cemeteries

I'm kind of fascinated by cemeteries. They're interesting places. Maybe because they represent the unknown. There are different beliefs about what happens to you when you die. I believe that the soul moves on to another place, depending on where you put your faith while you're alive. So what remains in the grave is really just the "shell" of the person who inhabited that body. The life is gone. But cemeteries give us a connection to those who have passed away. We can visit their graves and remember their lives. . .the only visible evidence being a tombstone, or some kind of marker, to let us know who's buried there. On this Memorial Day, we can reflect on family, friends or even enemies who have left this life forever. Gone but not forgotten.

time

Time is defined as indefinite continued progress of existence. It marches on and stops for no one. It's marked by watches, clocks, calendars and other timepieces that measure it. A photograph captures a moment in time and allows us to look back into the past. But in reality, that moment was like a vapor, here and gone. It slips away like the sand through an hourglass. When we're young, time moves slowly. As we get older, time goes by much too quickly. . .and there's just not enough of it.

doors

Doors are made in many different shapes, sizes and colors and from various materials. They serve as both entrances and exits, depending on whether you're coming or going. A famous L.A. band was even named The Doors.

gas stations

I remember when I was a young boy, going to my grandparent's home in Los Angeles. There was a gas station just around the corner and my parents would often pull in there to fill up the tank. Gas was $0.25 a gallon. It was the late 1960s. Today, gas is roughly $4 a gallon. Gas stations are no longer "service stations", where an attendant would pump the gas for you, check the air in the tires and clean the windshield. All with a smile. There are still a few of the old style stations standing, even if the antique gas pumps no longer work. Unfortunately, the newer stations just don't have the same character. But as long as we continue to drive gas-powered vehicles, there will be gas stations. Even in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium.