Standard of living

Forts from the War of 1812 attracted a lot of my time this past August, and since I had a new camera (the original not-so-fab one making the unfortunate acquaintance of certain flagstone paving at high velocity this past July) I took a lot of pictures in them.

Reviewing these ones, taken at Fort Erie in Ontario, I was struck by the things that don't change, whether your life is civilian or military, or unfolds through 2009 or 1812.

We all need ways to pass the time, and they don't have to be fancy: a few rocks will do.


We need healthy boundaries, with some doors for give and take.


A quiet place to rest is important.


Some places are, of course, nicer than others, and it is always striking when the nicer places are not only nicer, but all devoted to the comfort of one person rather than sixty (the straw bed above having been taken in the soldiers' barracks, a solitary single in a crowd of bunks.)


Still, a good view is free to all.


As long as nobody is firing into your vantage point.