Country rodes

Here in 2022, for tax purposes the IRS still categorizes work as “Farm work” or “Non-Farm work— even though the latter is many times the former.

In the 1950s there were comedy films about farm life—Ma and Pa Kettle was quite successful film series from the 1940s and 1950s. .

An old Maine farmhouse, wood heat, a pump inside the kitchen and barn in the left background,

They had an old car with a backseat full of stuff and no gas, no money, no place to stay, 4:oo in the afternoon. Just arrived in Toledo from Appalachia. OH! did I say “Very Hungry!
Toledo Ohio, Model Cities Program circa 1969

Tom and Nance moved to rural Maine 1968 – ’69. Both couples are about the same age about the same time.

A couple times we bought tires from Mr. Bellis who had different situation than I had known, if you believe his story,

“He had a thriving business on a major commuter road into Boston and Urban Renewal changed the land his was on, he lost his lease could only relocate to this more isolated area in Arlington.”

or perhaps what parts do you believe—its still a compelling story ? He had worked hard for his money. It was a cold winter day in Somerville.

AlamedaCreek

The camera is a lens to translate light into a meaningful visual experience for people . . .

The photograph.

Generally the photograph is commonly held as the benchmark of visual expression which is closest to a common sense of “reality.” —the ‘things’ in the photograph appear most similar to the ‘things’ people see.

Of course that makes sense, why would we develop a camera that made images of things we could not see.—except science has discovered things we could not see or hear and developed tools to hear and see them.

Sometimes people will see a photograph and have a very strong, perhaps emotional, reaction while another person, will not moved at all.

Students in photography class will be given an assignment and the submitted “same subject” images will be different

The students have a subject, which is the same, and then, the images are different. Sometimes understanding an image is to understand the “general subject” and how the particular images fit as representatives of the “general subject.”

How different are we from each other? How same are we with each other? ? We are each made of the same materials but with different mixes,and maybe sometimes a little here or there does not make it to each and every individual.

What difference does it make how the particles in the Universe are joining and separating, who cares? People and a few other living things such as elephants.!!

I find myself wondering if most of my photographs are images of myself, is this how I want to see people or is it how they “really ” are . . . or were . . . at some moment captured in light—maybe just want people to see me taking photographs.

Are my photographs actually capturing some “image of the real person”? How often is a “portrait” of a person insightful because it shows you the deep lines on their face, or the rough hands of a craftsman and you feel somethings about the person’s “inner character.”

Last week we saw NASA images from 3 billion years ago —they are always there to be expressed ,always there to be captured, Maybe Universe is bunch of images traveling at the speed of light seeking a medium to present itself ,but maybe only to humans.

EndPapers

After Mom had a stroke and suffered serious memory loss she lived in a memory care residence facility near our home, about 10 minutes drive. This was pretty much a decision my parents made,.they had long term insurance specifically for that purpose.

It fit comfortably with our situation, much of the basic “care work” in a residence is just that— daily repeated basic care which needs to be done correctly and to a schedule each day with compassion and consideration. If you try to do this at your home, the negative aspects may overwhelm and disrupt everyday life., . Who do you take out your frustrations on??> spouse, the one being cared for. and yourself.

We saw Mom at least everyday and even 3 or even 4 times a day.

At the residence even though memory care residents may often seem socially non-interactive, it seems to me that the individuals recognize others, navigate in a social network, have personalities and wants and desires. And there are the personalities which develop with the staff. Perhaps any level of social interaction gives them a social meaning to their life.

When we did see her, usually it was “quality time”, we took her out to eat, an outing, dinner at our house or friends, friend’s house,—things that were fun for all of us..The staff would dress her in special clothes she would feel good, staff would have her ready on time and we were there to pick her up on time.

In this way we combined the residential care milieux with a close family relationship, sorting the best parts of both to give her a good life. There are many different ways people can take care of their families and achieve positive outcomes.

Gate gate paragate parasamgate Bodhi Svaha