kelseybacon.com

Went out for a drive today to the far ends of the Earth.  If you have been on the Great Basin Highway in Nevada, and you have seen the desolation there, then you know just what I am on about.  America is a big country, and it is a modern country, in many ways the most advanced in the world, however, it still has places where the modern conveniences have not yet reached.  The infrastructure is beginning to be installed though, and what was once the Great American West is about to be tamed like never before.  When it finishes, I am sure the loss will be not unlike the loss of Route 66 to the Interstate, and only pockets will remain to remind future generations of a time long past.  See it while you can, for the insteps of progress will soon turn to housing developments that will cover with asphalt even this magnificent place. 

I wanted to check out the area and the traffic levels on the highway as an alternative to I-15 for the past day of March.  We need to take our horses up to the house in Idaho so they don’t eat us alive for the cost of their feed.  The tires are not new on anything, and the cost of replacing them is too high.  I’d like to keep the speed down on that drive up! 

Kelsey J Bacon

Kelsey J Bacon

This is a part of the Crowngate Carpark, a multi-storey car park in Worcester which serves the Crowngate Shopping Centre.  It is also probably the most popular place in the City Centre to commit suicide because of its ease of access to high open places.  The view is worthy of a last look at this world for anyone considering a jump.  More than a few people had jumped off while I lived in Worcester, though I never kept any kind of count.  With plenty of shopping to hand, it is a good place to run up your credit card bill before making the big plunge to assure that you are dressed in the latest fashions or that you don’t die on an empty stomach.  One of the grocers will even arrange delivery, should you like to pay for the catering for your own funeral before you go.  If you are in Worcestershire and you are thinking of jumping off this mortal coil, be sure to drop in at the Crowngate! 

This sign warns of elderly people crossing the road, and presumably means you should take caution and even slow down for them.

Even an American can recognise this one.  Watch out for the school kids, then watch out for the old folks at the next sign down the road. 

A red circle on a white background without a slash through the black symbol actually means “NO!”  So, the sign on top tells us there are no bikes allowed!  The one below enforces the meaning of “no” in the sign above.  I hope that since dogs cannot read, the sign is interpreted by the dog walkers. 

Now for the bit that always confused me!  Since the red circle without a slash means “NO!” what then does this mean?  No poop scooping?  I’d hate to point out the obvious, but I think someone needs to read the standards code once again.  I have explained that cultural differences mean more than just celebrating different holidays, and this is what I mean!  Cultural differences requires a different logic right down to the core!

For the first time ever, I am publishing the full set of photos from the day Jordan and I met Prince Charles and his wife Camille near The Commandery, in Worcester, England.  Date: June 11, 2008.

Before I had much experience in life I would sometimes cry, thinking how hard it all was.  I met a man in 2001 who changed all that for me.  I will not try to compare him to any homeless person, and I will not pretend his lot was as bad it could get.  His name was John, and he owned a car, and had a home.  His entire life seemed to comprise those two pieces of property, and everything in them.  This 14 foot trailer was John’s home.  He once told me that at nights he would burn his own waste in the fire he would set outside to warm himself by.  The battery in his car provided his electrical supply.  I was never made to feel sorry for him, just to understand him.  I try not to compare my life to his, knowing that he was a happy man, and that I too can always be happy with where I am and what I am doing.  But I keep this image in my mind to remind me that the world is not just about what we have, but our attitude towards it. 

Both of these assignments were done on 18 x 24 inch paper, filling the entire sheet.  The shoes took 18 hours to complete as a contour drawing, and was done in brown colored pencil. They are far from technically correct, however, they demonstrate what I can don on the rare occasion I actually do try to draw anything.  The photos were originally takes of these with one of those lousy little USB Web Cams, so I must apologize for what is lost in the image! 

The Worcester-Birmingham Canal in Winter, Worcester. (Approx. 2003)

Bicycle at Metro., Denver. (Approx. 2000)

Bicycle at Yately. (Approx 2005)

Idaho House. (Approx. 2001)

St. Stephen’s Tower and Parliament At Noon, London. (Approx. 2005)

A Worcester Hedge In Winter. (Approx. 2003)

Pershore Abbey. (Approx. 2005)

Orangery at Great Whitley.  (Approx. 2005)

Petroglyphs Ath The Valley Of Fire, Mouse’s Tank. (Approx. 2002)

Buckingham Palace, London. (Approx. 2005)

800 Year Old Crutch Barn In Worcestershire. (Approx 2005)

800 Year Old Crutch Barn In Worcestershire. (Approx 2005)

The Chapel At Knightly. (Approx. 2006)

Longboats At The River Severn, Worcester.  (Approx. 2004)

Dresses For Hire, Worcester.  (Approx. 2004)

‘Minime’ The Cat, (Approx. 2005)

The Tracks To Oxford At Worcester.  (Approx. 2006)

Malvern Priory. (Approx. 2006)

Abandoned Warehouse At Worcester. (Approx. 2004)

Abandoned Warehouse At Worcester. (Approx. 2004)

Bill’s First Home, Stratford Upon Avon. (Approx. 2004)

On Lake Meade. (Approx. 2002)

Sunflowers Around Denver International Airport. (Approx 2001)

A House I Would Have Loved, Arvada, CO. (Approx. 1999)

The photos above are a random sampling of images taken at the turn of the century, mostly with my Hasselblad, then scanned.  They suffered for my inability at the time to self master the process of scanning.  Still, they demonstrate my vision in composition, and give me personal memories of living in several different places, such as with my first wife, then after our divorce, a stint of living in the back seat of my car.  Soon I found myself in the desert in southern Nevada, then cycling for years through the valleys and rolling hills of England.  Posting this on the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens brings to mind an appropriate quote to comment on these.  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”