Faded signs of life

The photos may, or may not, be old, and yet...

A ghost sign is a particular faded sign of life, an historical remnant from commerce's ceaseless desire to seduce. Like painted messages from banks declaring "Save With Us," once as a shout now a cracked mumble. A ghost sign indicates that something of some import to someone at sometime was here. Right here. All ghosts are local, talking to neighborhoods. A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. A ghost sign is a faded sign of life.

Everyone knows the best views of New York City are found on the subway. You know, the parts that are mostly above ground.

We were there. Still are.

On June 12, 1982, one million people assembled in New York City for what was likely the largest single-city demonstration in American history, a nuclear-freeze protest coming at a saber-rattling peak of the Cold War. While most people have either overlooked that huge event from 40-plus years ago or never heard of it in the first place, I remember the protest because I was there. I went to Central Park with my camera. Why aren’t Americans, and all other peoples, protesting the possible end of civilized life on Earth if war ramps up with terrifying nuclear weapons?

Not all ghosts are signs, not all signs are painted, and ghosts come to visit us every damn day.

Faded signs of life are everywhere. How we walked, what we saw, what mattered never goes away. Now faded but continually present. I'm a lover of commercial and industrial decay, the fallen once proud. I love words, and faded signs mix decay with vintage marketing messages. Faded signs of life tell us ghost stories. Look for them. -- David Hallerman