The day that I made this image I went home and looked up the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner. I was thinking of them when I was standing there with my camera. Check it out everybody, the words are haunting, dramatic, stirring and boy, do they ever ring true at this time in the trajectory of our great experiment in democracy. Democracy Awakening indeed....maybe re-awakening, or reviving, or renewing.......”the flag was still there” despite all that has been thrown at it of late. Thank you Heather for all you do to that end. You continue to “ask what you can do for your country,” and you deliver. Thank you......
Peter, love your work…it connects us in a fundamental way to this precious “pale blue dot”. This image is an apt analogy for our present struggles and our ideals despite them.
Absolutely outstanding photograph to represent how America is both today and how it has ALWAYS been from the earliest onset of European colonization and "culture". At that earliest moment, 1619, when the first slaves arrived in Jamestown from Africa, America was as frayed and flawed as it is today.
American Democracy has ALWAYS looked like your wonderful photographic representation of an imperfect, frayed, faded flag. Democracy here was always imperfect but underpinned with faded color and promise. John Adam's Massachusetts Constitution was truly a document to capture the tripartite nature of a new representative government. The extension of a balanced government "by the people" was truly revolutionary, never mind that those concepts were not extended to everyone initially and that lack of inclusion persisted for most our history (until 1965). Today, like all of our history, we contend with those who wish to "believe" that a minority of folks should control a majority (through gerrymandering or just outright overthrow and dictatorship).
Wonderful photographic representation of American Democracy as it has always been, without a doubt.
Peter, thank you for the wonderful photo and all that it represents.
We are a strange country.....taking lands from Indian peoples who first were here: hunting and fishing....some peaceful, some who fought one another and us....for hunting grounds.
We brought persons of color here....captured and treated meanly. Those who survived, thrived to work the white man's land creating prosperity for them....while persons of color lived in abject poverty.
We have displayed our prejudices against the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Japanese....etc....no one has escaped the white man's downward gaze towards the "different".....the poor....etc.
And yet, we have fought wars for freedom together....the Indians sharing their language to provide "secret codes" to protect the dispensing of information during a past world war. Black soldiers desiring to defend our country....their country!!!...fought many victorious battles during the world wars and today are fighting for freedom's sake.....to protect our country.
Women continue the fight to have the right to make decisions over their bodies...for their health and survival.
Inspite of our struggles within and without....true citizens who love freedom and all that it means bring their best forward....for each and all.
We each need to do our part not only to repair but to open our eyes and appreciate the awesome country and people with whom we share it.
Love one another....find some good to do and DO IT!!! No act is too small.
Thank you, Heather for your letter and for this "family" of contributers.
Wow...I love these words and what they portray. No one here is perfect, and we are even less perfect considering our prejudices against so many different people. May we be forgiven our transgressions....
And thank you Peter Ralston -- for not only giving Heather the gift of being allowed to share your stunning work with us, but also giving her (and us!) a restful occasional breather from the onslaught.
Thank you for your thoughts as well as that wonderful image. Although it is very different, it reminds me very much of photos shot by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration in the ‘30s.
Sometimes I sing the second verse to be sure I don’t “lose” it. Time we all sang the national anthem together as we did many years ago. Memorizing is good for the brain. Thank you for the photo and the note!
I have very mixed feelings about the anthem. If I'm singing it at an event, I always choke up at the line, "Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there." But then comes, "O'er the Land of the free..." In 1812 that applied only to whites and really only to white men.
But we are and were only an aspiration. I have an exercise that started in an 18th century French literature course. I was looking at what the French (who along with a few Brits) really dreamed us up, post Renaissance, post wars of religion and the Inquisition (although we did burn “witches”), thinking of kings who could do anything their hearts (courtiers, bishops, etc.) desired, to see what the group who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor were thinking. It was only the beginning of “the American dream,” but it was the beginning of “all men are created equal,” a really novel concept. They were only human and so are we, but we try to live by those WORDS (it’s always language!) and are making progress. At least Abigail
Don’t you feel sorry for men sometimes? Physical strength can’t be half as much fun as deviousness! Abigail was both brave and nervy. The battle of the sexes is the longest and hardest fought war in human (and probably before that) history.🤣
I also choke up a bit when I hear it sung @ local baseball games, thinking back to when I visited Ft. McHenry during a road trip to Civil War battlefields.
Dave, I like your image of fixing the roof. I’d suggest that we put on shingles that can withstand a hurricane or a tornado because there’s a big storm coming.
Metal roofs are superior and can withstand many a storm, good at snow load. Durable. Used in NE a lot. Expensive. But if we are looking at the long haul, best choice.
And just like ice and snow, the bad ideas can slide right off...
