abandoned

i've run across some cool sites lately that have extensive photos of abandoned buildings. this site has tons of what photographer Chuck Hutchison calls "american ruins," shots of crumbling buildings, rusted out vehicles and equipment, etc.

shots like these remind me of where my relatives live in Indiana, and the conversations my grandmother and aunts and uncles used to have about the history of the area. there was always someone who had been 'burned up' in a fire, and a crumbling barn would spark endless ruminations on who had lived there and when. the nature of our economy today dictates that many small towns and even the cities of the midwest are dying, with people fleeing for more lucrative environs. and with no one new moving in, lots and lots of houses and factories just sit abandoned.

the shots also serve to remind us how fleeting our time here really is - all of these structures that humans build, the places where we live and work and raise families and die - these places will not last forever. i think sometimes we think they will, that by slapping together concrete and steel we have made something that will last forever.