The Old Coal Trail

I don't have many words tonight.  In February of 2012 we took an unexpected and  bittersweet trip to Richmond, Virginia when my husband Steve's Uncle Rob had passed.   After the funeral we headed down to Smithfield, Virginia to see our Grandson.  We were sad, and in memory of Uncle Rob we made a decision.  Uncle Rob had been many places from West Coast to East Coast, North to South seeing many things along the way.  We decided to take the long way home meandering through towns and seeing different things.  From this choice came photos, and a song "The Old Coal Trail".   I chose this picture of all the pictures I had because it is such a graphic image of the desolation and deterioration of some of the areas we drove through. I think what suprised me the most were the houses, settling into the cold ground with broken railings, missing windows, and sagging roofs.  People were living in them,these were their homes.  They  peered from around curtains as my shutter clicked, watching us as we watched them.  I wanted to talk to them to find out their stories, but this was not the trip nor the time.

The Old Coal Trail