Where I Like It Best

Don’t ask me. I have no idea why the doors and windows are upside down. I just chalk it up to living in the Land of Enchantment. Somebody really got enchanted when they were working on this building.

I found this place one day after having lunch in the barrio, which is located well past the old Santa Fe engine yard. I ate and keep going south. I think. Eventually, I came to this place.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. You know me, I search out weird and ruined places. But, this one… whew. I worked fairly quickly because I realized I was on somebody’s turf. No need to cause trouble for myself.

I could tell you stories about this neighborhood but let’s just say it’s just about like being in the Lower 9th Ward of my home city. The players change, but the results can be the same.

Tourists rarely come this way. But, I’m not a tourist. I travel. I used to travel for work, but that’s been postponed until 2022.

The WHO says the pandemic is raging on because so many countries don’t have any kind of vaccine. It’s ironic that they also said the Chinese vaccine is not effective. Meanwhile, the CDC while fearing a surge now, predicts one for the fall and winter months.

This is not going away quickly.

I’m starting to get angry. I have friends that live in other places. They claim New Orleans as their spiritual home. They finally arrived after 16 months of waiting.

A group of them got together to listen to some porch music and to take group photos. None of them were masking. When questioned about it, one of them said they took their masks off for the picture.

WTF?

A few minutes standing next to somebody who is infected could make you ill. I’m sure most of them were vaccinated, but how does anybody really know?

I hate to do this.

But…

Stay safe. Stay might. Stay strong. Wear your damn masks. Keep your distance. Look after each other. And, be patient.

This column is really supposed to be about technical tools and technique.

Lately, it’s been used for whatever I want to say. Sorry about that.

Of course, on the day I decide to stay true to this side’s mission, there is no technique to speak of.

Keeping the scene tack sharp is the most important thing to know.

All those details in the door and windows as well as all the cracks in the building are what make this picture a photograph.

I’m willing to bet that those cracks aren’t as bad as we think. Given that the building is in an urban area, I think that it is built with cinder blocks with a thick plaster wash on the coating them.

And, that’s it.