Sulphur Springs

For once, I’m almost speechless. I started the day heading towards Paris, TX, but got sidetracked along the way to visit Sulphur Springs. This is a typical example of what can happen to the downtown areas of “small-America” when Walmart moves in. I don’t want to single out Walmart, because there are plenty of others – they just happen to be the largest and most influential. I’d love to be able to say: “Thank you very much, Walmart, Braums, Pizza Hut, CVS, McDonald’s, Popeye’s, BlockBuster, Subway, Dollar General, Sonic, Brookshire’s, Burger King, Lowe’s, Starbucks, Family Dollar, Home Depot … and the horse you all rode in on.” But the truth is that not one of us escapes responsibility for the rape of our towns and countryside.

My photography is functional, at best, but I present the following montage of downtown Sulphur Springs to tell their own story of a town that has had its soul cut out, and lacks the moral fibre (and probably the finances) to do anything about it.

The courthouse looks ok, though, doesn’t it?