Willy Wonka's Turf Wars

So there are these two houses in downtown Lapeer that are probably the most interesting landmarks in my little town. Each one is gaudily painted in the most cartoonish and eye-catching way, one of them numerous shades of violet, the other a combination of reds and greens along with little shapes and designs painted here and there on the siding. The red-and-green house reminds me a bit of those old Dutch dollhouses that would come with tiny figurines wearing lederhosen. (By the way, "lederhosen" isn't a word recognized by spell-check. How weird is that?)

And it's not like these houses are owned by a couple of rednecks who just love to paint their double-wides pretty colors, either. These are nice-sized, luxurious homes Honestly, I don't know if they were always like that, because I don't remember noticing them until I was in my teens.

The best thing about them, though, is that they're literally right across the street from each other. One can only assume the owners are having some sort of face-off to see which house gets more attention. So I'm going to help them end this debate once and for all.

Bring out the challengers!

Okay, if we're judging by pure gaudiness, I vote for the bottom house (henceforth called House #2). The combination of colors, the diamond designs on the upper siding, and hell, the little details on the guardrails, all come together to create an eye-catching masterpiece of the flamboyant. But wait, what is this...is that...exposed bricks?

Oh dear, that is a problem. House #1, besides its roof, is thuroughly painted down to the last windowpane. It may not be as bright and extravagant, but that works in its favor, the many shades of purple blending together to make a house that is both different, but very pleasing to look at. Honestly, while I'm not a fan of purple myself, I'm very intrigued by the paint-job itself.

However, this isn't a contest for the best house, it's a contest for the most eye-catching house, and how can you compete with a house that has Christmas wreaths and candy canes out all year-round? Short answer; you can't.

Track declares the winner to be House #2!

-Track

Some Hope Still Left

I've creatively sucked my town dry.

Or maybe it's the other way around, I'm not really sure. Any number of my friends can tell you that my hometown of Lapeer, Michigan and I haven't exactly gotten along over the past few years (or decade). I suppose that's not too surprising; after all, almost everyone everywhere has wanted to get out of the place they were born at one point. It gets boring, and we want to go out and experience life in other places. That's part of the process of growing older, it seems.

Hell, to an outsider, Lapeer would seem like your average small-town area. We have a quaint downtown strip full of buildings that have been around (and connected) to one-another for generations, not to mention acres and acres of farmland. The corn during the summer and autumn...shit, people keep saying that Nebraska has a lot of corn? There's not a town in Nebraska that has shit on Lapeer, Michigan.

Some would complain at the lack of a shopping mall (which they're currently building one, I believe) or any kind of major hang-out spot, but honestly, I have no qualms about that. Most of my free-time for the last 10 years has been spent at the movies, at my friends' houses, or exploring old abandoned buildings and train-tracks. Besides that, as much as I like buying things, I was never a mall brat, and I'd like to keep it that way.

So what gives? Why do I feel so much loathing towards this town? That's actually a fairly simple answer.

This place tries too hard to be something it's not.

That downtown section I mentioned a few paragraphs ago? Walk down it and you'll see a multitude of what used to be stores, now vacant and empty lots, large "FOR LEASE" signs plastered against the windows. In a few months, or maybe a year, one of those stores will be leased out to someone who thinks they have a great idea for a local store, and no matter how great their products are or attentive their customer service, ultimately it will be beat out and shut down by one of the multitude of convenience stores lining our major business routes.

That's the shame about the town. It's lost its identity as a small town, a large area now dedicated to the highway off-ramp and the plethora of fast-food joints and gas stations from one end of town to the next. Most of our local spots have been shoved into the background into places where they're hardly noticeable unless you're already aware of its existence. Which is a damn shame, because we've had some awesome local businesses go down because of shitty location.

Or worse, a local place went down because a chain moved in. Many people heard my ranting when Cup Of Joe's coffee shop went down after Starbucks moved in.

Therein lies my major problem. For me, the only pictures I feel majorly proud of are ones that I needed to take. Something that I see and think I would like to share with others. Where can I find that in Lapeer?

Near the McDonald's?

Now, I've seen some amazing pictures come out of Lapeer, either from friends of mine or other local photographers. And that's great, really. But personally, I feel nothing when I try to capture moments around this town. The sidewalks are mostly empty during the winter, and even in the summer time, there's almost no spots where people just sit and relax out in the open outside of the parks. Everyone's going somewhere, at all times, and usually, where they're going is related to errands.

In essence, it feels to me like Lapeer is one big pit-stop. It has what you need as you pass through, but nothing interesting enough to make you stay. And judging by how M-24 looks, it seems to me like that's exactly what the town wants to be.

It's a bit different, photography-wise, if you have a model in you picture, but I'll get into that some other time.

However, despite that little rant of mine, the town is not completely lost just yet. New local businesses have spread out here-and-there trying to stand out from the monotony (here's a small shout-out to River Street Music Cafe'), and if you know where to look, there's still an interesting picture to take. Unsurprisingly, it's usually tied to some of the old infrastructure.

I'm actually quite proud of this picture.

And if you'll allow me to promote the hell out of myself, this picture can be purchased at my AWESOME ETSY PAGE! There's not a large amount up just yet, but more will come. I'm planning on a new addition every week, maybe more if I get popular enough/have a creativity streak.

I'm think this Friday I'm going on a big adventure. Maybe I'll discover some new place in this town that I've never seen before.

Chances are, it's going to have to be out in the woods somewhere.

-Track