today's post sponsored by fitchburg tourism board

I wish that I took more of my own photographs, because this is not the picture that I think really captures Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

The story is familiar--an old mill town in New England that has an uncertain future, hidden sources of vitality, and some astonishing architecture. The variety of old factory buildings, all of which are crammed against the river, speaks of massive human investment. It's in rough shape now. The United States is resource rich in so many areas that we take things for granted. Every brick in every building was touched by a human hand at least a dozen times. Now, some of those buildings could collapse in a fire and their ruins could go untouched for centuries, or forever. I like to think that the resources of Fitchburg will be appreciated--no, more than appreciated--that someone will take advantage of the value stored there.

We'll see.