closing in

UVA chiller
I briefly worked at UVA hospital. I loved the view. After a 14 hour shift, what was left of me would emerge onto Lee Street. I could look down Lee Street, 120 degrees SE and see Monticello Mountain 3 miles away.

Psalm 121. Levavi oculos. 
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence cometh my help? 
2 My help cometh even from the LORD, who hath made heaven and earth.

Now, looking down Lee is the 36.5 million dollar chiller approved by UVA’s Board of Visitors three years ago, currently under construction.


This is a work in progress. Once it is all finished the landscape and architecture magicians on UVA’s staff will possibly render it beautiful.

house of dreams

cinema 4 wrecking
D.H. Griffin Companies is a group of six independently owned but integrated companies that perform contract demolition as well as environmental and site development services. It was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were the largest contractor responsible for cleaning up the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.–Wikipedia

(Griffin Wrecking employees at work on the Cinema 4, Charlottesville VA)

moving day

one last time
During WWII, before my father deployed, my parents moved all over the US. This month, my mom is changing address again, 3rd time in 21 months. She rangers on, I long for the stability of the homes she created.

Moving

thirteen years later
My brother Sam is under the knife today, reconstructive surgery on a busted up foot. Getting old takes a lot of strength and grace.

Dividing Creek

traditional country store
On the way to Dividing Creek we pass this store. Old style. Organic. Presumably grew in response to the needs of the local population and the owners. Forty years ago “country stores” were prevalent, nowadays there is the WalMart.

land people water
I’ve been snapping a Thanksgiving picture for years. There were twenty people in the photo today but only seven repeats from twenty years ago. Whither the absent?
They are covered up, moved on, elsewhere, otherwise engaged and alone. For better and for worse.
The missing are all missed.

unengaged

precinct with few citizens
It’s an off off year.
There are 2098 registered voters in the reconfigured Venable precinct. One-hundred and thirty-one of them showed to vote.
Visiting the polling place was like visiting a museum after hours.
If we had a referendum on the legality of party-porches, open containers and free BMW’s, traffic would pick up.
The University of Virginia makes little effort to house its students. And so, you end up with a precinct of students that don’t vote and a neighborhood that has largely abandoned civic participation.

Virginia State Board of Elections unofficial results