Letter of Unusual Incident
Date/Time Reported: Mo. 7, Day 12, Year 80, Time 6:30AM
Part I – Reported by Mrs. Beverly Queen
Part II – Type of Incident – Unhealthy and Deplorable Condition
Part III – Details of Incident – Upon arrival for duty this am this building smelled disgustingly unbearable. The corridors, playrooms and dormitories were filled with some sort of sticky substance on the floors, the trash cans were filled to the rim and there was a multitude of roaches and ants encompassing dried fecal matter on the floors. Ms. Jenkins and myself were forced to mop the playrooms before performing our daily custodial duties.
Part IV – Actions Taken & By Whom – Housekeeping Supervisor E Bivens was called and informed of the devastating conditions this building was in and also Mr. Bivens was informed that this is a continuous problem.
Original Posting: December 2015
New musings: Perhaps it's because I'm about to embark upon another adventure, also containing a ghost town, that I come back to this image. You never know what one will find as one steps into the past and wanders through, careful not to step on important relics of a time long gone.
But there's a story the place holds within its walls. A history of words, secrets, happenings and emotions, perhaps hanging in the air like a faint melody. It makes one realize how our time here is really a small blip on the radar in relation to the passing of time over the course of our planet's existence.
Makes some of the things I worry about on a regular basis seem a bit insignificant in the whole scheme of things. Things to ponder.
Behind the Scenes - Letter of Unusual Incident
A dreary Friday took me out to Forest Haven Asylum, an abandoned institution for the mentally ill…left in shambles to fall into disarray. (I did not go it alone, Dad, I had company! I promise!)
I’m typically on my best behavior but I have to admit that something happens when the camera touches my hand. It’s as if the simple act of grasping my trusty Nikon fires off neurons making me do unspeakable things like walking into places such as these. And if I can offer any justification, I only saw ONE No Trespassing sign and I am proud to say my person did not set foot in said place…just everywhere else.
In an attempt to keep an open mind, and not be scared half to death, I walked down the trail with a heightened sense of awareness and a quickened pulse to my heart. Would we walk in alone to find ourselves amongst the walls of a time long gone or perhaps surrounded my the spirits of yesteryear…or worse, graffiti artists, tag happy to paint the walls with vulgar scribbles and lewd statements? Unfortunately, it was the latter.
I do believe I would prefer ghosts to the disheartening spattering of ridiculous tainting of walls in a place primed for taint all on its own. It hardly felt abandoned, but regularly infiltrated by those who care only to infiltrate and deface.
But despite the mayhem, I came across this one Letter of Unusual Incident tacked to an old board weathered by the elements. It was dated back to 1980 with big, cursive handwriting. I’d like to believe this is a legitimate piece of the past and perhaps someone on a pass thru picked it up from the dusty floor and affixed it to the wall. After all, there were several papers strewn across this place haphhazardly. So I’ll choose to believe in the authenticity of this Letter of Unusual Incident as it seemed appropriately placed in such a strange environment.
But it has to make one wonder about this sticky substance that attracted ants and roaches and how or why it was a such continuous problem. Inquiring minds want to know.
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Here are a few behind the scenes images from the excursion.
No thank you. No amount of invitation could place me in that chair.
This was the first room that sparked my imagination. So strange as it appeared to have the makings of a shower, drain and all, but one has to wonder why a filing cabinet would be well suited for such a space. Multi-tasking at its finest?
Feel free to share this newsletter with your art lover friends. Leave a comment. Drop me a line. Until next time.
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