Postcard #15 (Seymour, Indiana)

Take these broken wings and learn to fly
Blackbird (Lyrics by Lennon/McCartney)

Today I was on the road after a three day video shoot in Louisville, Kentucky and found myself driving through Seymour, Indiana for the second time this week. Today I decided to drive through town instead of just taking the Interstate bypass, and hunted for a photo I could post today. I found the above shot at the St. Paul United Church of Christ cemetery in Seymour which was established in 1863.

Like neon lights, statues of angels have a way of catching my photographic eye. The funny thing is I spent about 10 minutes taking photos in front of this angel before I walked around the back of the statue and noticed the broken wing. Nothing fancy here, taken with an iPhone and tweaked in Chase Jarvis’ Best Picture App.

I also have a long and lasting affection for Seymour, Indiana as it’s John Mellencamp’s hometown and the well spring of his song Small Town:

Well I was born in a small town
And I can breath in a small town
Gonna die in a small town
Ah, that’s prob’ly where they’ll bury me
Small Town
Performed & lyrics by John Mellencamp

When Mellencamp dies he’ll probably be buried not too far from where this photo was taken. (And anyone in Seymour with connections to Mr. Mellencamp—tell him I’d be honored if he used this photo on his next CD.)

And while Mellencamp is known as a singer and songwriter (and more recently as a painter) don’t forget that he is a produced feature film director as well.  He directed and starred with Mariel Hemingway in the 1992 film Falling from Grace which was written by Oscar-winner Larry McMurtry.

Mellencamp, who was born in Seymour in 1951—and graduated from Seymour High School in 1970—returned to Seymour to shoot Falling from Grace. And now as I wrap up being on the road for two weeks for various productions (and logging over 2,600 miles) it seems fitting to end with this Mellencamp song from back in the day:

P.S. As I’ve been driving, I’ve been thinking about that angel’s broken wing. Maybe the artist made it that way. Maybe it’s the angel that Jacob wrestled all night with from Genesis. The book says that Jacob walked away a crippled man, but we weren’t told what the angel looked like after the battle. (Can’t you hear Jacob telling his friends the next day, “You should’ve seen the other guy.”) Some great artwork has been done over the ages from that epic wrestling match including those by Rembrandt, Delacroix and Chagall.

Scott W. Smith