Fading Glory

Fading Glory, originally uploaded by William 74.

It's not uncommon to be traveling the back roads of this country and to find a farm that contains a few old cars, just sitting there rusting away. Often times they were family cars, used hard for many years, until that final major breakdown that costs more than the car is worth to fix. So they get parked somewhere out of the way, in a barn or out the back of the garage. Often they get thrown away, sometimes, far more rarely, they get saved.

This particular car is a Cadillac Series 61 sedan, about a 1950. I've seen a few of these at shows, all restored and shining in the sun, and they look great. But there's something about this one, as it sits outside, keeping watch over the cars passing by a hundred feet away, that speaks to me. It has a kind of dignity, bearing mute witness to the changing of the seasons and of the world around it, a solidity that will not be shaken.

I have photographed this car numerous times-in fact I stop and take a few shots whenever I drive past. I have it on good authority that it will, one day, be restored to it's former glory.