Cashiers, North Carolina, USA

If you live in the United States, this is the very last day to fill out your 2020 Census form. It doesn't even matter whether you are a citizen or not. Tax monies are allocated on the basis of the Census at local, state, and national scales. Don't sell yourself short. [2020]

Hagerman, Idaho, USA

"A book is a dream you hold in your hands." Like libraries everywhere, the one in Hagerman seeks to inspire a love of reading, a love of learning, and a love of dreaming. Maybe we should draw more inspirational quotes out of the books in that building and put them all over town. What would you pick for the gas station next door? [2020]

Seoul, South Korea

People of Seoul: It's fried something on a stick, just one of the many different kinds of street food you find all over Korea. Cities of Asia have so many more choices for fressing than American cities. [2016]

Seoul, South Korea

People of Seoul: Why do people all over the world find aesthetic value in water as a component of landscape? Here on the Cheonggyecheon, photographers devise multiple opportunities to capture the spirit of place by freezing a very special urban spring. They do it by adjusting lenses rather than regulating temperatures. [2012]

Seoul, South Korea

People of Seoul: Koreans have many ways to keep their traditional culture alive. One is by making it chic for women (and children) to wear hanbok for special occasions. Men have their own hanbok. [2012]

Tbilisi, Georgia

People of Tbilisi: Even though he looks like he is roosting in a tree, he is is actually standing on a wall keeping a high profile (literally) while his face unknowingly manifests the very soul of Georgia. [2015]

Tbilisi, Georgia

People of Tbilisi: They look like young professionals (two of many in Georgia's capital city) who have taken leave of their offices to meet and embrace for just a few minutes in the city's abundant public spaces. [2015]

Tbilisi, Georgia

People of Tbilisi: Let's stipulate that the Georgian Orthodox Church is the most respected institution in Georgia. Then, let's ask whether this priest's countenance, his beard, and his vestments (standard appearance for all priests) put a barrier between him and the world in which his flock lives. Does the Georgian church allow room for modernization? [2015]

McLaurin, Mississippi, USA

Trump flags: Needed because there is no way he honors the American flag. Trump masks: Must be the kind you wear at Halloween because he never wears the protective kind. Trump hats: Needed to cover the hole in your head. Trump gear: Reverse gear to take us all backwards in time. BOO: Must be a spelling error. [2020]

Port Royal, South Carolina, USA

As the sun sets on the summer, let's reflect on what an unprecedented summer it has been. Tomorrow ushers in a new season; hopefully, one that will bring back some normalcy. [2008]

San Diego, California, USA

Where would you file a photo like this? Maybe in the folder labeled Poetry of Place. It seems so SoCal. Palm tree imprisoned behind a chain-link fence. Interstate highway providing an underpass for the homeless. Abandoned sandals turned into a sculpture. [2020]

Boxley, Indiana, USA

Nothing says fall so well as Indian corn. Although you can eat it as polenta (corn meal), most people use it for decorations. Looks good with pumpkins. [2018]

Branchville, Virginia, USA

Speaking of goobers (no, not the people outside, the legumes inside): Did you know they are an important part of African-American history? They were introduced from Africa by slaves; the name goober comes from an African language, and a man who was born into slavery discovered they can be transformed into 300 products. What was his name? [2015]

Blufton, South Carolina, USA

The suits have arrived without their suits. Let there be no mistake about it, though: These men and women will determine the ground rules for groundnuts at Blufton's farmers' market. Demographically, they present a nice mix of bosses, too. And, none of them look like goobers! [2008]

Helena, Montana, USA

Helena's old downtown stretches along Last Chance Gulch, the very stream where gold was discovered in 1864. The initial surge of wealth was enormous, and it took only eleven years for the mining camp to become Montana's capital. [2020]

Tremonton, Utah, USA

The coronavirus era is upon us, but something is going on at the Box Elder County Fairgrounds. The cowboys have arrived, they will soon be on horseback, and they will offer some performance art to lift both our spirits and the spirit of place. What else enlivens the spirit of place? The name of the fairgrounds: Box Elder is so mood-placating. [2020]

