Recently, I had the opportunity to go exploring. I really enjoy exploring--at least my version of it. It is what my grandmother would call plundering. Those in the legal profession would probably call it trespassing. As I went about this day looking at real estate lots for sale and nearby woods and swamps not for sale, I happened across this old Ford at the edge of a swamp. It is, in fact, about 1/3 submerged in water and was barely visible from where I was passing by. I have learned from years of hunting and viewing deer to watch for horizontal lines in the woods that seem unnatural. When I spotted the roofline of this vehicle, it looked at first like a '56 Chevy. After fighting the briars and considering where the cotton-mouth moccasin I had seen earlier was now, I got close enough to see that it was actually a '56 Ford. It had obviously been sitting in this spot at least 2 decades. A tree had grown through a hole in the back panel and where the rear window would have been. The tree is probably 10 or 12 years old. What really struck me about the remains of the car was the Fordomatic emblem still intact on the rear. The symbolism of the ultra-modern moniker Fordomatic that heralded Ford's innovation in automatic transmissions clinging to this shell of a car, long forgotten, made a striking impression on me. I decided to take some pictures and had my camera in the truck because I was taking it to the camera shop for repairs (the duct tape I applied while backpacking was slipping). Naturally, the camera would not cooperate. So I did the only logical thing. I drove to the camera shop for parts (they weren't much help). But with expensive new batteries and more duct tape I returned to my "find" and took pictures. Lots of pictures. The two above show the tree growing as if every '56 Ford should have a Popcorn tree growing through the back window and the distinctive fin and tail light that show it is indeed a '56. The small picture was harvested from the internet and is of a restored '56. If you look closely in the shadow of the Continental kit spare tire, you can see the Fordomatic emblem on it as well. Seems like a fitting representation of how we get so excited about the newest and best "stuff" and just have to have it. Even now, when I see the restored '56 Ford, there is some craving to posses it. If only we could always see 2 or 3 decades down the road.
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4 comments:
Very good photography...especially coming from a camara that has duct tape on it. Goes to show it's the operator, not the machine, that does the good and the bad.
Do you wonder how the car got there? I do. My mind has been wandering, trying to figure it out.
Actually, Jamey, I also took several pictures of a panel truck nearby that was further out in the water. They are in the area off Wares Ferry Road that most people call Froggy Bottom. It is part of hundreds of acres owned by the McClemores. Near where I found the cars there is a cluster of Chinaberry trees that usually indicates a house was there at one time. There is also a fig tree that has spread out and become entangled with other shrubs and trees. No doubt, somebody lived there many years ago and just parked the vehicles out back when they quit running. Now there is virtually no trace of the house and the cars are slowly being swallowed by the swamp.
You should give Ashley a copy of that pic on the top right so she can make it into a painting. I like that one.
Very nice pictures
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