Nobody Asked Me But...

Photographer Michael Eastman, native of Saint Louis, currently has a series, "Vanishing America," on display at DNJ Gallery in Los Angeles. While the photos are on display in Los Angeles, some of the images displayed were actually taken in Cairo, Illinois, about 150 miles to the southeast of Saint Louis.

The photos are haunting and beautiful at the same time. He is able to convey so much through his images, and what he is conveying is what I like to deem the "Wal-Mart Problem."

As a teenager, I worked for my father's company in the summers, driving all over Missouri and Illinois, through back roads and to towns people have no idea exist. They are all small town America. And the "bigger" small towns all have town squares. It was uncanny how similar they are from town to town. Lines of businesses to the north, south, east, and west, with the City Hall smack dab in the middle. The problem? The businesses are all half empty or barely surviving. The issue? In my mind - Wal Mart. Wal Mart comes in to these small towns and essentially destroys the town - shutting down the local car repair place, putting the hardware store out of business, and causing the grocer to shut their doors. I understand it's big business, and it's all about the money and the bottom line, but I don't have to like it.

I never like to be on a soap box, or tell people what to do, but think about it the next time you visit a Wal Mart. Besides, going in Wal Mart is akin to torture anyway. Eastman's photos are a perfect display of what happens when Wal Mart moves in and opens up shop - and that's why I won't shop there.