Not the most expensive if you look at life-cycle cost - metal is ~ 2 1/2 x the cost of a cheaper asphalt shingle roof, but lasts (with very minimal maintenance) more than 3X as long. Petroleum-based asphalt is only "cheaper" as first cost; and the channel drain type being put on this barn is the least expensive type of metal roofing. That's likely why it's so often used for barn ("utility") roofing.
Just curious. Asphalt roofs are rated at 20, 25 and 40 years. Lets say 20 - especially if there is damage due to Mother Nature or too many boots stomping around on the shingles. If that metal roofing would last 60 plus years, it would seem to be a no brainer. But I guess we, as a society, would have to be interested in things that last.
Bill, you're spot on - Americans seem to care less and less about long-term anything. I think it's a gage of just how excessive our material culture has become. (see LongNow.org)Metal is a no brainer if you can afford the first cost. And in VT folks like farmers and working class homeowners generally can't. Also, they can install asphalt shingles with much less-skilled help (including themselves)...and asphalt, which is nominally a 20-year roof, is almost always kept beyond the expiration date, sometimes supplemented with tar, cheap caulk or odd bits of flashing.
The cheaper channeldrain, fastened with screws/flexible washers at 24"-36" centers on strapping ('nailers'), is fast and relatively easy to use, but it's steel with a baked-enamel paint coating, so any field cuts or subsequent abrasons will rust. The top quality metal roofing (lead-coated copper; copper; stainless steel; zinc-coated steel; terne metal; terne-coated stainless) are very expensive and require highly-skilled mechanics. The modern 'sweet spot' is Galvalume standing seam roofing; it's an aluminum/steel alloy that does not rust, holds its color indefinitely, is somewhat easier to install (still skilled work) and will outlast asphalt 3x or better...we're not sure yet because it's only been around about 50 years, and most of those older roofs are still going strong. (Mine is only ~12 years old!).
Missing from this discussion is tile or cement tile which is common in the UK and Europe. But then they build everything to last. Or on older buildings slate. 100 plus year roofs. Will we ever learn?
I am curious as to what that roof is made of. The finished right hand side looks like it might be synthetic or metal. So uniform. On the left it appears to be panels with four sections. Vinyl or aluminum over the decking?
It is metal roofing and not yet complete. Typically held down with screws with a sealing washer under the screw head. The unfinished side has tar paper, and then 1 x 4 over that for the screws to anchor into. These are called nailers but screws are used today. If quality metal roofing is used it should be good for 50 years.
Cost, old methods die hard. Reason for the the "paper" is to prevent any small leaks, from screw holes from geting inside the building.
I worked for Alcoa and we used to sell aluminum roofing. It was terrible, 3 times the expansion of steel and softer too. It would work back and forth and make a bigger hole that would leak on your $ 100,000 combine. Not a happy farmer. Alcoa stopped making about 1960 because they were buying it back from unhappy farmers.
State of the Union! Thank you, Peter Ralston, for your creativity and wisdom and Professor HCR for today’s image. I will soon be home in USA after a month in Portugal and Spain. To let some Americans know, (not you, dear readers) in case their own local government or schools or families have not educated them, there’s a world beyond the USA where everyday people speak other languages, have families, go to schools, play, shop for groceries, need utilities, roads and medical care. And jobs. Practice a religion, worship or do not. Are governed and have the privilege of voting. Or not. We are humans the world over with more in common than not. I started out in Portugal, part of a volunteer team joining a Fuller Center for Housing group (think Habitat for Humanity, connected with former Democratic President Jimmy Carter.) After days working with professionals, we had added to the efforts of building and rebuilding an old warehouse that will eventually be an apartment housing six families, including refugees from Somalia and Cameroon, some who also participate. I helped repair stone walls. Isn’t that a metaphor? Next was time in Spain and Santiago de Compostela, joining Peregrinos, Pilgrims, from many different countries walk on a historic trail, this one from Portugal to Spain. Mostly I took the high speed train, as I have walked it and others before. Everyone does not speak English. I tried to communicate in Portugués and Español but you will hear languages from all over the world. And many people speak more than one language. America is part of this world. We are not walled off from history, politics, economics. We are Humanity. No matter what it is, we are that flag, that human. A tattered flag, a building in need of repair. That is who we are. We have the tools.
Yes! How true, Irenie, and how wonderful that you are volunteering to do such important work. I admire you (and if younger and in better shape, would love to have joined in such a worthwhile enterprise).
Bless you, Irenie! The exceptionalism myth is nothing but that, a myth. We are all human and must join together with the UN to see if we can preserve ourselves on the planet as climate change makes lives more and more difficult. Can we reverse course, as we must, from more to less?
Yes, Virginia, there are many ways we can all make a difference. We must at least try. At the very least join together, look past Nationalism. We are one planet.
