Machines Fire & Steel
What is it about machinery, the proximity of forged, of cast metal, that combination of fire and steel of a machine that has shaped the male psyche of my generation? Will I always fail to do justice to the attraction of the symmetry, the “magic” of artifice, — which strikes home to the male imagination of us who came to adulthood in the 20th century? Much of that now is in the rear view mirror so to speak. We are in the post-industrial age of cloud computing, of a globally connected world, built of supply chains, of light-speed communications that project possibilities and illusion… Was this imagined by only a few? Did Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates envision what is now commonplace? Did they foresee what they unleashed? … that I am able to logon to the Alibaba website and directly place an order from a Chinese manufacturer?
My imagination is yet fired by fire and metal, the engineering resident and visible with machines that served past generations. With this in mind we spent a summer afternoon at the Sycamore Steam Show & Threshing Bee Show. Featured are a few of the images, captured moments from this unique combination of antique machinery and flea market analog to a county fair. I felt the presence of my grandfather and remembered the Gray Ferguson Tractor that he owned when I was a kid. The fire and steel of the old tractors, 
especially the wood-fired steam machines transported my imagination to the very early 20th century.
The Threshing Bee Flea Market offered a keepsake, a reminder of the child that I once was. I selected a wooden ABC block from the assortment featured by one of the vendors. One of these worn, child-handled blocks rests upon my desk, a link and a reminder of my connection, of what I owe to the past…
