© Roger Bulltot
I like it here. I know, there are more reasons to tear this place down than to preserve it. And yet I find the aging, crumbling walls have their own beauty, especially in the way that nature has chosen to integrate herself in this place.
I have a confession. I like it here because it reminds me of me. The Renwick Ruins and I are the same, aging, decaying, and yet seeking our own place in the world. There are reasons why I should be torn down, too. We are both old. Does that mean we should both die?
I wrote this for the Rochelle Wisoff-Fields photo writing challenge. The idea is to use the image above as a prompt to write a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 99.
The image is titled “smallpox hospital” and it didn’t take much “Googling” to discover that the photo is of the ruins of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York.
In some ways, this blog post is related to one I wrote on a sister blog late yesterday. Both are about the examination of an older life struggling to survive and somehow remake itself. Like the Renwick Ruins, it might not be possible, but who knows.
To read other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
poweredbyrobots.com 
a little decay is acceptable. when you become a threat to passers-by they do tear you down
LikeLiked by 2 people
I can be a pest, but I hardly think I’m a threat, Neil. 😉
LikeLike
Ha! Too true Neil 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear James,
A sobering tale. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Thank you, Rochelle.
LikeLike
Sobering indeed.
LikeLike
Thanks, JHC.
LikeLike
Food for thought. Nicely written.
LikeLike
Thanks. By the way, I tried to comment on your blog but the options to choose an account such as Name/URL was blank. Have you noticed an issue with your blog?
LikeLike
Interesting musings about the inevitable decline that awaits us all.
LikeLike
True, but regardless of how old you get, it’s never easy to face. My Mom is 85 and her memory is going. We keep talking about her moving into assisted living but she’s having difficulty facing it. My Dad died in April, so she lives alone. She’s got friends, but she won’t be able to adequately care for herself much longer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can she get more support at home? Here in Australia services are gearing more towards enabling people in their homes. Our family has been through this with two of my grandparents who lived into their 90s. Moving into care, was very difficult but there became no choice…a situation so many families are dealing with.
xx Rowena
LikeLike
Not really Rowena. She’s actually decided on moving into a home the first of the year. It’s a tremendous decision for her, but at 85, she has had to face the next phase of her life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
More of a brief essay, perhaps, than a story, but lovely writing and a sobering view-point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Let’s hope our decline is a graceful one. Nicely done.
LikeLike
Me too. Thanks.
LikeLike
Aging is difficult enough. Aging gracefully, now that is a challenge. I think the building is 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too, though it looks like it will meet with an eventual end, Dale. Thanks.
LikeLike
There is a definite end to each and every one of us
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice analogy, James, though I’m not sure many of us will end up a picturesque ruin like this one! I feel like I need some scaffolding myself some days … 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was going to say the same thing, Lynn. If only my personal ruins were so picturesque that people waited in line to see them. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha! Or even paid to see them? Ticket holders only please 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hope I’m not covered in greenery and held up by scaffold poles in my dotage! Nice one James.
Click to read my FriFic
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely analogies.
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t mind getting old. It’s the pigeons resting on me that’s upsetting.
LikeLike
Ew. Pigeon poop.
LikeLike
I love ruins and old buildings and I find it very sad when someone wants to tear them down to make money. Interesting parallel with the ageing man.
LikeLike
In the case of the ruins in question, they rest on Roosevelt Island in New York City’s East River between Manhattan and and Queens, so as you can imagine, the price of real estate there is pretty high. I’m sure some developer wants to make a lot of money.
LikeLike
Probably. It usually happens if it’s not protected by the law in some way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A lovely way to describe the inevitable falling apart that comes with old age.
LikeLike
If the ruins of an old building can be beautiful, why can’t old people be beautiful too?
LikeLike
I find this haunting in its own way… we have celebrated youth so many years forgetting that we will all get old (hopefully). Let us celebrated the ruin in us.
LikeLike
Ruins can be beautiful, Björn.
LikeLike
sadly, it’s how nature goes whether we accept it or not.
LikeLike
Very true. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey — rebuild that castle. If you rebuild the old castle, does that means I get younger too (or rebuilt) ??
LikeLike
In this case, it’s the ruins of a smallpox hospital, so I don’t think there are plans to be build. That said, my wife is always trying to take care of my health and help me live longer and with a better quality of life, so who knows?
LikeLike
A nice bit of reflection.
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed reading this. There is a great beauty that comes with age and you have captured here.
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There seem to be those who equate “old” with “useless” and “ugly.” Shame. And how did I miss seeing that the picture was identified as a smallpox hospital? Have to go look again!
LikeLike
I just happened to notice the name on Rochelle’s blog. No worries. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
NO – Don’t die! Like ruins, we grow and change into something that is often more beautiful than what we began with. In other words, with age comes wisdom, faith, hope, understanding and a million other great traits that youth has not the experience to understand. I loved this write, dear one.
LikeLike
Thanks for the vote of confidence Jelli, but I suppose I’ll die someday (though hopefully not too soon). I do hope I have something to offer and will continue to do so for some time to come.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not all pests are threats and the last line is a bit heartbreaking.
Just coz someone is old doesnt mean that they die.
Nice take on the picture.
Click Here to see what Mrs. Dash Says
LikeLike
Thanks for your kind words.
LikeLike
I read this quote somewhere – “youth is a work of Nature, but age is a work of Art”. Very interesting take, James. To equate the ruin to your situation.
LikeLike
Gee, am I a work of art? 😀 Thank you.
LikeLike
James, I really enjoyed this with it’s philosophical reflections. Having disabilities myself, I’m all for preserving and enabling the disintigrating building. Never give up. Find a way!
xx Rowena
LikeLike
Thanks, Rowena.
LikeLike
To fear the decline is to fear living, At least, that’s what I got from this tale. Carry on living, and stop fearing. Nice one, James.
LikeLike
Thanks, though my point wasn’t fear of decline, but rather how others (that is younger people) treat you as you age.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Because they are afraid of declining?
LikeLike
Because we live in a youth-driven culture where if you’re not young, beautiful, and don’t have all the toys, you aren’t considered worth very much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this. Sobering it may be, but I also find it uplifting. There is beauty in every age if we want to see it and don’t wallow in self-pity. Sure, there’s decline, maybe the building, or the person loses ‘usefulness’ as defined by someone else, but new points of view emerge that aren’t at all clear for the younger versions.
LikeLike
I agree. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person