Old, Abandoned Places and Objects

 I took this shot at Mt. Zion Cemetery.  African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War are buried here.  They were featured in the movie "Glory."  For more photos from the cemetery, see my flickr set.

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you probably know that I love to take road trips to Outta the Way places.  I love historical places, old abandoned buildings and areas and basically any place that is not on the beaten path or is interesting and odd.  I especially love old cemeteries and graves.

I also love old "stuff."  I love old hardware, a vintage chandelier that has fallen apart, manual typewriters, etc.  

While I am drawn to these places and items, I have never really thought about why.  Mostly, I believe that we need to preserve what we have left of our natural habitat.  I love when I am in an old building that is still intact or has been reused for something else.  (A barn that has been around for hundreds of years, an old factory that's now a restaurant and store, a covered bridge....)  

I hate when I see a beautifully wooded or grassy area that is stripped away for a business...or worse...a strip mall.  I get angry.  I wonder why they don't use an empty building somewhere else instead of destroying what little untouched land we have left.  I think about how much more interesting it would be if they would have fixed up an old abandoned building.

Additionally, I think that I just love history.  I never liked it in school because it seemed so "boring."  But, when you are looking at actual items that were used, or are in an actual historical building, or at the grave of someone who helped make our country what it is, it really makes history more real. 

Finally, I think there is something about the actual look and feel of old things that just cannot be recreated in new objects.  It's more than the rust and the peeling paint.  That can actually be recreated.  These items have a past and a history.  Maybe we can't actually hear it, or even know what that history is, but the history is there nonetheless and we can sense it.

What are your feelings about old abandoned places or objects?  What do you love (or hate) about them?