Sunday, April 07, 2013

Iron Horses Sent To Pasture

Over the years mankind has developed a long time appreciation of the wheel. This love affair dates all the way back to the days of cavemen and their rolling carts. Where would we be today without the convenience of this ageless invention. Yet, during Egyptian times those antiquated carts had become obsolete and were upgraded into wagons and chariots and now pulled by the much stronger and more reliable source of horses and donkeys. As the streamlining process of this invention became popular four wheeled wagons became decorated with ornamented schemes while being customized to suit their owners. Soon they became a status symbols and even began transporting kings and queens to their destinations. Years later when migrating to the West, the wagon train even carried our pioneering forefathers across the country. But in the twentieth century Henry Ford invented the iron horse as the newly designed vehicle had taken the world by storm. By the time the industrial revolution began Detroit was churning-out those babies by the thousands. Yes, looking back, these noble four wheeled mechanisms have come a very long way. However, here's where that sequence of revolving modernizations and upgrades to the all-mighty iron horse starts to pile-up. Literally. You see, when these mobile work horses get old and no longer needed, you can't just bury them. Plus, they don't just disappear into thin air. Dated and out of service vehicles don't dissolve or melt either. They just sit there in a stationary position while rusting and offering a eye sore to some. Yet to many others, and depending upon one's own perspective, they offer some delightful eye candy for the existing landscape. Me thinks these proverbial dead soldiers can be a photographer's playground and provide a delightful backdrop for one's imagination. So, with that being the theme of our latest posting let's view this picturesque story titled, Iron Horses Sent To Pasture.

Iron Horse # 1 appears to be an old two-toned Packard
 
Iron Horse #2 sits out of service but held together nicely through the decades

Iron Horse # 3 was at one time Mr. Nicholson's best truck
 
Iron Horse # 4 still displays it's truck bed weight capacity
 
Iron Horse # 5 is an old Dodge truck that Grandpa couldn't part with
 
Iron Horse # 6 is a rusty Chevrolet truck basking in the sun 
 
Iron Horse # 7 is a beautiful red firetruck that still draws attention
 
Iron Horse # 8 is laid to rest in a mess of honeysuckle vines
 
Iron Horse # 9 is a proud Chevrolet 6400 truck and still looking good 
 
Iron Horse # 10 is our favorite and once the pride of Island Masonry
 
Now days it seems we are more concerned with the mounting numbers of space junk floating in our atmosphere. That accumulation of high tech metal is perhaps the modern day debris that has been put out to pasture. Perhaps some day an ambitious young photographer with venture out and tackle that noble chore while revealing their findings for all of us to analyze and enjoy. We hope so!
 
(c) Copyrighted photos and story 2013 All rights reserved Rauls Media LLC