My hosts, the McKennas are the just about the most genuine, kind hearted, honest to goodness Americans that one could ever wish to meet and they were gracious enough to let me drop into their family weekend.
They own a farm down in Southern Illinois and put my city boy, pansy ass to work. And over those few days I had a few firsts:
My first time driving a tractor (a John Deere model A tractor, designed my Henry Dreyfuss),
My first time driving a ‘Bobcat’ mini bull dozer,
My first time operating a chain saw (for five terrifying minutes),
My first time splitting wood logs (with the help of an ingenious multi-McKenna designed apparatus),
My first time wearing overalls without a hint of irony.
One of the marvelous things you notice while staying there was just how quiet it is. I slept better over those few days that I think I’ve had in months. Ending the day exhausted from the only hard physical work I’ve done all year, was a welcome change.
I even got to try out a dodgy American accent. “I’m powerful hungry ma!”
Just recently, I bought a copy of “In the American West” by Richard Avedon. This book is remarkable and the photographs are stunning. It’s very inspiring and made me think about doing a riff of his book titled ‘In the American Midwest’, about the people of the southern Illinois and surrounding states. So with that frame work, here are some photos from the weekend. I hope you like ‘em.
