Holding the Years
Canon EOS 400D; Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
From my older digital archives, circa 2007. This Methodist Church sanctuary was begun in 1887 but stumbled forward through an outbreak of Yellow Fever--to be completed in 1889. This and all of the surrounding historic landscape and architectural fabric were part of my most formative years growing up in the village of Manatee, in East Bradenton, Florida during the late 60s and through the 70s.
In 1975, the sanctuary was moved three blocks south from its original foundations to an emerging historical park. A few of us local late teen delinquents watched the move in the dead of night--power lines had to be taken down, and a traffic signal the same. We were all extremely grateful that
Mexican Red and Boones's Farm Strawberry Hill was in our company...
Several years later, due to some excruciatingly stupid decisions that 20-year-olds sometimes make--I found myself laboring as a roofer. Yup, let's say nothing about my fear of heights or my penchant for awfulizing the consequences of any mistakes. Amazingly I was the only one of my cohort who never fell and injured themselves. But to sally forward, fate put me as part of the crew that tore off the old 80-year-old metal shingles, and the rotting cedar shingles below them--and then put new handsplit cedar shakes back on.
So this image holds a special place for me.
That's my story, and I am sticking to it...
