Mike McGowan, at the farmer's market, October 2008
Mike McGowan, with his Amish beard and his raucous laugh, seems to come from another time, but his life is very peculiar to the 21st century, corrupted by the economic crisis and loneliness, which he tries to overcome by going on dating websites.
Mike McGowan is a farmer in Boone County, Missouri, where he grows organic vegetables. He loves food, and he loves farming: it is the one occupation that makes him feel good. “I like being part of nature. When I’m out, working on my crops I’m not lonely.” But last season was too wet, and many of his crops were wasted. It is hard to make money in those conditions. For that matter, he does not. He whispers with a bitter smile that he will be lucky if he does not loose some.
Mike tastes his turnips in his field before collecting them for his lonely dinner, Nov 2008
In the choir, at the Church, Columbia, MO. November 2008
Usually he uses his engineering skills to have other occupations and earn his living. He sometimes fixes gear in radio stations; he also used to fly cargo-planes. But he does not fly anymore, and radio stations have no money left to get their gear fixed. So remain the farm, his old truck, his organic turnips and sorrels, which he tries to sell, or eats on his own, alone.
Hand removed from the truck's engine. Mike has troubles fixing his truck; he needs to buy spare parts he can't afford. MO, Nov 2008
Mike's fingers perusing the choir's score. MO, December 2008
Mike loves to share his passion with others, to have them taste his products, to introduce them to new flavors. He also loves cooking and sharing his cooking with others. The problem is he does not have anyone to share with anymore. So sometimes he eats an entire chicken on his own.
A couple of years ago, Mike got divorce. He wouldn’t say exactly when for he doesn’t remember. He says it’s just easier to live your life when you don’t keep track of all the records. But this divorce was still a turning point in his life. There is a before and an after the divorce. He used to have a moustache and now he has a beard, he used to have black sheep, in whose wool he would put his scratched hands. He also used to have a clean house. Now his house is in a mess, just as his life.
“It’s messier than I can stand, he says about his cluttered living-room. I get depressed and don’t fix up the house. It wasn’t like that when my wife was there. She was cleaning and I kept things a lot better. When she left I just kind of fell apart and for a couple of years I didn’t do much of everything. Then I tore up my arm, I couldn’t work, things went down from here and I haven’t gotten back.”
It probably does not help meeting the right woman for him. He has met some, thanks to dating websites. They don’t always like the house. “There’s one lady that went screaming outside of my house cause it was such a mess. She used to live in Columbia but I guess she’s one of those suburban housewives in Saint-Louis, whom the whole house is immaculate; you go to the kitchen: everything is behind cabinets there’s nothing to look at. At least I had the table cleaned off, with only my computer, and there was plenty of room for two people.”
Mike’s fields(left) and living room (right)
So he has not found the right woman yet. But he is not done with trying. In the meanwhile, he has found another occupation: he sings. This is the one thing that really changed positively since the divorce. “I did not know I could sing before, and then I tried, and I can!” He belongs to a choir, he sings for college concerts, and at church on Sunday. When singing, he transforms himself, he is cleaner, successful, surrounded by friends. But it does not blow away his loneliness. Last Sunday, at church, he sang “My soul is thirsting”.
Mike in his house, Nov 2008
Mike's house at sunset, Nov 2008
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Un commentaire
janvier 8, 2009 à 12:34
Cool stuff… the pictures are neat as well.