52

 Somewhere in West Texas. August 2011.

 Grapevine, Texas. September 2011.

Dallas, Texas. September 2011.

This is never going to end and

your hangovers just keep getting worse and

everything just keeps getting stranger and

from the sky the ground seems like a nightmare

51

 Ross Lake, North Cascade Range, Washington. August 2011.

Washington Pass, North Cascade Range, Washington. August 2011.

Vacation in a beautiful place-

your worries slip away

50

New Orleans, Louisiana. July 2011.

A windowless hotel room and a lot of rain

time killed reading at the hotel bar

disconnect

dirty streets

49

Indianapolis, Indiana. July 2011.

In the cold light of dawn, and from this height
every city is just a matrix of silent blinks
just a whispered kiss, an ephemeral promise
somehow it's no different than a glassy morning ocean

"The moon had been observing the Earth close-up longer than anyone. It must have witnessed

all of the phenomena occurring - and all of the acts carried out - on this earth. But the moon

remained silent; it told no stories. All it did was embrace the heavy past with cool, measured

detachment. On the moon there was neither air nor wind. Its vacuum was perfect for preserving

memories unscathed. No one could unlock the heart of the moon."

-Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

48

Linton, Indiana. July 2011.

There's nothing like a day off on a lake.

47

Houston, Texas. July 2011.

Three Days in the Omni Hotel

46

45

Dauphin Island, off the coast of Mobile, Alabama. June 2011.

The faint sound of the waves crashing echoes down the tunnels and passageways

in this empty fortress by the sea.

 

Fort Gaines 

44 - INTERLUDE

I don't ever want this to get too serious despite the fact
that I'm suddenly reluctant to break the fourth wall...

However: (when I say "however" I really mean Fuck It)

Here are candid accounts of two of my business trips.

Written when it was all in the very, very recent past (candid, unabridged, honest, crass, etc.)

Love always,

Cade.

San Francisco, January/February 2011: A Brief Word About My Job

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 2011: Cedar Rapids, Where Hope Goes to Die

43

Montgomery, Alabama. June 2011.

In Montgomery you stay in a La Quinta by the highway

and venture downtown when you have the time.

It is 100 degrees outside.

Physically, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to the city

but they do have some great monuments

the type your Northern upbringing did not prepare you for.

Thus, you are sweating constantly but fascinated consistently.

In a patch of shade by the capital you lie down with your camera next to your head

close your eyes

you're a long way from anything and you're in Alabama for a good while

Birmingham held confusion, heat, elevators, and a desperate escape to a nearby forest

a forest where you were taunted by hearts knifed into tree trunks

where the cicadas or whatever drowned out your thoughts

it was beautiful regardless.

Here it's all highways and plazas and emptiness

some dead leaves at the feet of a statue. Sweat.

You've just turned 25 and the best part of the week

was watching the raindrops run up the windshield as you flew down the highway.

You're headed to Mobile in a few days, Mobile's on the coast.

That can't be a bad thing, no way.