Irenie, my husband’s retirement dream ()affordable), was a small boat on European canals, following the books of an Englishman who had done the trips and written about them. He had a former admiral’s barge, we had a “retired” fiberglass rental boat. Our home base was France, my second language. He had some German from his time there in the army. When we went to live full time on the boat in 2002, it was Iraq War and French wine was being poured out in some American streets. In January of 2003, Jack marched against the war with a town of 200, two kilometers from where we were moored. (I had two broken ankles, so couldn’t go.) We knew that we were “ambassadors” wherever we were in the countryside. Fortunately a lot of people remembered WWII for which we got credit everywhere. My primary takeaway: a front seat to climate change and I still get reports from farmer friends with whom I visited regularly until 2019. Still hoping for one more trip.
'Taking a deep breath...' sounds appropriate whether it is HCR .'..spending a quiet night...' with her family or any of us preparing for Yom Kippur, Hebrew Yom Ha-Kippurim, The Day of Atonement, the most solemn of the Jewish Holidays, which will begin Sunday evening or consider America as HCR seemed to encourage with the photograph by Peter Ralston of a building under repair with the '... flag painted on it.' Here are a few other interpretations of the American flag.
'The flag of the United States of America is a potent symbol that is used not only to identify a nation but also to express ideas about its state of affairs. Within the red, white, and blue of the emblem is an iconic design that has been variously reimagined to convey pride, anger, solidarity, or exclusion. In times of conflict and in moments of despair, flags offer us ways to take positions—whether expressing allegiances or refusing engagement. Artists and others draw upon flag imagery to call attention to social issues and provoke conversations.'
'Within the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) there are hundreds of objects and images which prominently feature the United States flag. Our latest special exhibition, “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” includes artistic depictions of the U.S. flag that reveal the alienation and injustice Black Americans experience. From our diverse holdings at NMAAHC, we have gathered five objects that explore the significance and symbology of the U.S. flag in African American culture and history.'
Neither my wife nor I are "religious" in an organized sense. I am a "none". But we do embrace some aspects of her Jewish heritage and culture. This holiday time resonates with me. I have been in a repentance mode - because I am trying to learn from my mistakes. Forever trying.
Then the atonement. There are flaws in every philosophy and faith. But the belief system that asks us to really reflect on our behavior and seek some forgiveness - acknowledge error and hurt - that system deserves respect. It asks us to be humble. It asks us to grow.
America has a lot to atone for. A lot. I think atonement might be a very healthy way of being "woke". Let's acknowledge the horrors of our past and present. Learn, change, do better, and demand justice. True equality. True opportunity. For all of us.
What I wanted was for everyone listening to understand that these things mattered - not necessarily for me, but in this particular forum they mattered in terms of whether of not we were getting a person who should sit on the Supreme Court.
I see Justice Kagan is getting some pushback from Chief Justice Roberts, but she was at Notre Dame advocating for a code of conduct. Good for them to invite her.
The question is a good one, "Why Trump?" There is one study and one book that I think help us to understand this phenomenon. What prompts tens of millions of Americans to still support the most compromised man in American political history? "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" is a study by two Univ. of Kansas professors published in 2018 in the journal, "Critical Sociology." Google it. Then there is the book by Timothy Egan, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's. OK, one more: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Stony the Road," about Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow.
Churchhill may have described American history as "an enigma wrapped up in a mystery." We have soared and we have plunged and right now we're fighting for our very survival.
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
Gratitude, Fern McBride, I can always count on you to share poetry that speaks to me, to us. Timeless: “What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.” And Thank you Allen Ginsberg.
Hope springs eternal in spite of data that might indicate otherwise.
That is the reason Mary. Hope. Independent of reality. Who wants to believe that their own kid will never be hired no matter how qualified they are? Nobody.
Yes—they say that they see small steps forward and keep hoping for their children and grandchildren. We live in a neighborhood that would not have existed 50 years ago, peopled by middle class people of every color in the Houston suburbs.
That said, all the people of color have “the talk” with their young men, instructing them how to de-escalate any encounters with the police or white bigots looking for a fight.
Mary Hardt, I wondered whether your friends who belong to minority groups had advanced to the middleclass, beyond the economic standing of their parents, and that was, in large measure, the reason for their continued belief in the US. Your reply seemed to indicate that. Have I correctly understood you?
I wonder also and always why women and brown people and all of us who have never been included under the small umbrella of 'all men' and continue to be unincluded continue to delude ourselves ---
I really appreciate your posting this article, Fern, which I would not have known about otherwise. I have often thought about the symbology of our beautiful flag. The red stripes so even and predictable reflect our laws that are necessary to govern ourselves and keep everything in order, while the stars floating in the blue are metaphors for our love of freedom. So fitting that blue and red are in constant conflict. Seeing these remarkable works of art through this lens adds another dimension to the black person's struggle to deal with law and order in this country (that is historically unfavorable to them) and not feeling that their freedom is honored or protected, but yet somehow maintaining that ideal (or hope) through their portrayals of our flag.
