"Age Interpretations," is a photo essay exploring how people of different times in history's minds work in similar situations. Casey asked a middle schooler, high schooler, college student, graduate student, middle-aged adult, and an elder to write a story for her. It could be about anything they wanted but had to include six words: smile, ice, blue, fear, car, and peace. After receiving the stories, Casey constructed photo manipulated images that told the stories visually. The goal was to show how differently the words were used.
Written by a girl in middle school:
“Sadie! It’s time to go! We are going to be late!”
“I’m coming, Mom!” I yelled down the stairs at her. I ran down the stairs and hopped in the passenger seat of the car.
My mom smiled at me, “So sweetie, why did you want to go to Disney on Ice again?” 
“Because I heard that it is really cool! And I get to hang out with my favorite person ever!” I grinned. 
“That would be Olaf, correct?” My mom teased. 
“No! It’s you!” My mom laughed. “I hope it’s not too cold, I don’t wanna get blue fingers!” 
“Of course not! You are going to have so many clothes on, you will have nothing to fear!”
Mom tapped the smelly thing that she has hanging in her car, its a peace sign, and the aroma of cinnamon wafted towards me. 
“Here we are! Come on, or we won’t get in!” 
Mom and I climbed out of the car and headed into the building. 
Written by a girl in high school:
The reflection of the sun on the fresh snow was blinding. The peace and tranquility were immense in the blue-tinged wonderland of winter. The cars on the street were covered in snow while ice formed on the road. My car was blocked in the garage, a prisoner until the thaw, but I was not upset. I felt no fear, only joy. Oh, to be a child in the snow with a smile on my face. A blast of cold air knocked sense into me again: I was no child and my fingers were numb. As I stared from my window, I still could remember the feel of the fresh snow and the joy of the youth even if I was no longer young myself. It does seem like memories have a way of living on and some things will never change.
Written by a college student:
There once was a man that was driving through the town in his car. It was a sunny day outside with a clear, baby blue sky. The sound of birds chirping and the laughter of children playing could be heard as the man was driving. The conditions of a day like this could put a smile on anyone’s face. But not to this man. His face screamed fear and nervousness. He had an audition today for a role in a movie that could change his life. Of course, he would be nervous. Who wouldn’t be in this man’s situation? Once he arrived at the place for the audition, he went inside and waited for his turn. He went over the lines over and over in his head. The sweat on his face was the size of ice cubes. He wanted this world more than anything in the world. Getting this role would mean he could finally leave this town. He had a rough childhood. Little to no friends, neglected by his parents and had virtually no support system. The one thing he enjoyed doing, the thing that brought him immense happiness, was acting. He loved to create stories in his mind and then acting them out. It made him feel alive and brought a sense of peace to his life. He grew up poor and without any support from anyone, he didn’t have enough money to leave town to pursue his career. His job didn’t nearly cover the cost to escape this prison, so he was stuck for what seemed like forever. Until he heard about this role. He hasn’t been able to get many auditions in his own town but saw this role as an opportunity to get out and change his life. He feels so much pressure right now since he must give the performance of his life to get this part. As the next audition ends, he hears his name called. After his audition, all he can do now is wait to see what the future holds for him. 
Written by a graduate student:
Once there was a man, about in his 50's, who lived in a northern rural village. Nobody ever found out what village or exactly where it was, but that's beside the point. This area was so rural that no transportation ever came around. However, one very cold day, as he was eating breakfast, he heard a very strange rumble which filled him with fear almost too great for words, the kind of fear he used to feel when hunting as a child when he heard something which he thought was hunting him. He very quickly called his family, saying, "Please pray! There is a huge monster outside, probably an angry wolf, and it just ran and has come here and stopped! Somehow he growls without taking a breath!”
Faster than ever before, the man draped his coat, gloves, hat, and scarf on, picked up his gun, and ran outside to kill the beast. He ran through his yard, through the whole farm-like garden and forest which he has, all the way to his frozen catfish pond. However, he forgot that the pond was frozen, so he slipped and fell on the ice, which was luckily thick enough that he couldn't fall through. Once he finished sliding to the other side and regained his footing, he noticed that the rumble had stopped and been gone for some time, so he looked around and listened closely to try and hear where the wolf could have gone.
Just as he continued to look and listen and visualized how he would shoot the wolf through the head, he realized that it may not have been a wolf after all, as it only gave a very long growl and never howled. Then, he finally saw it, some kind of a blue car, with another man getting out of it, someone who looked like a monster himself, but the man decided to push that thought out of the way, as he'd much rather meet a "human monster” than a wolf. As they talked and carefully made their way to his house, the man learned that his visitor's car was older and needed a better muffler and that there was no reason for fear at all. (His kids had seen and used transportation more than he had decided to live this kind of a lifestyle to avoid those he thought were monsters--"human monsters," as he called them). He also found out this was his new neighbor from across the pond, and his house was not far from where he parked. This made the man realize just how lonely his self-protecting lifestyle had made him, so, upon hearing this news, he couldn't help but smile. They continued to talk late into the night, and he realized that his neighbor was not a "human monster," which allowed him to fall asleep with a deep sense of peace. 
Written by a middle-aged adult male:
I walked outside the porch door of my rectangular log cabin, with a fresh glass of iced apple cider. It was a clear crisp day and the sun was climbing quickly above the mountains on the north end of the two-acre lake.  The autumn wind remained breezy overnight from the southeast and was continuing to blowing the sweet fragrance of recently blossoming Macintosh apples in a farmer's orchard just up the mountain across my nose.  The still blue water of Bigelow Lake shimmered like a steel knife in the sunshine. Waves dancing and shimmering on the surface of the large lake in the steady winds and sunlight like they were putting on a Broadway show.  I smiled, as I remembered the good day of fishing I had yesterday, looking down at the metal rowboat turned over down the hill near the rocks by the lake. As I looked around the yard, taking in the nice morning and the recently blooming yellow Peonies and orange Coneflowers provided great peace of mind. 
Suddenly, from the distance, I heard a dreadful crashing of brush and leaves reverberated in the distance. It was coming from further up the mountain across the street and above the parking lot of my traditional two-story rectangular log cabin, where a new blue Honda Accord was parked.  It was a traditional log cabin made of cedar and built with great care and love, the forest green shutters hanging on 5 large windows. What could the thunderous sounds be, I wondered?  It sounded big, whatever it was. Fear crept into my mind. I knew powerful black and brown bears lived near this area. But I couldn't see anything through the thick canopy of the woodsy mountain across the street. The sounds kept getting closer and closer.  My heart pounding almost out of my chest in reaction to the powerful and quickly approaching sounds. 
As the sound approached the road, fear coursed through my veins like ice. Suddenly, a large black bear poked its large nose into view underneath the tree branches with vividly green ferns covering its feet.  It looked about as if making sure nothing was near. In an astute, yet serious manner. I went back inside, but could still see the bear contemplating whether to come out of the brush. Why the hesitation, I wondered? It was much bigger than most things it would encounter. Then I saw it!  A subtle jostle and sudden tumble of two smaller figures to its right. Two adorable cubs rumbled into the picture, playing beside the attentive mother, not really seeming to notice anything around them (except for each other!). I wouldn't dare go out for a closer look now, knowing how protective mother bears could be. However, a final smile came across my face as I watched them crossed into the road and slowly travel 100 feet into the neighboring farm pasture further west.
Written by a elder male:
The sun rose over the Mogollon predicting a clear blue, but icy cold day. Fear that there was not enough water in the blue put a smile on local fly-fishermen who used their cars to cross in the peaceful at ease.