Today we embarked on a day trip to the motherland that is Zanesville, Ohio. "The motherland", because it is where both my parents were born and raised. It's a post-industrial, decaying, contradictory sort of town that has good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods, poverty, wealth, a bridge that goes in two directions, farmland, urban sprawl, suburbia, a river running through it, and the skeletons of a once vibrant and bustling downtown where my Grandma used to "walk up and down Main Street while the boys walked on the other side." I have fond memories, bad memories, blissful and regretful memories of this town, not because I was a former resident, but because I would travel to see my multitude of relatives every summer as a kid for about 2 weeks every August. I always stayed at my Grandparents' home that was right on the Muskingham River. There was a steep hill in their backyard that led to the river, and they happened to live right in front of the falls. They had an enclosed porch in the back of their house and during the hot August nights the breeze would roll in through the windows accompanied by the sound of the falling water. It was such a calming sound. As a kid who grew up in a much more urban setting in New Jersey, this was total country. Unlike my brothers, I developed a real connection with this town that raised my parents and my grandparents and many, many cousins. I made friends in this town that I kept in touch with for many years... I even married one for a brief period of time.
However, it seems like a different town these days, and I'm not sure if it is just because I'm just looking at it with adult eyes. Because when we were leaving town today, my shutterbug, country-loving, history buff son who was snapping away all day at different sites throughout the town, exclaimed, "I love Zanesville!"
While I'm happy to be where I am, when I come back and happen to hear the falls of the Muskingham River, I feel a sense of "home."
Photo specs:
Canon xSi digital SLR
Colorized
125/5.6
18-55 mm lens
(click on image for high res view)
3 comments:
I love it. It has an old-time feel, but then you notice the "FAX" in the window and see that it is modern. An interesting look at contrasting yesterday and today in one photo.
You can go home again..just isn't the same...
I love the juxtaposition of the "fax" &"donuts" signs-- great photo and wonderful memories to read about Kate. Thanks!
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