Sunday, May 1, 2011

Abandonment Issues: Mr. & Mrs. Wickman

king kong bundy

The old wood stove hasn't brought warmth to this abode since Mr. Edward (Ed) Elmer Wickman passed away in July of 2004, at the age of 80. His wife Mrs. Margaret (Lois) Wickman had passed away back in January of 2001. Ed had a very large family that included 23 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. Even with the large family though, the loss of his wife was heartbreaking. I can only barely begin to imagine how lonely those last three and a half years must have been.

adrienne adonis

randy macho man savage

On this day in April of 2011, the doors could barely hold themselves up on their aged hinges, and the yellow curtains on the windows were disintegrating. In the kitchen, my hands pushed aside a bright curtain and revealed the staircase to the second floor. Red and gold wallpaper adorned the staircase. A fuzzy green blanket with silk trim was hanging at the window high above a bright blue banister constructed of 2x4s. The banister gave way to striped wallpaper, peeling to old orange painted drywall crumbling to outer brick wall.

The Killer Bees
the killer bees

The Ultimate Warrior
the ultimate warrior

Paul Mr. Wonderful Orndorff
paul mr. wonderful orndorff

Bret The Hitman Hart
the hitman bret hart

Andre The Giant
andre the giant

Ric Flair
ric flair

George The Animal Steele
george the animal steele

Brutus The Barber Beefcake
brutus the barber beefcake

Mr. Perfect
mr. perfect

Honky Tonk Man
honky tonk man

Kamala
kamala

Kicking the baseball between my feet on the second floor, photographing the baby blue Westinghouse Nail Dryer and Hair Dryer all-in-one with fat ass vacuum hose and colour matched case, I pondered how long it had been since some kids threw this ball around, and who those kids may have become? What became of the girls that used this baby blue Westinghouse equipment? These are the questions that push me forward as an explorer.

The Nasty Boys
the nasty boys

Greg The Hammer Valentine
greg the hammer valentine

The Fabulous Moolah
the fabulous moolah

Elizabeth
elizabeth

The Model Rick Martel
the model rick martel

Time ravages. Time seems to go faster everyday with the ratio of tomorrows to yesterdays shrinking at a feverish pace. Much like is happening to us in these fading moments we try to to capture in photographs and memories, time eventually had its way with this old house in Hastings, Ontario.

Heaps of wallpaper have surrendered, given up on life and leaped to the ground, left piled in mass graves. Colour was the only thing still showing signs of life inside the house on this spring afternoon. The blue and yellow kitchen walls shining brighter than the cold distant sun, hiding behind a dark shield of clouds and dense precipitation in a foreboding black and grey sky. The curtains and the wallpaper, the pile of clothing and the bright blue banister, all alive with colour. Us, alive with passionate excitement and intrigue. The freshly wounded corpse of a wet dog that I couldn't seem to muster the strength to photograph, beside a rotting wood pile out back, remind us of just how short lived and precious this alive feeling really is. Nothing lasts.

Ev e ryt h in g f a ll s a pa ar t .

We too, will abandoned these shells, these skeletons, these houses...

The Fridge
william refrigerator perry

Macho Man Randy Savage
the rockers

Hacksaw Jim Duggan
hacksaw jim duggan

The Matador Tito Santana
the matador tito santana

The $Million $Dollar $Man Ted DiBiase
virgil

The British Bulldogs
the british bulldogs

Jake the Snake
jake the snake and damien

Hillbilly Jim
hillbilly jim

Ravishing Rick Rude
ravishing rick rude

Demolition
demolition

One Man Gang
one man gang

Ricky the Dragon Steamboat
ricky the dragon steamboat

Legion of Doom
legion of doom

The time will come for each and every one of us. Until it does, live life to the fullest.

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the Margaret Wickman is Margaret (Lois) Wickman?
http://www.obitsforlife.com/obituary/6572/Wickman-Edward-Elmer.php

Mussy said...

Did you look inside the chest? I am intrigued what was/is inside :-)

Unknown said...

Yes, that is indeed this Mrs. Wickman.

And yes I looked in the chest, of course. But it was unfortunately empty.

Anonymous said...

They were my grandparents.

jennifer wickman said...

They were my grandparents.. I have alot of memories of that house

Anonymous said...

Why are the photos titled with wrestler names???

Unknown said...

My name is Jessica Wickman Tracey. They were my grandparents too.