Letting go…

Eventually spring rolled around, and my graduation would be very soon. It was 1992

and I was hard at work on my senior thesis. That ended up being a slide show documenting the restoration of the house that was set to music. Plus a display of artifacts from the house. Being that this was a art college, the thesis was presented at one of the school’s galleries. I invited anyone who had anything to do with Bloomfield, along with family and friends, to the opening night. It did not turn out quite as well as I had hoped, mostly because the gallery space my class was originally supposed to be able to use was found to be contaminated with asbestos. That was an old building in Baltimore that would have been a much cooler location for what I was doing, but it was not to be. But the show went on, and I got my final grade.

Soon it was summertime and the contractor was finally finished up with every aspect of the restoration. It was at this time that Bloomfield was to be listed for sale. I still retained the key to the mansion, but of course with the understanding I would turn it over to the contractor once the house sold. Most of my photography work was now done, though I did do a little more that summer. I held out hope that once the house sold, the new owners would allow me to do some photography once it was fully furnished. This ended up being the case when Bloomfield sold early that fall. But at that point I was doing mostly 16mm film projects, as my graduation ended up being put on hold because I was, for some unknown reason, missing a few credit hours. I shot mostly black and white and some color reels of the house, all of which are still on film. One day I suppose I should have them copied so I can view them again. And share them with others. I kept in touch with the owners while I finishing up with school, but then, we went our separate ways. As with the contractor, I provided the owners with copies of photos of the restoration process so they could see how their house was restored.

To make a long story short, I finally received my degree about a year and a half later, and the years went by. I did not keep up with the present owners any more. Somehow I heard that they moved out after living there for about eight years. I have no idea who lives there now.

Part of me always wants to take a drive past Bloomfield, which would not be hard to do as it is only a couple of miles from my mom’s house. It is buried within a huge subdivision so it is no longer visible from the road. I would have to drive back in there to see it. But another part of me does not, as I think it would make me sad. Kind of like seeing an old friend, but being unable to actually make contact with them. Or, even if you could make contact, would things ever be the same as they once were? Many things in life are like a fallen bridge in that you can never get back to the side you left some time ago. This bridge was never burned; it just crumbled away from the passage of time. But I am comforted in the knowledge that Bloomfield will still be there, just as it was once the restoration was complete. No matter who owns it. Barring flood, fire or natural disaster it will always remain.