Twin Falls, Idaho, USA

Who presides over the activities that take place on the Twin Falls commons? That wide-eyed cow on the wall, of course! After all, Idaho is the nation's third largest milk-producing state (outranked only by California and Wisconsin). As for the activities: seems like a form of tai chi. [2020]

Baker, Montana, USA

Montana's state map – the outline alone – says it all: mountains and natural boundaries in the west vs. plains and geometric boundaries in the east. Don't be confused, though. Even when you are here on the Great Plains, you are still 3000 feet above sea level. Mountainous topography doesn't have a monopoly on high elevation. [2019]

Waterford, Connecticut, USA

Better check your mailbox today. You are likely to find some birthday cards wishing you a happy cinquième. But, you might find that Ginny has gotten there ahead of you: She probably thinks it is her birthday, too! [2018]

New York, New York, USA

Seven years after the event, the tiles affixed to a work-a-day fence in Greenwich Village were looking a little weather beaten. Hopefully, today they are all in the archives of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. It's been 19 years! [2008]

Portsmouth, England, UK

Add some masks and remove a table or two: We have a perfect place for social gathering in the time of coronavirus. Meet your companions (literally "coming together, com, over bread, pan") outside. Why can't cafes and restaurants in the U.S. adapt? Sidewalks and parking lots await the takeover. [2011]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

He stands in front of  Glasgow Central as a bronze memorial to fallen firefighters. But, we saw him differently after the events of September 11, 2001. Then, we saw him, again, in a new light after the coronavirus pandemic began. It is amazing how the present re-contextualizes the past. [2004]

Encamp, Andorra

Even the butterflies will be celebrating Andorra's first constitution and the Virgin of Meritxell today. The national holiday goes back to 1278. By comparison, the United States' first constitution dates from March 1, 1781. We know it as the Articles of Confederation, but we don't celebrate its birth. Why not? [2005]

Tarkio, Missouri, USA

Whether you are trying to sell gasoline or chicken, it's all about attracting attention. Enter: fiberglass animals. The Sinclair brontosaurus may have started the trend, but Dino and Foghorn Leghorn by no means exhaust all the possibilities. Go to any city, and you you are likely to see horses, cows, and dogs with roots in the dinosaur age of the 1960s. [2019]

Copperhill, Tennessee, USA

How would you gauge the risk of contracting coronavirus on the Ocoee River? Apparently these healthy-looking folks think they will be fine. They are outdoors, the sun in shining, the air is moving, and all the small groups number under ten. But some are not respecting the six-foot rule, nor are they wearing masks. [2020]

Solana Beach, California, USA

Bike sales have soared during coronavirus times. No one wants to be cooped up at home all the time, and no one wants to be exercising in closed spaces with people they don't know. Everybody seems to be looking for outdoor, socially-distanced things to do. Peddling is perfect. [2013]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

Every other large festival this year was cancelled because of the Covid crisis. There was but one exception: The Sturgis Bike Rally, which took place as usual and ended just a little over two weeks ago. Since then, as predicted, Covid cases have shot up in South and North Dakota, and the first Covid-caused attendee death was reported in Minnesota. [2019]

Momence, Illinois, USA

Unraveling rural color codes: Ford tractors are blue; International Harvester tractors are red. John Deere tractors are green; Allis-Chalmers tractors are orange. Minneapolis-Moline tractors are yellow(ish). Case tractors are gray. What company made the tractor atop this silo? [1999]

New York, New York, USA

Quiz: 1. What is the name of the island where the Statue of Liberty is located? 2. What is the name of the island where One World Trade Center is located? 3. Lady Liberty was a gift from what country? 4. What event leveled New York City's old World Trade Center? 5. How tall is One World Trade Center in feet? [2020]

San Diego, California, USA

San Deigo wants to be a world city of the first order, but right up the road is Los Angeles. How can California's Mexican gateway compete? Maybe a sculpture by Jaume Plensa will do the trick. Meet the Pacific Soul that now sits in the city's downtown. Its armor consists of letters from eight different alphabets. Very international, indeed! [2020]