On The Way

On nice days I walk down to the canal nearby my place of work. The arched stonework tunnel dates back to shortly before the Civil War - the corrugated cement ridgesin the upper foreground are more recent - the floor of a Reynolds Metals foil plant which is built above this very spot. I'm not kidding.

There was quite a row between the company and local citizens about the location of the plant when it was built- long before my time- apparently there were quite a few persons who wanted to preserve the canal, bridges and tunnels.

During the American Civil War , Fallentown was the capital city of the losing side- pretty much everything that could get burned down was torched by the winners towards the War's end.
They were thorough about this, the goal being to leave nothing standing save rocks, bricks and the odd metal railing- so perhaps the inherited memory of this vast destruction contributed to the fervent protest at Reynold's original plan to destroy it all during construction. Or maybe it was just cheaaper this way.
Whatever the cause, a fair portion remains intact to this day


This piano-shaped chunk of stone means a great deal to me. Many years ago I used to sneak down here with someone I never should have been in love with. We'd get high and fool around and laugh about everything, including the fact that we were doing it all whilst on the clock.

Today, the trees hiding it have been cut down and the path to it has been allowed to overgrow.
There's now a parking lot directly behind me as I take this pic. This used to be a private place, but no more.
Some good times we had, this rock and I.