Have you ever gone for a ride, taken a road you’ve never take before? Have you turned down country lanes and seen sights that were something to write home about? Whether it be the wildlife, the flowers in bloom, or just the overall atmosphere of a quaint little town or a picturesque landscape, did it grab your attention?

And, on one of those drives have you ever come across an old building that catches your imagination? It can be an old house, an old barn, or even an old storefront. Something eccentric, or that looks old and forgotten. If you’re like me, you’re mind starts to wander. You begin to wonder what happened to that building, what stories does could it possibly have to tell you?

…Were there happy times that families got along well with each other? Did the kids and parents spend weekends working in the yard together? Were Sundays spent with grandparents telling stories of their youth, and keeping family traditions alive?

…Or was there something little more sinister about the building, could it store secrets that no one knew about? Secrets of a tragic event that had happened there.

What dreams were kept or lost in that house, barn or storefront? What promises were made and kept, what promises were broken?

A building can tell much about our history- be it our private history or the history of our country. The region that you find the building can tell you of wars from the past, or the economic decline and recovery. These buildings can tell you about generations that have lived here.

The styles of ages that have come and gone can be found from the building’s history. Sometimes, even the trash that you might find out behind the barn can let you in on a whole generation’s secrets. I can tell you that generations of inventions, people’s coming and going through their everyday live can be found if you look hard enough.

But whatever the building has to say, are you observant enough to notice, or maybe even learn from what you see?