The connection between the reparation of the house and our current societal situation is lovely to experience. I hope the roof gets finished before winter rains set in.
Thank you, Peter, not just for your perfect photographic depiction of the state of our union right now but for your compliments to Heather for all she does to inspire us to preserve our precious democracy.
Have a nice peaceful day tomorrow. Sending you love and hugs. Your book will be I believe a meaningful impact for people who don’t follow you. As well as your followers. To give understanding the present moment. Giving us sigh of relief before the whirlwind of the political races of 2024.
Trump, like Jesus at Galilee, believes that he can walk on water. Whenever he waddles out of his posh palace in Mar a Lago or Bedminister, he expects a multitude to genuflect at his presence.
This week he intends to swoop into Michigan to upstage his Republican presidential wannabes, who are gathering for a second Trump-less debate. A last minute ‘complication,’ in auto-strike Michigan, is that President Biden, on Wednesday, will be cheek-and-jowl with the striking auto workers.
In fact, Trump is not akin to Jesus but, rather, he is an antichrist. Jesus was 100% pure, had a message of love and repentance, and, on occasion, performed miracles to comfort his followers. By contrast, Trump is as impure as a clogged sewer and his message is as flawed as a used car salesman’s spiel.
Right now the spotlight is on the clash between the Big Three and the striking auto workers. Scranton Joe has credibility with the workers. In contrast, Trump’s personal and presidential union record is dismal.
In The Trump Organization and through six Atlantic City bankruptcies, Trump screwed his workers. Stories of how he hired immigrants to do his dirty work and then threatened them when they sought their promised wages are legendary. Casino workers were left sucking wind, while he profited from Atlantic City bankruptcies. His modus vivendi was to commission work and, after it was completed, offer to pay 50% or less or a law suit.
As president, Trump was not much better. He had some fancy show-and-tell manufacturing ‘triumphs,’ which turned out to be flops. Lordstown and Foxcon (a promise of over 10,000 jobs, which have oozed down to a few hundred) are representative of his false bloviating.
I shall watch careful the message that this ‘messiah’ brings to Michigan. There is a massive auto strike that can affect hundreds of thousands of Michiganers. President Biden will be there boots-on-the-ground with the strikers. Does Trump have a credible message?
Important history, but for me it’s the wrecking of the Art Deco, destined for the Metropolitan Museum of Art that Trump had destroyed, then stiffed the Polish workers for their work that told me who he is.
Virginia Spot on. I believe that he knew that these Poles had an immigration problem and were cheap. Once they did their dirty work, he threatened their immigration status. ‘Trump, labor’s friend.’
Thank you, Keith. I have no doubt he knew it as you’re reminding me that the report I heard at the time mentioned them as “illegal.” How dare Trump not pay poor people for their work? Now that seems almost laughable given what we’ve learned since.
The day that I made this image I went home and looked up the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner. I was thinking of them when I was standing there with my camera. Check it out everybody, the words are haunting, dramatic, stirring and boy, do they ever ring true at this time in the trajectory of our great experiment in democracy. Democracy Awakening indeed....maybe re-awakening, or reviving, or renewing.......”the flag was still there” despite all that has been thrown at it of late. Thank you Heather for all you do to that end. You continue to “ask what you can do for your country,” and you deliver. Thank you......
Peter, love your work…it connects us in a fundamental way to this precious “pale blue dot”. This image is an apt analogy for our present struggles and our ideals despite them.
Under repair and our flag is still there.
This caption is evrything! Thank you for sharing it.
Peter,
Absolutely outstanding photograph to represent how America is both today and how it has ALWAYS been from the earliest onset of European colonization and "culture". At that earliest moment, 1619, when the first slaves arrived in Jamestown from Africa, America was as frayed and flawed as it is today.
American Democracy has ALWAYS looked like your wonderful photographic representation of an imperfect, frayed, faded flag. Democracy here was always imperfect but underpinned with faded color and promise. John Adam's Massachusetts Constitution was truly a document to capture the tripartite nature of a new representative government. The extension of a balanced government "by the people" was truly revolutionary, never mind that those concepts were not extended to everyone initially and that lack of inclusion persisted for most our history (until 1965). Today, like all of our history, we contend with those who wish to "believe" that a minority of folks should control a majority (through gerrymandering or just outright overthrow and dictatorship).
Wonderful photographic representation of American Democracy as it has always been, without a doubt.
Peter, thank you for the wonderful photo and all that it represents.
We are a strange country.....taking lands from Indian peoples who first were here: hunting and fishing....some peaceful, some who fought one another and us....for hunting grounds.
We brought persons of color here....captured and treated meanly. Those who survived, thrived to work the white man's land creating prosperity for them....while persons of color lived in abject poverty.
