Once a month there is a gathering of a few photographers downtown, and we shoot to the theme of the day.   Of course the other photographers all had big fancy cameras, with giant lenses and thick neck straps to show that they are serious about this.   I had my little point and shoot on a wrist strap.   Photography was the original hobby that made you look absent-minded  as you focus on what might make a great shot (now the thing that makes people absent-minded is staring at their phone while attempting to walk down the street).

We were down by the old train station.

It has never been a passenger train station in the time that I have lived here,  although my friend said she actually took a train from here many long years ago when she was a child.   Then it was a popular restaurant for many years.  We would go there to eat Reuben sandwiches (grilled corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese) and watch the freight trains  and coal carriers as they passed by.   It’s a lovely building, built to last.  I believe at one time it was a Harvey House, back when passenger travel was possible.  Now it sits empty, and homeless people congregate in the park across the street.

These were my “artistic” shots.

They do look different shot in black and white.

There is a mural nearby that celebrates the past.   This appears to show an old guy being dragged onto the train.   What’s this about?

 

The lone figure in front of the train seems rather sinister,  reminiscent of Simon Legree, the stock villain of melodrama.  That beard and mustache is rather suspicious.

The weight and fate machine was not forgotten in this mural.

This bit shows tourists perusing a sign, perhaps looking a little lost.   They’re here, now what?   Some things never change.