Where Were You?

Yes, everyone is writing about where they were on September 11, 2011 prompting me to do the same.


I was a full time mammographer in those days, working at what was then called Sand Lake Hospital. I distinctly remember being in the midst of a biopsy procedure in my tiny room that fateful morning. I won't bore you with how it is done, but I will tell you that I never left the room, thus, a helper, in this case my boss Dave, would wait outside the room for me to hand him the film cassette, which in turn, he would develop and show to the radiologist. I'm not sure how anyone even knew what was happening, perhaps, a television somewhere in the hospital, I don't have a clue? Anyway, as I opened the door slightly to do the exchange, Dave told me one of the towers had been hit. Now Dave was a bit of a joker so that was my first thought--surely, he's kidding. He was not, as we all know. Shock and disbelief set in. Now I don't recall if I told the patient or not, but what I do know is I was panicking because my dear Bruce was out of town. For once, his Monday travel was a very, very good thing. The boys began calling the hospital to inquire about their Dad's whereabouts. You may recall that the nation was a buzz with fear that horrible things might happen somewhere else. He was safe and sound in Iowa, however, getting home was quite a challenge a few days later. Sadly, that one day changed the way we all live. I wonder how many years it will be until once again we regain our national optimism?

Speaking of which, this piece on the National Theater is quite good. Now what, pray tell, does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Just joking there, folks, an old saying from my mother. Seriously, regular, albeit few, readers will remember we saw "War Horse" at the National during our London holiday. What I'm trying to say, however poorly, is that the world has seen great tragedy before, and good people have recovered and in some ways become even stronger. Let us all hope that our nation can do the same.

A quote in the above piece from the Times spoke to me regarding my photography. The creative director of the National Theater said that they try and produce plays that "would be as interesting as possible to as many people as possible." Aha! Therein lies my problem! Currently I have 125 different numbered prints in my baskets. Good grief, no wonder I can't keep up with it all. Yet, I don't quite know how to do it any differently. Once again, looking for an EDITOR! Another good weekend with my markets; perhaps it is a new beginning?

Rarely do I post picture taken at the market but I couldn't help thinking that it would hard to find a more colorful photograph than this one taken yesterday:

My friend and neighbor at Lake Eola, Kathy gushes every Sunday about all the dogs we see. I, on the other hand, gush about the darling children, including this little beauty:

Those of a certain age may see a resemblance to a Gerber baby.


Just before closing at the Winter Garden market on Saturday, this young couple showed up:

I love how she seems to be noticing his t-shirt for the first time, obviously not a fan. My Friday Night Light buddies will instantly recognize why I'm posting this. After our marathon viewing on Friday night, Bruce and I found out Coach Taylor, our hero, was demoted to East Dillon, an unfair move if ever there were one. During my conversation with the young man I learned he was just as avid about the show as we are! Plus, they use cool music including one of Matt's favorites, Sufjan Stevens, whose songs are filled with Christian themes in a completely non-traditional way. He loves God and isn't afraid to say so. Who can't love God when they see His handiwork like this beautiful sunset from the other evening?

Amazing artist is our God. Speaking of art, since Nancy's departure, I have dropped all pretenses about liking to clean. I don't. I've spent very little time cleaning which means more time for READING. Two novels of late merit a mention. The multi-talented Steve Martin, has tackled the high stakes New York art world in An Object of Beauty. His heroine is not so likeable, nor for that matter, is the world she moves in, however, if you have an interest in art you might enjoy it. Secondly, I read The Upright Piano Player, a first novel by a retired advertising executive from London, David Abbot. Surely you know by now that a happy ending is not a requisite of mine. Once someone asked me if I only read sad things, which was, to be fair, an honest question. That said, although the writing is terrific, there are some very disturbing events, not to mention themes in this novel. I was taken aback when the "bad guy" in the novel, after hammering nails in the truck tires of the boss who fired him, decided that the nearby guard dog deserved the same. Yikes! Make of it what you will.


My blog post regarding my visit to the Brevard Zoo referenced two jaguars, however, I neglected to post the second one, pictured here, hanging out during the heat of the day, trying to stay cool.

Taking photographs through glass can be quite challenging for a multitude of reasons. Next time you are faced with that situation I have to hints. One-- place your camera/lens directly on the glass to minimize all the surrounding reflections. Two--NEVER use flash. You've all seen how that works out. Stumbling upon my blog, curiously called Camera Crazy, a person would be led to believe it was full of camera tips. Obviously, they would be false assumptions, however, every now and again, I like to share what four solid years of taking photographs have taught me.


The sky is sparkling blue, the humidity is down, and the outdoors is calling to me.....talk to you soon.


Gail

p.s. This post has taken forever, first I lost most of it, then I couldn't publish it, then when it did, most of it was missing.....yikes--you would think I was new at this! Finally, I wrote it in Firefox than had to copy and paste it into my dashboard on Chrome. I'm not sure it was worth all the trouble, but here it is nevertheless.