SERENDIPITY PHOTO PROMPT 2015 #16 – MID SUMMER IN A VERY SMALL TOWN
It’s Frisbee Wednesday again. How time flies! Last time I looked, it was barely spring. Then whoosh, summertime. Now, summer is beginning to wind down. The flowers that bloomed in the spring (tra la) are fading away, holding their collective virtual breath for the riot of color and energy that is Autumn.
But not yet. The whole month of August remains which we must traverse. Then, a week and a bit of September will pass until we whirl into prime time and the trees show color.
HEART OF TOWN: THE PARKING LOT
Last night, we watched “The Quiet Man” on Turner Classic Movies. After the movie, Robert Osborne did a wrap up. He talked about the citizens of Cong (Ireland, County Mayo) where the movie was filmed. How the local folk were so excited to have a movie company in their midst, it was difficult to keep them off the set. They were always peeking out of windows, hiding behind buildings, trying to catch a glimpse of the stars. It was the biggest — only big — event to happen in Cong.
We visited Cong on our honeymoon in 1990. They were still reliving the grand days when John Ford came to town with his cameras and crew. Most important, he came with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Nothing else ever happened. Or ever will.
I said to Garry: “Nothing has ever happened in Uxbridge. Not a film, not an episode of a television show.”
“We had one pretty juicy murder,” he pointed out. Ever the reporter, Garry keeps a mental tally of murders in the commonwealth. Catalogued by town.
“Okay, other than that one murder. I don’t think anything has ever happened here more memorable than the day the bank card readers went down.”
“That was a traumatic day,” Garry agreed.
A fly photo-bombed my picture!
To further my point (or perhaps, beat it to death), we went to Hannaford today. It is our grocery store. It’s where it all happens. Where we gather to discuss upcoming weather events and the price of things. Garry wanted to pick up a newspaper and replace our depleted supply of kitchen cleanser.
I wanted to snap a few pictures.
We succeeded at both.
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Categories: #Photography, Blackstone Valley, film, Humor, Movies, Shopping
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Hi Marilyn, your great small town study, and the prompt were just the thing to prod me into part 2 of my B & W walk through Wenlock. So here it is. Thanks for the nudge:
http://tishfarrell.com/2015/07/30/seeing-my-town-in-black-white-2/
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I read it. Great piece. You’ve got a far more interesting (and rather larger and older) town, but beset with similar problems. The next generation is thin on the ground and the town is fading away for lack of new blood.
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That’s the measure of it with so many small towns. Tourism and a retirement population are perhaps Wenlock’s main hopes, but there’s not much to keep young people here.
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We don’t even have much tourism anymore. We used to, but not for the past 25 years. The changing times haven’t been kind to the valley.
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Sounds like a nice slow paced summer- love that Victorian!
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I love those big old Victorians too. Who doesn’t? I know at least two people who tried to restore them. House one, friend zero. You need to have a lot of money to not only restore them, but maintain them. If you have the money though, I think they may be the most comfortable, spacious, gracious style of home ever built.
Life in a small town has a lot to recommend it. With all the inconveniences — like a complete lack of public transportation — I can’t imagine going back to live in the city. I would hate the crowds, the dirt, the noise, the traffic.
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When I got up this morning I wondered what to post for this week. Then I thought of all my seasonal photos – that got me thinking and I worked out what I was going to write. Then I found your post – great minds think alike.
Nice photos. Love the house
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One of the many restored Victorian houses in the area. It was a mill town, so we had mill owners and they had big Victorian mansions. Beautiful, but real money pits.
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I bet, they are like sponges. Soaks up the money – heating, maintenance etc. But beautiful to look at
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Oh, yes, and repairs. Everything has to be made to order. There’s nothing standard in these houses. And they are delightful inside. Spacious, airy, high ceilings. But so expensive.
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Do you have any heritage listings. Houses like that are listed and you are not allowed to change them at all. We had an old hotel that was listed. It was well over 100 years old but being wooden it was dangerous and on the verge of collapsing. It took years of negotiation before it was pulled down this year. Sad, but the costs of repairing it was twice what it was worth.
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A few are listed, but not all. I would say most are NOT registered. A lot of people who own these houses don’t want them listed. Once they are listed, there are a ton of rules they have to follow and they can’t make changes to the house without the permission from a committee. And as you pointed out, being listed isn’t a guarantee of protection. if a building becomes dangerous or outrageously expensive to fix it’s gone.
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There was a huge problem with the Christchurch earthquake. The cathedral is still dangerous and the Anglican church wants to pull it down and then build a new one. The locals are against it. So that means nothing is getting done.
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That’s the kind of dispute that can last until the steeple falls down.
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My town is a moderate sized suburb of a large city, and I can’t think of much that’s happened here in my lifetime. The only time Hollywood was ever in town was when Bill Murray shot a few scenes at a local bar for one of his very lesser known movies (I can’t even remember what it was called, but it had an elephant in it). Way back before I was born, John F. Kennedy came to town while he was running for President and spoke at the high school. The older folks still talk about that.
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Wow. That’s pretty big. Compared to here, anyway. But we DID have a psycho murder. Not ever town had that.
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We have plenty of hoosiers here, but no psychos. Heck, the one time someone snapped and went on a shooting rampage at a strip mall, they didn’t even manage to injure anyone, let alone kill. Plus, everyone in town seemed to have “been there” and had to “dodge bullets”… you know, like everyone swears they were at Woodstock. A failed shooting spree is became our town’s “you had to be there” moment…
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Well we got YOU beat, buddy. We had a real psycho murder in 2007. It raised our murder rate 100% because Massachusetts (rumors to the contrary notwithstanding) is not the murder capitol of the U.S.A. Actually, I’m not sure where that might be, but someone has it on their state flag, I’m sure. Texas maybe??
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20090314/NEWS/303149975
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Sounds like a good day!
Leslie
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A regular day. Nothing special. Which is real life, isn’t it? The days on which nothing happens that anyone can even remember, even the day after?
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That’s a good day to me.
Leslie
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They didn’t even have the newspaper I wanted. They ran out. I think they stock maybe 6 copies on any given day. Jeesh!
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You are probably their primary customer. They stock it just for you.
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At times it is good to be part of a small town except missing the shooting of a film. Bright yellow flowers look so summery.
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My only objection to this time of year is the humidity. It has been at 99% for weeks, so you go outside and it feels like there’s no air. Like breathing hot soup. Typical August. It makes me less than eager to go out and do stuff.
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We are in better condition. Enjoy the present view of my town.
http://soulnspiritblog.com/2015/07/30/simply-best-view-from-the-khuldabad-ghat/
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Too much excitement, you need a bit of a lie-down after all that.
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I get tired just thinking about it!
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Welcome again. I guess you have the same days off Garry had for years — Wednesday and Thursday. It made having a relationship very challenging. A challenge amidst challenges.
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