I came across these boots on the street where I live. A gardener’s boots taken off momentarily, only to be forgotten, then remembered –after it was too late? A pair that had out worn their usefulness, only to be cast aside like the nearby discarded lime halves?
Boots and Lime Halves
What stories rest mute inside these weathered strips of leather? What pain, what joy, truthfulness, and deceit had brought these boots to this moment, this end? Like a writer’s words on a page, these boots carried with them a lifetime of their owner’s experiences, occurrences that had informed every step their owner took–every word the writer wrote.
Which of your life experiences will be revealed–or concealed– in the steps you take today, the words you commit to the page?
Houston. The place I wasn’t sure I wanted to move to with my family a mere eight years ago. Yes, Houston. The place that is now the top– or one of the top–destinations in the country for visitors.
Barely had I fallen in love with Houston, before the world caught on. Now, so much is changing about this city so quickly that it’s often hard to keep up.
The more they stay the same?
I’m grateful that I was able to capture on camera one brief episode of that change as it happened in 2014.
Crashing windows
Multi-colored Elevator Doors at 3400 Montrose, Houston, TX
Concrete in motion
Crane arm reaches for top floors
Through the Scroll Take 2
Tumbling Concrete
Steel jaws grab House of Beauty
Remnants of multi-colored doors at demolition of 3400 Montrose
Plane over demolition of 3400 Montrose
Roses on Montrose
Wrought-iron scroll, mirrored
Dozer arm looking animal-like
I’ve written about it here; I wanted in this post to share a few more of the ways in which my camera was able to preserve the beauty of change in the making.
Even as I write this, a crane of a different sort is hoisting steel into the sky, creating a new edifice to fill the space that the building in these photos surrendered.
Beauty, Even in Destruction
I’d like to think that the photos above acknowledge that even in desolation–yes, even in demolition and deconstruction–beauty can abound.
I hope you enjoy viewing these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. (For an up-close view, just click on each one individually.)
This California girl, who confesses to longing to click her heels on her beloved New York City sidewalks, has come to appreciate the vitality and versatility of her adopted city, Houston.
