August 11, 2009

Thank you, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan. Sitting in the fourth row of the Merrill on August 6, listening to these two men speak about the National Parks film, a project that took them 10 years to complete, inspired me to do something more with my life. My work has slowed down quite a bit... I can still pay the bills, and I can't leave town for an extended time, but I can resurrect a project that I started two years ago and, like all others, abandoned.

I am a real estate appraiser, have been for 16 years... I still can't believe I have done the same work for 16 years. I work for myself and by myself, and I love the work. Since I will go just about anywhere in the state of Maine to do an appraisal, I have seen a lot of the state that most people have not. I take back roads when I can, and give myself enough time to look around. I began taking photos of interesting things (lots of old buildings, lots of little tiny houses, funny cows, interestng mailboxes) about two years ago. I have a collection of them, and I take photos almost every time I go out.

As my situation right now prevents me from doing the cross country oddessey I have been planning since 1977, I can at least explore more of the back roads of Maine. There are a lot of really strange and interesting sights that most people miss. So this is my mission: to travel and photograph the back roads of Maine, and keep a journal of where I have been.

My navigator is my 100 pound, 9 year old Chesapeake Japhy Ryder, who has been riding in the car with me since he was 6 weeks old. I drive a red 1998 Hyundai Elantra, which I call an old ladies car. I feel invisible in this car because it looks like every other little 4 door sedan on the road, but, it gets good gas mileage, runs well, I own it free and clear (thank you, Uncle Edson), and since it is full of dog hair, I don't worry about getting it dirty.