Monday, October 16, 2006

Kutztown, Pa.

Salad days; or, revisiting the place where I lived for five years.






9 comments:

oxeye said...

The hometown of Keith Haring.. Ever meet him?

Michael said...

No. But I was good friends with his cousin. She gave me a great book of his art. I used to walk by his garage studio all the time.

Michael said...

I should add that the Haring name is pretty common in the Kutztown area. It's a big family. If I recall what his cousin told me -- and I'm peering back through more than 20 years of mist and fog -- Keith had a hard time with his family because of his homosexuality. But, in the end, nothing succeeds like success. Keith didn't spend much time in Kutztown after he hit it big.

Matt Kohai said...

What was life like for you there for five years?

Michael said...

Clean air. Quiet mornings. Clip-clop of Amish buggies on Main Street heading to church on Sundays. Farmers markets. Rolling hills. Pennsylvania German-accented English. Hot summers. Cold winters. Miles of cornfields ...

Matt Kohai said...

Any drawbacks? Besides no blogs...

Michael said...

It's a small town with few job possibilities (I had graduated from the college there and stayed on as a "townie" and worked at mostly menial jobs). The main drawback was that I didn't have a car and traveled exlusively by bicycle. But I got to explore a lot of the surrounding area as a result.

YourFireAnt said...

The photograph of the road with the tree in the distance, the wire overhead, it's haunting. And beckoning. I really enjoy your eye.

FA

Michael said...

Hi FA,

Thank you kindly. I've been into film photography for more than 25 years and just recently got back into it in a big way with the purchase of a digital SLR. I just couldn't do the things I wanted to do with my little digital point-and-shoot.
Anyway, it's nice to have recourse to photos. Sometimes, words are odious.