The Bridgeport Inn’s restaurant offers patrons the option of viewing Main Street from an outdoor stool as they dine. There were no takers while we were there. The temperature was in the 30’s. In this image I try to build layer after layer of potential meaning upon each other. I shot this scene from inside of the restaurant itself, and anchor it with the tops of two dining chairs flanking a small American flag, some flowers, and a glass. These objects are all in shadow so as not to conflict with the other layers. This abstracted foreground layer contrasts to the next layer – four outdoor stools. Behind them a neon sign is sandwiched between lace curtains and another American flag, which softly waves over the street. The neon, focal point of picture, as well as the genteel curtains, offer symbols referring to both time and place. Bridgeport is in rural America, where patriotism is boldly displayed at every opportunity. The sign, curtains and flag would have been just at home here fifty years ago. Still another layer is created by the geometry of woodwork that offers us a frame within a frame, drawing our eyes out to the street beyond. This framing gives the image its illusion of depth. The street scene in the back of the image is the last layer. All that comes before it is carefully controlled, as if it were a stage set. But the public street represents the real, almost accidental, world -- commercial buildings with “closed” signs in their windows, a man walking a dog, and a car for sale, which has been parked on the street for days. The comfortable Inn and its restaurant are designed to make visitors to Bridgeport feel at home, but the street outside is for everyone and everything.