Page 13 - People & Places In Time

architecture, my collage studies wandered to psychology, philosophy and English literature. Still, I lacked focus; I was searching for reasons as to how or who I had become. This persistent search for reasons sooner or later had come back to me these were my decisions alone. There remained one option . . . my return to architecture, anything creative. Somehow, I think we all have faced similar struggles, though some seem to handle them better than others. Maybe I look too critically at disappointment, perhaps I’m too introspective toward what amounts to nothing really productive or worthwhile . . . but again that’s who I am.
So, indulge my melancholy divergences and you’ll find the supportive people who have contributed to the person I’ve become. The opportunity to have grown up in a town like Exeter, sheltered by a community that had themselves been raised in the same place in the same way, is invaluable.
A couple of years ago, while in downtown Exeter I ran into an old friend of my parents, “Torchy” Dungan. She had grown up in Exeter, and I in turn had grown up with her and her husband Jim’s children. As we talked, Torchy asked if she could give me a hug? As she placed her arms around me, I knew, looking into her eyes this town, the people we have known, the community that we both remember, is gone, at least for us the hug was for what we had shared through an era that no longer existed.
Joe Doctor is another piece to the generation I write so much about here. It’s important that I acknowledge his influence and inspiration to me in this endeavor. Joe chronicled these years before I arrived as part of them. He wrote of Exeter, my family and the community. His stories and articles in the Exeter Sun have had a long standing influence on how and why I write so much so that five have been incorporated into this book so, “thank you Joe”.
This book is a creative endeavor no less than any project I’ve approached throughout my life. As
such I’ve included some of my photographic artwork, a few architectural renderings, and some simple observations on life as I’ve passed through. Part of what I’m attempting to portray, is just who and what I’ve tried to be. The pursuit of beauty is the single most defining piece of character that I’m about, it drives all that I think or do. Not only the places and things of beauty, but the beauty in the people I’ve encountered. I hope this comes across in reading this book, because it is how I see myself.
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