January 15, 2008 – I’ve had a love hate relationship with the Internet for years. I wrote for Wired, Rolling Stone, Hotwired, Slashdot, the Freedom Forum and other sites during the brief era when I was absolutely convinced the Net would spread democracy, preserve freedom and alter the democratic and non-democratic world.
I have a more nuanced view these days, of that and everyone else, but I still love the Internet, and today offered a couple of good reasons why.
Last night, I posted photos of these amazing musician, Sonny Thomson, and misspelled his last name. I got several e-mails first thing this morning correcting my error, one from the very gracious Steve Kovacik of Scotia, who not only loves black Labs but has repaired Sonny Thomson’s guitar a number of times. Steve repairs and custom builds guitars, and helps musicians all over the world. He told me a bit about Sonny, including the fact that has been playing and singing for years in the Adirondack region, and is one of the last of a number of Adirondack country musicians who used to sing and play on country radio. Thomson (I posted a number of his pictures here and on the photo journal yesterday) has one of those faces photographers have to love, and it was a joy to hear him sing.
It’s great to get the correct spelling of this talented musician, and also some bio. Shortly after that, I got an amazing e-mail from Mike Huggins, who lives, (I think) in California. He saw a photo – Snowscape-Argyle-that I posted yesterday, and, being a geologist, figure out where the farm was from seeing the picture.
Mike says he gets to Argyle once a year or so and, being a geologist, was curious about the photo. “My guess is Kinney Road, about a half-mile west of Rt. 40, looking west at the late John Kinney’s old farm. Basically, it’s the N-NE oriented long-axis hill on the right that’s my main clue – It’s a drumlinoid – a bedrock hill sculpted by the last ice sheet, with the long axis in the line of glacial advance (S-SW). Based on this and the overall landforms, the Taconics east of Rte. 40 (and south of the village) and the glacial lake plain of Durkeetown/Town of Fort Edward are ruled out. But also, it also fits muy general memories of that road.”
Well, that was the road and that’s the farm, a place I rush to take photos when there is weather, because the farm sits out on a hill and offers silhouettes and is ghostly. And has jutting silos. Silos evoke, for me, the drama of farming, the semingly intractable inability of family farms to be economical and survive, and the beauty and struggle of family farms.
I feel I made two new and good friends, right off the bat, first thing in the morning. Two interesting, well-informed and gifted people bothered to correct me, teach, amaze and inform me while I was sitting on my butt.
Thanks to both of you, for the great messages – it is really nice of Steve to honor this talented musician by making sure his name was spelled properly and staggering to think Mike could identify the exact farm from the photo – and for reminding me of what is best and most promising about the Net.
Snowscape – Argyle
