More From Wilson

I think when this Wilson stuff is done, I will go way back into my archives and post pics from times YEARS ago-- going back as far as 2000, and even earlier. 1993? That's possible. Obviously, anything that old will have to be digitized. Meanwhile, here is more Wilson.

 This stuff is just as it was years ago.

Notice all the cotton? There's a cotton gin across the road. 

 This marks the spot, but for what purpose I do not know. It was not there the last time.

Does it look bleak to you?

What is it like to live in a town like Wilson? What is it like if you are a teenager? What is it like if you are a single adult? 

I will finish Wilson next time.

Another Look At Wilson-- An Experiment

This was an emotional experiment. The last time I was in Wilson my wife was with me, alive and well. We had a good time as I roamed around photographing the kinds of stuff I usually photograph. She told me what she knew about Wilson. It was a very nice day. We were happy. I wanted to see how it would feel to return. The short answer is: not good at all. The day was windy and dusty and cool and bleak. I was alone. I missed Sarjim very, very, much. I got photos and used the Nikon, but it felt like an exercise in futility. I drove back through Slaton. We had visited Slaton many times. She lived in Slaton once. She and her first husband owned a golf course there. She told me a lot of stories about Slaton. Being in Slaton felt even worse than being in Wilson-- Slaton was torture. Most people say it takes about a year to recover from a loss like mine. That means I've got nine months of this misery left. Someone I spoke to recently told me that you NEVER recover. Some sadness always remains. I can understand that. My wife was sometimes depressed and sometimes she spoke of her history. She lost two husbands. I wish I had her courage. She was a strong woman, determined to live life to the fullest.  But she still had times of sadness.  I don't think I'm going to do as well as she did.

So here is what I photographed in Wilson. Not much of a town. I picked the parts that looked interesting to me. I didn't stay there long because it just didn't feel good. I was going through the motions. I've been doing that a lot lately.

I don't understand how anyone manages to live in this place.

It really was more prosperous, once. But they still have a high school! And a football stadium! I didn't photograph that.

 Bits of foundation?

More from Wilson next time.

I Always Find More Junk Cars!

Let's take a look at Lubbock! I found some more junk cars off University and about 120th Street. And then I found some new residential construction. They never stop building. 

Is this good junk or what?

I always think of the people who owned and drove and maybe even enjoyed these cars. Where are they now? And what about the people who assembled them and sold them? Where are they? What exactly happened to them?

And now, more construction-- more DEVELOPMENT! 

Looks like Lubbock is going to get yet more houses for yet more people...

Columbia/Willy McCool Memorial

Willy MCool attended a local high school, Estacado, I believe. And the Columbia, disintegrating, passed over Lubbock. So it makes sense to have a memorial here. I remember that day well. 

In the background, above, is the veteran's memorial. The playa lake near these sites is almost dry. Will it rain? Or won't it?

 And here we have some views of a water system construction project on 82nd street. This was Pump Station 10. It was a disaster from day one. It cracked and it crumbled and it flooded more than once. It was constructed on the site of an old landfill. That might have had something to do with the structural problems. It is being revised in some manner. 

 Above, another ruin. And below, fun with telephoto. I got this from the backyard.

I was not using the best camera, so it is not too distinct.