i thought i’d be bored in alpena. turns out i was wrong. the barometer here is stuck on ‘you woke up this way, deal with it.’ i just checked and it’s like -3c or something, which is either my body’s temperature or my will to live. snow’s melting into slush that’s thicker than a goth’s eyeliner, and the wind’s there to remind you why you shouldn’t wear shorts to a flea market. neighbor’s cat kept trying to lick the ice on my lens this morning, which is either adorable or a cry for help. who knows.

if you get bored, marquette is just a short drive away. or maybe don’t. i heard their entire city is on welfare for rain. weird. tried to take a photo of a frozen lake this am but the whole thing turned into a mirror image of my anguish. the ice cracked like vintage glass when i stepped too close. swing and miss. maybe it’s a metaphor for life here? seems plausible.

> one local told me the best thing to photograph isn’t the cold. it’s the people who still try to enjoy it. they’ll be frozen to a tree by sundown but still snap selfies. i’m not sure if that’s a compliment or a warning. another person swore the harbor was ‘nothing but a toilet bowl.’ i went there anyway. turns out the water was 90% beer cans and 10% existential dread. held up.

aliena’s frozen silence: my alpena photo trip through ice and random variables

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About the author: Ava Morales

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