We have displayed our prejudices against the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Japanese....etc....no one has escaped the white man's downward gaze towards the "different".....the poor....etc.
And yet, we have fought wars for freedom together....the Indians sharing their language to provide "secret codes" to protect the dispensing of information during a past world war. Black soldiers desiring to defend our country....their country!!!...fought many victorious battles during the world wars and today are fighting for freedom's sake.....to protect our country.
Women continue the fight to have the right to make decisions over their bodies...for their health and survival.
Inspite of our struggles within and without....true citizens who love freedom and all that it means bring their best forward....for each and all.
We each need to do our part not only to repair but to open our eyes and appreciate the awesome country and people with whom we share it.
Love one another....find some good to do and DO IT!!! No act is too small.
Thank you, Heather for your letter and for this "family" of contributers.
Wow...I love these words and what they portray. No one here is perfect, and we are even less perfect considering our prejudices against so many different people. May we be forgiven our transgressions....
Always aspirational, still is
And thank you Peter Ralston -- for not only giving Heather the gift of being allowed to share your stunning work with us, but also giving her (and us!) a restful occasional breather from the onslaught.
Thank you for your thoughts as well as that wonderful image. Although it is very different, it reminds me very much of photos shot by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration in the ‘30s.
This photograph is quite moving. As a fellow photographer...you have shown, once again, that a photograph is worth a thousand words. Thank you!
Perfect capture!
Thank you for such a powerful image. You deserve the many accolades and even some sort of prize, award, or recognition for this photograph.
The open and leaking roof seems kind of symbolic too..
:(
Your photograph documents the progression of the several Flag paintings of Jasper Johns into today's world.
Sometimes I sing the second verse to be sure I don’t “lose” it. Time we all sang the national anthem together as we did many years ago. Memorizing is good for the brain. Thank you for the photo and the note!
I have very mixed feelings about the anthem. If I'm singing it at an event, I always choke up at the line, "Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there." But then comes, "O'er the Land of the free..." In 1812 that applied only to whites and really only to white men.
But we are and were only an aspiration. I have an exercise that started in an 18th century French literature course. I was looking at what the French (who along with a few Brits) really dreamed us up, post Renaissance, post wars of religion and the Inquisition (although we did burn “witches”), thinking of kings who could do anything their hearts (courtiers, bishops, etc.) desired, to see what the group who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor were thinking. It was only the beginning of “the American dream,” but it was the beginning of “all men are created equal,” a really novel concept. They were only human and so are we, but we try to live by those WORDS (it’s always language!) and are making progress. At least Abigail
Adams would be impressed!
Very true. Given John's response to her famous letter, Abigail would be especially impressed by our progress.
Don’t you feel sorry for men sometimes? Physical strength can’t be half as much fun as deviousness! Abigail was both brave and nervy. The battle of the sexes is the longest and hardest fought war in human (and probably before that) history.🤣
I also choke up a bit when I hear it sung @ local baseball games, thinking back to when I visited Ft. McHenry during a road trip to Civil War battlefields.
The full lyrics:
https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/the-lyrics.aspx
Wonderful photo, freedom doesn’t come easy and is always a constant battle to keep, let freedom ring.
Old farmer wisdom from the the midwest, don't worry about painting the barn, but make damn sure you fix the roof.
In 2024 we must fix the roof and get rid of the GOP rot. Then we can paint the barn.
Dave, I like your image of fixing the roof. I’d suggest that we put on shingles that can withstand a hurricane or a tornado because there’s a big storm coming.
Metal roofs are superior and can withstand many a storm, good at snow load. Durable. Used in NE a lot. Expensive. But if we are looking at the long haul, best choice.
And just like ice and snow, the bad ideas can slide right off...
Original standing seam metal roof on 1825 house, Richmond, VA, repainted, few repairs. Dedicated preservationist, James Ryland.
Only one (1) more Panel to install in Peter's Photo.
Not the most expensive if you look at life-cycle cost - metal is ~ 2 1/2 x the cost of a cheaper asphalt shingle roof, but lasts (with very minimal maintenance) more than 3X as long. Petroleum-based asphalt is only "cheaper" as first cost; and the channel drain type being put on this barn is the least expensive type of metal roofing. That's likely why it's so often used for barn ("utility") roofing.
Good info. Thanks!
Just curious. Asphalt roofs are rated at 20, 25 and 40 years. Lets say 20 - especially if there is damage due to Mother Nature or too many boots stomping around on the shingles. If that metal roofing would last 60 plus years, it would seem to be a no brainer. But I guess we, as a society, would have to be interested in things that last.
Bill, you're spot on - Americans seem to care less and less about long-term anything. I think it's a gage of just how excessive our material culture has become. (see LongNow.org)Metal is a no brainer if you can afford the first cost. And in VT folks like farmers and working class homeowners generally can't. Also, they can install asphalt shingles with much less-skilled help (including themselves)...and asphalt, which is nominally a 20-year roof, is almost always kept beyond the expiration date, sometimes supplemented with tar, cheap caulk or odd bits of flashing.
