First, I have a lot of new clips lately, if you're interested.  

I was lucky enough to grow up across the street from the beach. I realized not long ago that should I ever die, I think I'd like my ashes to be sprinkled around Lee St. beach, because it's a beautiful place to be alive and I'm sure not the worst place to not be alive, either.

I am not the only person apparently who thinks of eternity when looking at the lake. The city of Evanston has put up a set of benches along the lakefront path and people have been able to dedicate them to loved ones. I don't know if people were encouraged to be creative or they were just the types who ended up purchasing the dedications, but there is a type of whimsy, poetry, and depth on many of these tiny plaques, as well as a certain geographic grounding, that has always stuck in my mind. It'd be like if more cemetery headstones mentioned what the cemetery looks like. So Friday I decided to get off my computer, take a walk, and examine all the park benches and shoot my favorites. My favorites invoke the specific place--several mention the perspective from that particular beach, which I included.

The people who were sitting on the benches didn't seem very fazed when I leaned in close to them to see the plaques behind them, not even the lady sitting across the playground with an unlit joint that had the dimensions of a small carrot. We're all just passing through, sitting on the bench while we're able.

<img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/921/41471840760