Thursday, January 14, 2010

This Old House

Old Stuff

I mentioned this in the way back, but those few of you who remember will forgive this veteran of the charge up San Juan Hill a relapse.  Oh, we're talking about this  portfolio of abandoned houses.  I think all of us will be plaintively reminded of something from our own past, except for young Josh who's still building his. The house in Ringgold, NE  reminds me of hunting for pheasant in Nebraska, just on the Colorado and South Dakota borders. Came across it, and while the others went on, I stayed, and read old catalogs, newspapers, and sorted through scattered family pictures.  Memory says they dated back to c. 1920.  Hardscrabble.  I don't remember the details anymore, just being captivated by this worm hole into the past.  You can smell these houses. That old house smell.  Linoleum. Musty newsprint and curtains.   Have a look.  City people may find Scouting New York more to the task at hand. Nostalgia.

1/14/2010 10:54:00 AM 6 Comments

"If the number of Islamic terror attacks continues at the current rate, candlelight vigils will soon be the number-one cause of global warming. "
Argus Hamilton


Posted by at
Labels:

This will be the comment box

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

30 years ago my Grandpa and I were poking around his childhood house. He ran cattle on the land still and after counting cows we were looking around. I saw something under what was left of the front steps, a rusty can. It was his marbles he and his brothers made. He was probably 77 at the time. Been there all those years, my sister still has them.

Top notch post Rog

Plowboy

1/14/10, 11:31 AM
Spunky Texan said...

I love abandoned building sites.
Thanks Rog

1/14/10, 1:21 PM
Josh Fahrni-Barn Army Dog Catcher said...

Palisades Washington, just after 9/11. There was an old man (103) who hadn't been able to sell his house (land) out there before he passed away. He left some bills behind, and had no family to pass the home onto.

The government (or collectors, someone official) came and claimed this old house for the land. I talked to one of them who was snapping photos of the place in preparation of it's demolition. They didn't discriminate against his stuff. They were throwing every single thing away, no matter what it was.

When that guy left, I came back and went inside. The man had been a pack rat of all sorts of stuff over the course of his life, most in this house dating back was far as 1910. But one thing I found and didn't think should have been thrown away...A huge stack of Time Magazines from World War II. All of them heavily patriotic in their writing, with cigarette advertisements on the back.

I was blown away. I'd never seen anything like that in my life. These hand painted pictures of Generals, Commanders, etc, all of them fought in a war that I didn't even know about in any depth, at that age. I'll never let those go.

1/14/10, 4:41 PM
Anonymous said...

Good on ya' Josh. You give me hope for the next generation.
Vice Sgt Boone

1/14/10, 4:54 PM
Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post, it led my to Brooklyn.com and some great memories.

Javert

1/14/10, 6:14 PM
Rodger the Real King of France said...

Y'all welcome. That New York blog is fascinating.

1/14/10, 10:17 PM

Post a Comment

Post a Comment

Just type your name and post as anonymous if you don't have a Blogger profile.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)