The cheaper channeldrain, fastened with screws/flexible washers at 24"-36" centers on strapping ('nailers'), is fast and relatively easy to use, but it's steel with a baked-enamel paint coating, so any field cuts or subsequent abrasons will rust. The top quality metal roofing (lead-coated copper; copper; stainless steel; zinc-coated steel; terne metal; terne-coated stainless) are very expensive and require highly-skilled mechanics. The modern 'sweet spot' is Galvalume standing seam roofing; it's an aluminum/steel alloy that does not rust, holds its color indefinitely, is somewhat easier to install (still skilled work) and will outlast asphalt 3x or better...we're not sure yet because it's only been around about 50 years, and most of those older roofs are still going strong. (Mine is only ~12 years old!).
Missing from this discussion is tile or cement tile which is common in the UK and Europe. But then they build everything to last. Or on older buildings slate. 100 plus year roofs. Will we ever learn?
I respect your expertise and appreciate the roofing lesson. Thanks!
Tar and gravel…
Save some tar to go with the feathers.
Copper and slate.
You said it best
I am curious as to what that roof is made of. The finished right hand side looks like it might be synthetic or metal. So uniform. On the left it appears to be panels with four sections. Vinyl or aluminum over the decking?
It is metal roofing and not yet complete. Typically held down with screws with a sealing washer under the screw head. The unfinished side has tar paper, and then 1 x 4 over that for the screws to anchor into. These are called nailers but screws are used today. If quality metal roofing is used it should be good for 50 years.
Never ask an engineer for details. 🙂
Thanks Dave! I'm not an engineer. Just an old guy into home and building repair.
I wonder why they wouldn't use "ice and water" instead of tar paper.
Cost, old methods die hard. Reason for the the "paper" is to prevent any small leaks, from screw holes from geting inside the building.
I worked for Alcoa and we used to sell aluminum roofing. It was terrible, 3 times the expansion of steel and softer too. It would work back and forth and make a bigger hole that would leak on your $ 100,000 combine. Not a happy farmer. Alcoa stopped making about 1960 because they were buying it back from unhappy farmers.
That picture is pure perfection ♥️
State of the Union! Thank you, Peter Ralston, for your creativity and wisdom and Professor HCR for today’s image. I will soon be home in USA after a month in Portugal and Spain. To let some Americans know, (not you, dear readers) in case their own local government or schools or families have not educated them, there’s a world beyond the USA where everyday people speak other languages, have families, go to schools, play, shop for groceries, need utilities, roads and medical care. And jobs. Practice a religion, worship or do not. Are governed and have the privilege of voting. Or not. We are humans the world over with more in common than not. I started out in Portugal, part of a volunteer team joining a Fuller Center for Housing group (think Habitat for Humanity, connected with former Democratic President Jimmy Carter.) After days working with professionals, we had added to the efforts of building and rebuilding an old warehouse that will eventually be an apartment housing six families, including refugees from Somalia and Cameroon, some who also participate. I helped repair stone walls. Isn’t that a metaphor? Next was time in Spain and Santiago de Compostela, joining Peregrinos, Pilgrims, from many different countries walk on a historic trail, this one from Portugal to Spain. Mostly I took the high speed train, as I have walked it and others before. Everyone does not speak English. I tried to communicate in Portugués and Español but you will hear languages from all over the world. And many people speak more than one language. America is part of this world. We are not walled off from history, politics, economics. We are Humanity. No matter what it is, we are that flag, that human. A tattered flag, a building in need of repair. That is who we are. We have the tools.
Yes! How true, Irenie, and how wonderful that you are volunteering to do such important work. I admire you (and if younger and in better shape, would love to have joined in such a worthwhile enterprise).
Bless you, Irenie! The exceptionalism myth is nothing but that, a myth. We are all human and must join together with the UN to see if we can preserve ourselves on the planet as climate change makes lives more and more difficult. Can we reverse course, as we must, from more to less?
Yes, Virginia, there are many ways we can all make a difference. We must at least try. At the very least join together, look past Nationalism. We are one planet.
Irenie, my husband’s retirement dream ()affordable), was a small boat on European canals, following the books of an Englishman who had done the trips and written about them. He had a former admiral’s barge, we had a “retired” fiberglass rental boat. Our home base was France, my second language. He had some German from his time there in the army. When we went to live full time on the boat in 2002, it was Iraq War and French wine was being poured out in some American streets. In January of 2003, Jack marched against the war with a town of 200, two kilometers from where we were moored. (I had two broken ankles, so couldn’t go.) We knew that we were “ambassadors” wherever we were in the countryside. Fortunately a lot of people remembered WWII for which we got credit everywhere. My primary takeaway: a front seat to climate change and I still get reports from farmer friends with whom I visited regularly until 2019. Still hoping for one more trip.
