June 16, Napanoch.
The Napanoch Valley mall is a familiar sight.
We played here two years ago; it came back as we pulled in, the only sign of change a lot more weeds. It has been a constant sight along the road these past two years: a strip mall gone extinct, sitting empty but filling the area around it with its neglect. It is a familiar sight but no less gripping for it, this ubiquitous sight of an economy gone bad at the most basic level, affecting a whole community along with its demise, the loss of jobs only second to the loss of that vitality which makes a neighborhood, a small town.
This mall now sometimes hosts a flea market site on week ends, the Ames sign in the marquee is ripped and fading, the trace of a store long gone, cracks and craters in the parking lot, where the circus is, bits of pavement on the ground, and detritus, broken glass, weeds taking over.
Several New York correctional facilities are a few miles up the road.
2 comments:
Came to see the show last night. Saw Friedman briefly. You might remember me from Circus Chimera. I ran the office. Alejandro and Benjamin are my brother in laws. Love your pics. Reminds me of when we worked on KMC.
I remember now. So great to have you on board!
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