Destination or Journey?

   While we were traveling west on Wednesday, on our way to Arkansas, we got to cross the great state of Alabama on US Highway 82, from Eufaula all the way to the Mississippi border. As I often do while driving, I kept on the lookout for interesting photographic opportunities. Being in somewhat of a hurry to get to our destination for the night, I only made a mental note of these, thinking that on the return trip, I would have more time to stop.

   On a stretch of that highway, between Eufaula and Montgomery, we passed through the unincorporated town of Simsville. Approaching the town, I saw this on the left side.

   An old set of buildings that still seemed in somewhat good repair, and looking like it was waiting for me to shoot it.

   As explained in yesterday's post, we came straight back this way on the next day, and so I looked for this sight as we travelled the same roadway home.

   We had stopped to eat lunch in Montgomery where the storm clouds in the west threatened rain at any time, but as we moved farther east and south, we got some sunshine. Knowing that it was getting somewhat late in the afternoon, and that there was still many miles to go before bedtime at home, I wanted to get the shot, but not linger too long.

   After asking a man there if it was OK to take some shots, I took a few and jumped back in the car to get as many miles in before dark as I could. It was only after this, while driving down that road, that I wished I had stayed longer and asked a few questions. For instance:

   What kind of seeds did they process?

   Was the company still doing something?

   What were the 4 guys I saw around the premise doing? Working? For whom? What jobs?

   How long had that plant been there?

   How about the history of all that had taken place there, and who was involved?

   In too much of a hurry to beat a threat of rain. In too much of a hurry to get on before dark. In too much of a hurry to..................

   How much of life's chances are wasted for being in too much of a hurry to...........?

   A trivial moment in time, maybe, but it still reminds me that opportunities are often wasted just because I want to get from point A to point B on my schedule.

   The destination is not always the most important thing, it can be the journey along that road.

   More questions than answers, many of which could have been answered, if I only..........