I keep pushing solidarity under the UN, the only “umbrella” organization I know where humans can get together and decide whether we are worth saving.
'Taking a deep breath...' sounds appropriate whether it is HCR .'..spending a quiet night...' with her family or any of us preparing for Yom Kippur, Hebrew Yom Ha-Kippurim, The Day of Atonement, the most solemn of the Jewish Holidays, which will begin Sunday evening or consider America as HCR seemed to encourage with the photograph by Peter Ralston of a building under repair with the '... flag painted on it.' Here are a few other interpretations of the American flag.
'The flag of the United States of America is a potent symbol that is used not only to identify a nation but also to express ideas about its state of affairs. Within the red, white, and blue of the emblem is an iconic design that has been variously reimagined to convey pride, anger, solidarity, or exclusion. In times of conflict and in moments of despair, flags offer us ways to take positions—whether expressing allegiances or refusing engagement. Artists and others draw upon flag imagery to call attention to social issues and provoke conversations.'
'Within the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) there are hundreds of objects and images which prominently feature the United States flag. Our latest special exhibition, “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” includes artistic depictions of the U.S. flag that reveal the alienation and injustice Black Americans experience. From our diverse holdings at NMAAHC, we have gathered five objects that explore the significance and symbology of the U.S. flag in African American culture and history.'
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/five-things-see-us-flag-american-art
Neither my wife nor I are "religious" in an organized sense. I am a "none". But we do embrace some aspects of her Jewish heritage and culture. This holiday time resonates with me. I have been in a repentance mode - because I am trying to learn from my mistakes. Forever trying.
Then the atonement. There are flaws in every philosophy and faith. But the belief system that asks us to really reflect on our behavior and seek some forgiveness - acknowledge error and hurt - that system deserves respect. It asks us to be humble. It asks us to grow.
America has a lot to atone for. A lot. I think atonement might be a very healthy way of being "woke". Let's acknowledge the horrors of our past and present. Learn, change, do better, and demand justice. True equality. True opportunity. For all of us.
➡️ ' I think atonement might be a very healthy way of being "woke".' ⬅️
Wishing all those on this chain who observe a meaningful fast and a sweet new year.
Fern, at times I wonder why my friends of color continue to support a country that seems at times to not support them in return.
Perhaps, Mary, it is because your friends of color see what the rest of us do not...that never ending quest for a more perfect union.
Good morning Lynell. I posed the question of why Trump to a colleague several weeks ago. Her response was, "ask Anita Hill".
What I wanted was for everyone listening to understand that these things mattered - not necessarily for me, but in this particular forum they mattered in terms of whether of not we were getting a person who should sit on the Supreme Court.
___Anita Hill
I see Justice Kagan is getting some pushback from Chief Justice Roberts, but she was at Notre Dame advocating for a code of conduct. Good for them to invite her.
What?! Kagan getting pushback while Thomas and Alito are getting a pass?
The question is a good one, "Why Trump?" There is one study and one book that I think help us to understand this phenomenon. What prompts tens of millions of Americans to still support the most compromised man in American political history? "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" is a study by two Univ. of Kansas professors published in 2018 in the journal, "Critical Sociology." Google it. Then there is the book by Timothy Egan, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's. OK, one more: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Stony the Road," about Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow.
Churchhill may have described American history as "an enigma wrapped up in a mystery." We have soared and we have plunged and right now we're fighting for our very survival.
A Supermarket in California
BY ALLEN GINSBERG
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
Berkeley, 1955
Allen Ginsberg, “A Supermarket in California” from Collected Poems 1947-1980. Copyright © 1984 by Allen Ginsberg. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Source: Selected Poems 1947-1995 (2001)
Gratitude, Fern McBride, I can always count on you to share poetry that speaks to me, to us. Timeless: “What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.” And Thank you Allen Ginsberg.
I'm still reeling from Egan's "A Fever in the Hearland". And I got this from here or Robert Hubbell's newsletter:
https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/psychic-contagion?r=4dxvl&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post&fbclid=IwAR3VrPYekTtJLYNTnDuhFNeRbFDY0NsT9LbLufIbOV8ukal9Ut9-8UkT-ko_aem_AQQ82EmRldcgIhtDf6-0L5CkCp6_Wbuiudc-AaovXt2HyJXDt-ApnCkj-j8HfSKjl1Q
Morning, Linda! Yes, indeed.
Mary,
Hope springs eternal in spite of data that might indicate otherwise.
That is the reason Mary. Hope. Independent of reality. Who wants to believe that their own kid will never be hired no matter how qualified they are? Nobody.
Hope.
That is a good question, Mary Hardt. Have you asked any of them?
