Ad Infinitum
Washington, DC
2009

 

Dark Shadows
Washington, DC
2009

The dark side of the Washington National Cathedral.

Cursive Wiring
Bozeman, Montana
2021

If you never learned cursive writing in school, you won’t know what message is encoded in these lines of fencing.

Spare Parts Depot
Bozeman, Montana
2021

While it’s waiting to be used for fence repairs, this tangle of baling wire makes for an interesting free-form wire sculpture. The sculpture will be short-lived once someone decides to spend a day repairing this well-worn fence.

A Little Help From My Friends
Bozeman, Montana
2021

If you’re lucky, your neighbors will be there to support you in times of need.

The Tie That Binds
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Why bother digging a new hole and scrounging up a new fence post when a quick fix is at hand.

They Don’t Make ’em Like They Used To
Bozeman, Montana
2021

Fence posts used to be vernacular works of art, not by design but by convenience and necessity. One can hardly blame anyone in the need of fencing for switching to the more easily obtained and installed metal posts of today; business is business after all. But still there is a net artistic loss involved in the switch.

Winds Aloft
Bozeman, Montana
2021

A Day for Smiles
Washington, DC
2009

I do not know what Joe Biden will say in his inaugural speech today but he would be well served to consider some of the words from Gerald Ford’s speech the day he was sworn in as president following the resignation of Richard Nixon (who now ranks only as the second worst president in my lifetime). Here are some excerpts:

“I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”

“. . .there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people’s urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.”

“To the peoples and the governments of all friendly nations, and I hope that could encompass the whole world, I pledge an uninterrupted and sincere search for peace. America will remain strong and united, but its strength will remain dedicated to the safety and sanity of the entire family of man, as well as to our own precious freedom.”

“I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad.”

“Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men.”

“As we bind up the internal wounds . . .more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate.”

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

I am not naive enough to think there will be no major conflicts to come now that we have a new president but for now I am smiling because, in the words of another famous American, “I feel good!”

Lectio #81
Washington, DC
2009