Evelyn Hazen entered college at the young age of 14. She was a young, naive girl, raised by a very proper victorian woman. She falls in love with a man named Ralph Scharringhaus.
Sex
For over 15 years, the two have a relationship. They start having sex early on. She agrees with the promise of marriage. There are several love letters where he talks about when they will get married. But he continually delays marriage with excuses and lies.
The Lawsuit
When Ralph breaks it off with Evelyn, she feels lost and afraid. She is in her early 30s and her reputation is in tatters. So, she files a lawsuit against Ralph for breach of promise of marriage and seduction. Image what it was like for her in the 1930s, to have the whole world know that she had sexual relations outside of marriage. She was embarrassed and devastated. But stood up for herself and did what she had to do. Want to know more? Listen to the podcast on touristinyourtownpodcast.com
Prints of the above images are available, just click on the pics!
I recently traveled to downtown Cincinnati Ohio for an episode of Tourist in your Town, my travel podcast. While there, I managed to capture a few photos. Prints are available, just click on the image and it will take you straight to the page!
Ezzard Charles
Ezzard Charles, also known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American boxer and former World Heavyweight Champion. Some say he is the greatest boxer of all time. I don’t know a thing about boxing, so I’m not the one to ask. I do know that this mural is a great tribute to a local hero.
Ezzard Charles Mural
The Skystar Ferris Wheel
This ferris wheel is located right on the banks of the Ohio River. This view is from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. You can see Northern Kentucky just across the river.
Skystar Ferris Wheel
Empty Warehouse
This image was taken as we walked through the warehouse to enter the underground tunnels on our walking tour.
Inside a local warehouse
If you want to know more about my visit, be sure to listen to the podcast. You can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can also visit the website, Tourist in your Town.
If you are looking for travel photography, be sure to visit my gallery.
I recently visited Asheville for my travel podcast, Tourist in your Town. I did several walking tours, ate some great food, and drank some excellent beer while there. Oh and I took some photos. I enjoyed my visit and will definitely return to this town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
At Dusk
The Orange Peel, in downtown Asheville, NCWicked Weed Brewery in Asheville, NC
After Dark
Double D’s double decker bus after dark.The Orange Peel marquee at nightIt’s after dark and the church’s entry is lit up in this image from downtown Asheville, NC
On my recent trip to Asheville, NC, I took a walking tour with a company called Hood Huggers International. The tour features the history of African-Americans in Asheville, as well as a look to the future of the community. The tours founder, Dewayne Burton, took me to an area called “The Block”. The block is an area of downtown Asheville that was once a thriving African-American Community. Burton is very involved with his community and is working hard to improve the lives of African=Americans, not just in Asheville but in the United States. He has created a new “green” book that features black owned businesses in Asheville and is hoping to expand the book. If you want to know more about my tour, you can listen to the Podcast here.
I recently started a podcast called Tourist in Your Town. The most recent episode is Asheville, North Carolina. While there, I got the chance to take some great photos of the area and learn about the rich history of the town.
Courthouse and City Hall
We all know that I have thing for courthouses. The Buncombe County Courthouse and the Asheville City Hall stand side by side in the Historic district. The City Hall was originally built to be the courthouse, but it was never used for that purpose. The art deco architecture of the city hall is so detailed and beautiful. The courthouse is a much more utilitarian building with an overlay of Neo-Classical ornament applied.
So, here I am starting something new. I’m almost 48 and feel a little too old to be starting over with something I know nothing about. I have decided to start a travel podcast. It’s called Tourist in Your Town. Head over to the website and check it out.
I know nothing about audio recording or editing. But I guess I’ll learn. I thought this might be a good thing for me to try. I love to travel and I love to talk about it. So, it seems a logical step for me.
I have 2 episodes out now and am having a great time with it! Give it a listen!
After school, I got a job that offered
the opportunity to learn Photoshop. This was back in the early days
of digital life. I started on Photoshop 2.0. There were no layers and
you only go 1 undo. So, we would just save several different versions
of the file, in case we screwed up or changed our minds. I did that
job for several years. Then moved on to a job that allowed me to
learn other programs, like Quark Express. Remember that? I was a pro
at it. But I had an early midlife crisis (early 30s) and decided
that I needed to work with animals. So, I quit my steady job and
entered the world of animal rescue.
Wild Whiskers
Animal rescue is a rabbit hole that
sucks you in. It’s a depressing world where you just want to scream
and cry all the time. But there are those rewarding moments when you
find that perfect home for a cat or dog or rabbit. If you are really
lucky, that home isn’t your own. Yes, we have saved many. Some of
them even went to live with someone else. But it didn’t take long for
me to realize I needed a real job, making real money. Also, I got
fired and had to move on (a story for another day).