Fern
Yes—they say that they see small steps forward and keep hoping for their children and grandchildren. We live in a neighborhood that would not have existed 50 years ago, peopled by middle class people of every color in the Houston suburbs.
That said, all the people of color have “the talk” with their young men, instructing them how to de-escalate any encounters with the police or white bigots looking for a fight.
Mary Hardt, I wondered whether your friends who belong to minority groups had advanced to the middleclass, beyond the economic standing of their parents, and that was, in large measure, the reason for their continued belief in the US. Your reply seemed to indicate that. Have I correctly understood you?
I wonder also and always why women and brown people and all of us who have never been included under the small umbrella of 'all men' and continue to be unincluded continue to delude ourselves ---
But they have and it is they who, with the remains of their loving culture, may save us.
Thank you for this link. Definitely worth the study.
Fern, your comments always enrich the conversation. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Joeth!
I really appreciate your posting this article, Fern, which I would not have known about otherwise. I have often thought about the symbology of our beautiful flag. The red stripes so even and predictable reflect our laws that are necessary to govern ourselves and keep everything in order, while the stars floating in the blue are metaphors for our love of freedom. So fitting that blue and red are in constant conflict. Seeing these remarkable works of art through this lens adds another dimension to the black person's struggle to deal with law and order in this country (that is historically unfavorable to them) and not feeling that their freedom is honored or protected, but yet somehow maintaining that ideal (or hope) through their portrayals of our flag.
Food for thought, right there in the photo.
Perfect image. Good luck with your book launch.
Old and worn but still beautiful --- the flag and America.
Seems about right.
The connection between the reparation of the house and our current societal situation is lovely to experience. I hope the roof gets finished before winter rains set in.
Thank you, Peter, not just for your perfect photographic depiction of the state of our union right now but for your compliments to Heather for all she does to inspire us to preserve our precious democracy.
Have a nice peaceful day tomorrow. Sending you love and hugs. Your book will be I believe a meaningful impact for people who don’t follow you. As well as your followers. To give understanding the present moment. Giving us sigh of relief before the whirlwind of the political races of 2024.
“Art imitates life”…or reflects it…
Definitely in need of repair.
Trump, like Jesus at Galilee, believes that he can walk on water. Whenever he waddles out of his posh palace in Mar a Lago or Bedminister, he expects a multitude to genuflect at his presence.
This week he intends to swoop into Michigan to upstage his Republican presidential wannabes, who are gathering for a second Trump-less debate. A last minute ‘complication,’ in auto-strike Michigan, is that President Biden, on Wednesday, will be cheek-and-jowl with the striking auto workers.
In fact, Trump is not akin to Jesus but, rather, he is an antichrist. Jesus was 100% pure, had a message of love and repentance, and, on occasion, performed miracles to comfort his followers. By contrast, Trump is as impure as a clogged sewer and his message is as flawed as a used car salesman’s spiel.
Right now the spotlight is on the clash between the Big Three and the striking auto workers. Scranton Joe has credibility with the workers. In contrast, Trump’s personal and presidential union record is dismal.
In The Trump Organization and through six Atlantic City bankruptcies, Trump screwed his workers. Stories of how he hired immigrants to do his dirty work and then threatened them when they sought their promised wages are legendary. Casino workers were left sucking wind, while he profited from Atlantic City bankruptcies. His modus vivendi was to commission work and, after it was completed, offer to pay 50% or less or a law suit.
As president, Trump was not much better. He had some fancy show-and-tell manufacturing ‘triumphs,’ which turned out to be flops. Lordstown and Foxcon (a promise of over 10,000 jobs, which have oozed down to a few hundred) are representative of his false bloviating.
I shall watch careful the message that this ‘messiah’ brings to Michigan. There is a massive auto strike that can affect hundreds of thousands of Michiganers. President Biden will be there boots-on-the-ground with the strikers. Does Trump have a credible message?
Important history, but for me it’s the wrecking of the Art Deco, destined for the Metropolitan Museum of Art that Trump had destroyed, then stiffed the Polish workers for their work that told me who he is.
Virginia Spot on. I believe that he knew that these Poles had an immigration problem and were cheap. Once they did their dirty work, he threatened their immigration status. ‘Trump, labor’s friend.’
Thank you, Keith. I have no doubt he knew it as you’re reminding me that the report I heard at the time mentioned them as “illegal.” How dare Trump not pay poor people for their work? Now that seems almost laughable given what we’ve learned since.
Virginia Remember he piano store owner from whom Trump bought over $100,000 of pianos? Trump refused to pay and the guy went bankrupt/
I never heard that one. Just another casino crime?
Virginia This old codger has a pretty good memory. I hear Billy Jo playing ‘Piano Man,’ and wonder who played on the pay-less Trump pianos.
Hope you have a relaxing and peaceful evening.