine horses instead of cars and let the utility lines overhead fade from sight. I find a tinge of time travel is especially likely to kick in around dawn or sunset.
Mentioning that to my wife prompts memories of her own experiences while working in a museum comprised of a district of historic houses in nearby Portsmouth. For her, the sensation would settle in during late afternoons in the tourism shoulder season as she’d step from the kitchen into the outdoors. No wires in the air, no traffic, no tourists to spoil the perfect scene. Truly harmonious and timeless.
Maybe even a vision of the future in an eco-friendly environment.
BRICK RATHER THAN WOOD
Despite all of the clay soil in the city, one of the puzzles is the prevalence of wood construction. The downtown, with its mills, stores, and churches, is an exception.
Strolling Dover: for more, click here.
SPANNING THE COCHECO
When I see this …
… I think of this.
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PALLADIAN WINDOW
High style in the region from the mid-1700s. This example is from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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MILL TOWER INSIDE AND OUT
When I see this …
… I think of this.
For the free ebook novel and more, click here.
WHITE BLAZE MARKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
MILL-TOWN INTERFACE
When I see this …
… I think of this.
For the free ebook novel and more, click here.
SHADED REPOSE
Strolling Dover: for more, click here.
LOUD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
As I said at the time …
Notes from cleaning up after a big race at (what was then called) New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon:
- The entire North American Quaker membership would fit in the grandstands and infield. Ditto, Mennonite or Brethren.
- Baseball is akin to opera, in that individuals stand openly and perform – as part of a team or a cast. They are highly trained to do their job precisely, whether throwing a change-up or hitting a top note and then trilling.
- NASCAR is akin to rock, in that individuals are stars first, surrounded by crews and sophisticated technical systems that do most of the work. In horse racing, the animal is celebrated for the victory; in motor sports, the machine earns no such respect. Why?
- NASCAR – earplugs / the grandstands themselves rumbling.
- This is religion, the drivers as saints. (The big race on the Sabbath.)
- Their products purchased as acts of faith and obedience.
- Death, always hovering, as a spectacle of feigned abhorrence.
- Eyes on the spire, with its changing script. The lap count. The leaders.
- Maybe the biggest difference between sports and the fine arts is that people bet on the outcome of the former.
