Abandoned Church Cards

I have a pile in my office/studio that I call ”art projects”. I become extremely frustrated when I look at the stack of things I want to do. Photos by now are in no particular order. The “notes” in my computer are pages and pages long. Trying to remember the source of a particular photo has become more than just annoying. I have pictures from a 1974 Antelope hunting trip with my Dad, mixed in with our sabbatical pictures from last year. Woodworking blueprints are mixed in with shadow-box material… I tell myself I should just start at the top of the pile and work my way down one project at a time. Instead I find myself “sorting”. “No, not right now.” Then I dig some more… “Yeah, but let me make sure…” as I continue to restack until I finally settle on something I am comfortable working on for a few hours. I desperately needed a short break from the floral work… The photos of this old church has been eating at me since before I was laid up beginning in November. I dug and I dug, unable to settle on when or where it was taken. I’ve been blessed with travelling about 3 million miles across this country, and I often “averaged” 100 to 200 photos in one trip. The photos of this old church fall into line from a trip from near Allentown Pennsylvania to San Diego in the mid 80’s I believe. I simply can’t pinpoint any closer… Blessed with travel, cursed with poor memory… ALL of that aside, I know I am not the only one with an affinity for old abandoned churches. Originally I figure as towns grew, they gained schools, perhaps a bank, a post office and a church or two… As small towns vanish and congregations disappear so goes the quaint once functional places of worship. Many of them continue to stand guard over a few grassy acres that for one reason or another, haven’t fallen prey to the farmers plow. Or “progress”. I read of one old church for sale. The “catch” was that a small cemetery with 80 or so graves, came with the property,,, VERY interesting but a bit too erie for me… I’ve made a list (another list!) of abandoned towns and churches that I’d like to go back and visit in person one of these days soon. Only this time I’ll keep better records of where I’ve been.