The New York Times
I got an easy job where I just used
Photoshop again. I was making great money doing it, too. Sure, I
worked nights and weekends and holidays. But I was fine there. I had
few issues with it. I had zero ambition and was fine being a
Photoshop grunt for the rest of my days. Then, the shit hit the fan
as they say. It was the newspaper business. If you’ve been paying
attention, this world crumbled into a chasm of layoffs and mass
exodus when the recession hit. Newspapers were still making money and
profits. But they panicked and began lay people off in droves. I was
not one of those people. Instead, I was left behind. My workplace was
now bitter and everyone was terrified of showing up to work and the
doors would be locked. Nobody was happy. I could not stand it
anymore, so I decided I needed to move on. Maybe this was where I
screwed up.
Fall up the stairs
This is when I got my “dream” job.
There has never been a job more suited to a person than this job was
for me. It was for a company that made pet products. My job would be
to retouch the photos for packaging, advertising, etc. And do some
product photography while coordinating lifestyle photo shoots. Of
course, I had never coordinated anything in my life and had zero
experience with product photography. But my Photoshop skills got me
the job. After six months on the job, my ambition woke up and I
wanted to be a photographer. I wanted to be the one taking the photos
of the animals with the products. So, I started learning and doing.
Life was good. Zoom forward to more recent times (2 years ago) and
find me not so happy any more. Budget cuts made things difficult
because we couldn’t get equipment or locations like we had
previously. Also, even though I was now doing all the shooting, I was
also doing the coordinating. I needed help. Cut to almost a year ago,
I got fired. I was told my position was being cut. They no longer
needed me. The real kicker? Two weeks later, they posted my job on
the job sites.
Not so perfect fit
So what now? A dream I didn’t know I
had has been destroyed. I was left hanging. I thought I would start
my own business doing freelance commercial work. I thought I was
ready. But, turns out, I don’t trust myself. I took the first job
that came along. It’s a fine job. I now do product photography for a
local restaurant supply company. I’m a grunt. Benefits aren’t great
and I’m bored out of my mind already.
Thus the point of this whole thing.
Where do I go from here? Do I rebury my ambition for more? Just
squash down and accept my fate? Yes, I’ve tried looking for other
jobs. But there aren’t very many photo careers available in my area.
I could move, but my family is not ready for that at this time. And I
really do like where I live. There it is in a nutshell. Stuck. In a
hole of my own making.
I’m a 40+, closer to the just under 50 group actually and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I see young people, in their 20s and 30s, who know exactly what they want to do with their lives. They have a plan and they are following it. It can be depressing and frustrating for me to see people so put together when I feel like so lost and unsure. I know there are jokes about midlife crises for men and women. And there is teen angst. But right now, this feels like midlife angst.
Grain Silos somewhere in Illinois
When I first started my “dream job”,
over 6 years ago, there was a young co-worker who got a job offer
from a different company. I could not understand why she would want
to leave such a great place. She seemed happy and on a great career
path there. But she explained that she had a specific plan. She had
always planned to leave and go to this next level, it was just
happening earlier than she expected. I understood it. But I didn’t
“get” it. Because I never had a plan.
Train Station
Well, that’s not true. In college, I
had a plan. I would go to graduate school, get my masters and then
become a tenured professor at a small private college. Lots of people
are laughing at me right now. Go easy on me, at the time, it was not
as pipe dreamy as it is now. Also, it was in Fine Arts, so no need
for a PhD. However, I did not get into grad school. This left me
dangling in the wind and maybe a little scared. But I was young and
thought I’d just get a decent job and try for grad school the next
year. That did not happen.
Roots in bottles
I never tried again for grad school. Once I started working full-time, I got used to having things, like regular food and clothes and a bank account. Going back to school was not in the cards for me. Do I regret that now? Sometimes, but I am definitely NOT going back to school at this point in my life. So, it doesn’t matter, does it?
They say to keep blogs short and sweet, so I will make this midlife angst business a series for you to read over time. The images in this installment were all taken either in college or just after (over 25 years ago).
I recently went through my photos from Cuba. When I originally sorted and worked my images from that trip, I did not find these interesting. Or they didn’t represent what I was feeling at the time. I have to admit I don’t remember. But on the revisit, I fell in love with Cuba all over again. Enjoy these “new” images!
Rural Cuba
Images from a trip through the countryside. We visited a baseball team, a historic coffee plantation and farm restaurant.
A man feeds the chickens at a farm restaurant in rural Cuba
The El Curujey restaurant is a farm restaurant in rural Cuba
The entrance to the bleachers of a baseball field in rural Cuba.
Coffee Flats for drying coffee beans
Urban Cuba
I found myself fascinated with many different styles of architecture, including Art Deco, Colonial, and Spanish. They would often all be on the same building.
The Santa Clara Libra hotel in Santa Clara, Cuba
Iglesia de Santa Ana Church facade in Trinidad, Cuba
Art Deco style architecture is evident in many of the urban areas
Two people sit at a small table, waiting for the day’s crowds to appear.
A street scene from urban Cuba
Street scene in urban Cuba
I hope you enjoy these images from Cuba as much as I enjoyed taking them! Prints are available of these and other photos from Cuba here.
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