Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

single frame: Windswept Farm

Jim Grey
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Windswept Farm

Windswept Farm
Kodak EasyShare Z730
2020

As I’ve gone on long bike rides out into the country this summer, I’m struck by how many barns have dates on them from 100 or more years ago.

I admire the stability of the farms these barns represent. I wish I could have had that kind of stability in my life. Instead, I chose badly the first time I got married, and after that marriage ended I fell in love again and remarried. I’ve lived in far more places than I ever anticipated. Everything about my life has felt temporary.

My parents, in contrast, bought a home in 1976 and lived in it until 2014. I always thought that’s just how my life would go, too. Alas.

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Comments

6 responses to “single frame: Windswept Farm”

  1. Greg Clawson Avatar
    Greg Clawson

    Jim, I feel the same way, when I was a child we moved on the average of one a year. Sometimes it was only a couple blocks away, but still no sense of stability.
    When I remarried we bought a place in the country ten miles outside of Lafayette where we have lived for 31 years now, and i love the sense of permanence and tradition that it gives knowing that something I placed in the barn 25 years ago is still there.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Some people adapt well to frequent moves and some don’t. My first wife was a military brat who loved moving every few years. She said she got to reinvent herself with every move.

      I am happy I chose Margaret and glad we get to make a life together, even though it’s been far harder than either of us could imagine. One thing that has taken a back seat to all the hard stuff is making our house a home. I’ve lived here three years and we’re not settled yet. I have a hard time with the temporary nature of it.

      Reply
  2. retrocrank Avatar
    retrocrank

    “temporary” is perhaps another term for recognition that we all get but one visit to this amusement park. Enjoy the ride you’re on and hold on tight to your dreams, but when you see the bolts coming loose, it’s time to move on.

    Aren’t old barns the evidence of a fascinating technological history!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      The trick is learning to recognize when the bolts are coming loose.

      Reply
  3. analogphotobug Avatar
    analogphotobug

    I love Barns and photograph them often. I grew up in the same house on the same street. My mom lived there until ~2010. Life just isn;t that stable anymore.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      It’s a shame that it isn’t.

      Reply

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