One man's trash....

            So I set out today to find a location to practice my long exposure shots on some late night traffic but ended up meeting a real life hoarder and avid collector of junk. I was driving through Raeford, NC when I went past a line of trees that had an old jeep wedged in between them. My first thought was that I need to turn around and take a picture but then that thought was interrupted by a really old school bus turned over next to some more trees. JACKPOT!!!

So I quickly turned around and started driving back the other way past acre after acre of old cars, tractors, buses, and other machinery that I couldn't even identify. I was just about to park next to the road and trespass, as I have been known to do to get my pictures, when I saw an old building with a truck parked next to it. This was where I met him.

 

 

The front door was blocked by an old antique table so I tried to find another way in. I knocked on the old metal door on the side. The door opened a little as I was knocking and I could hear someone's voice so I pushed the door a little. As the door swung open I could see that the room was PACKED full of junk from top to bottom. As I was standing there just taking it all in I heard an old man say hello. I turned to see him and his dog making his way through the junk to where I was. I introduced myself and told him how cool his stuff looked from the road. He told me that he was 86 years old and he had been collecting stuff for 70 years and most of it was still here. I swear this guy needs to be on American Pickers immediately! Hopefully Hoarders won't come knocking on his door because it would be a shame for him to lose any of his stuff.  After talking to him for a few minutes I asked him if he would mind if I walked around and took some pictures of his place. He told me I could but that I was to watch out for the guy on the forklift because he might not be able to see me walking around out there. I told him I would be careful but honestly I never saw any signs of a guy, or a forklift. He could have been confused..

To get to the really good stuff I had to cross this "bridge". I don't think it was made for anyone heavier than a frail, 86 year old man but I gave it a try anyway.

 

Here is some of what I found on the other side.

 

 

 

 

I  have absolutely no idea what this piece of machinery is..

 

I found another building and thought I would give you an idea of what kind of stuff this guy has..

 

 

 

He told me that he loved school buses and never wanted to see them destroyed so he would buy them whenever he got the chance.



 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have walked around on this guy's property all day long but after taking about a hundred pictures, falling down in the mud twice, and almost impaling myself on razor sharp scrap metal I headed back to the rickety bridge to thank the junk man for his hospitality. As I entered the old building I found him standing at a work bench quietly tinkering with an old flashlight that he said was "acting up". He continued to work on that flashlight as we were talking as if it was the most important thing in the world. I get the feeling that he feels that way about all his stuff. That truly gives meaning to the old phrase "One man's trash is another man's treasure"