Faces

I am in my mid thirties. Ok fine, smack dab in the middle, I am thirty five. I am just now starting to see how the development in my small town is really emerging. We are still really far away from being a pedestrian friendly city, but I like to believe the thought process is there and in place.

I used to think I lived in the most boring town in the United States. There wasn’t anything to do. We didn’t have any theme parks, famous restaurants or elaborate hotels. We were known for our casino docked on a river boat. The casino eventually moved to land. The closest amusement park is Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN just a 45 minute drive. Don't get me wrong, Holiday World is a lot of fun, I just wanted some variety as a kid. I don't even know that I knew what I wanted, I could simply feel a void.

Evansville lies in a very southern part of Indiana. In just 20 minutes you can be in Henderson, KY. In just 2.5-3 hours you can be in Nashville, TN or Louisville, KY. In about 9 hours you can be in Panama City Beach, FL. I think that is why I didn’t completely hate my town. Road trips are kind of a midwest thing, as least that is what I am claiming, and I’ve been on my fair share of them.

When the pandemic hit, we paused everything about life. We went through thinking this was going to last a few weeks, to a few months, and now we are ten months into the pandemic. I found myself searching on Google and Pinterest Things to do during a pandemic. I was shocked at the number of articles, ideas, and suggestions that were already populating. In a world that felt like it was falling apart, there was still this thin slice of creators out there trying to bring color to a grim time.

In my neighborhood, a couple of ladies left cards on every house on our street. There was an introductory letter on who they were and where they lived. They included two pieces of colored paper. One was green and one was read. The instructions were simple: Having a bad day and needing to talk (from a distance)? Put the red card in your window. Are you doing ok and don’t need to talk? Put the green card in your window. Knowing our neighbors were there for us was the sweetest notion. Call it my age or detective nature, I looked them both up on facebook and friend requested them. I later befriended one of them and am so glad I did! We have more in common than I would have imagined.

It doesn’t stop there! The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana gave people at home challenges to complete virtually. One of them was drawing a portrait of yourself and then submitting it to them to present in a virtual exhibit. They also continued with several other exhibits virtually. While I would have loved for them to be in person, that just wasn’t an option for 2020. Musicians were creating their content by streaming live. My sons guitar lessons and my daughters ballet lessons moved to Zoom. We found instructions on how to paint our windows to look like stained glass. Someone down the street from me, cut up old jeans and painted inspirational words on them and hung them in a string-like fashion on their fence. Art was everywhere, not in the same sense that we have come to grow and love, but people were still creating.

As a photographer, I had just started a brand new project that was really gaining traction. I had planned on taking photos for each birth year spanning from 1920-2020. I was going to put them all in a book and call it “Faces of Evansville 1920-2020”...or something like that. My project was even picked up by a local radio station and I had a ton of applications coming into my email inbox. The amount of devastation I felt to put my project on hold is immeasurable.

Small businesses were also taking a massive hit. Some have already closed and many are still struggling. I like to believe that our community came together the best we could by supporting them. Whether that be buying gift cards, making purchases, or even sharing a social media post. I know it isn’t enough, but from my small circle, I feel like we are all trying. After all, that’s the best you can do in a pandemic right? Try. All in all, my hometown isn’t so bad. Do I dream of living in a big city? Sure! Would I actually live in a big city? Probably not. My city continues to evolve, expand, and new entrepreneurs are determined to bring some really cool ideas to the table. So if you're feeling a little down, just put on a pillow case like a superhero and collect your mail like a boss. I’m sticking around to see where we go.