Lockport NY

Growing up in a rust belt city (Buffalo) it was just as mesmerizing to learn how powerful and progressive the area used to be (shame I had to learn it on my own - why are schools so poor in local history?). Just like ancient Rome, a lot of that history has been knocked over by man or slowly reclaimed by nature. In some cases for higher purposes and in others to lay as empty fields or surface parking for decades. But also like Rome, there lay scattered many "ruins". Some of which feel like an American Pompeii, seemingly frozen in time as people were overnight locked out, never to be given a chance to say goodbye.

Old notes, novels, clothing etc rest here and there. Marked-up comic strips reveal workers mental release while dealing with a future that almost certainly was an end. Small personal touches such as strings of Christmas lights over a worker's bench makes one wonder about the character that used to work at it. The odor of machining oil, the touch of foundry sand bring old scenes to life amongst the silence. As interesting as it is to listen to blue collar worker stories from older relatives, walking amongst the ruins adds a whole other dimension.