The following bit of dialogue was part of a conversation (political debate?) I overheard recently at a local diner. The brief fragment that I caught, while standing and waiting for my lunch buddy to show up, involved the recent publication of a very popular book by an unsuccessful candidate for high office. My friend arrived and we were seated several booths away from the young couple in question, but as we ate I could still hear their voices, now coming through as only a soft rumble. From the tone I surmised that the Young Woman continued to dominate, as she had in the snippet that I had earlier overheard. Here it is:

Young Man: What I can’t understand is why the press gives that jerk so much attention.

Young Woman: Well, let’s say that Katie Couric and all those other news hounds  had ignored her — how would you have known that she’s a jerk?

Copyright © 2009 Jim Sizemore.

The senior sessions continue as the New England weather for this time of year is unusually warm. It was a bit drizzly today but not enough to stop the session. Alex is an interesting teen. He is a fairly laid back kid, and has lots of great ideas. I think someday he will become famous from some invention he has come up with! We did the session in downtown Manchester NH as I found some spots I really liked a few weeks back when I did another session there. I loved Alex’s look and had a great time doing his session. You can see the full gallery on my smug mug here

When a girl says she has a happy moment, most people think of retail therapy or ponies or sunflowers, not this girl (well yesterday anyway). I was driving to my Mecca, the Christmas Tree Shops, wondering what junk I will discover that I all of a sudden NEED to have, when a figure on the side of the road caught my eye.

From a distance it was a young man in all black clothing carrying a book. As I moved closer I was taken aback by his appearance. He was no more than 15 in a well pressed black suit and an ice blue tie, carrying a Bible walking to/from church. He made me smile.

I’m not a deeply religious person so my delight was not in the fact that he practiced his religion, rather it was in the fact that this child took time and effort to make time for himself. He wasn’t in sweats playing video games or on his cell outside of a 7/11 somewhere, he was literally living for the day. You could tell he wasn’t dressing to impress someone, you could see he had respect for himself in all the little details that would usually fall by the wayside. His suit was spotless, his shoes were shined and his face was serene. I don’t know his name or his story, but I do know he gave me hope that there are good kids out there who still respect the ways of tradition and find meaning in the world around them.

On Tues. this week I got to do Mike’s senior session in Downtown Concord and Rollins Park. Mike was a regular GQ model! He loved posing(who would have thought?!) I really enjoyed our session, Mike really was a natural in front of the camera. We ended our session at the State house as Mike is a political junkie and planning on heading off to college next fall and major in political science. A bigger gallery can be found on my fanpage.

A hill is to be climbed.
I too agree. Even at 76, I can hardly resist the temptation to climb the hills.
As a child, I heard elders reading stories of the heroes, who tried to climb Mt. Everest, till then unconquered, and lost their lives in the attempt. In those days there were minimum things to protect them from the freezing cold and lack of oxygen. Undeterred, they defied nature, just for the thrill of it !
Two days back, a young man, almost a boy, belonging to our Kadalayil clan, fell down while going up the mountain in China, and lost his life.Very shocking, when near and dear are involved in accidens.
I am in mourning for ten days.

03 Nov 2009 A Saudi court has ratified the beheading and crucifixion of a young man who raped five children, among them a three-year-old boy left to die in the desert, it has been reported.

An appeal court in Riyadh approved the death sentence handed down in June by a lower court in Hail, where the convicted 22-year-old man carried out his crimes, Okaz newspaper said.

The man was arrested several weeks ago, the paper said, as he tried to seize another youth after offering him a ride home from school.

Saudi Arabia has executed 56 people this year under laws that allow the death penalty for rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking.

In extreme cases, the convict is executed and his body crucified in public.

Last week before I left for New Orleans I had the pleasure of doing Brent’s senior photos. He was a great subject, very easy to work with, pretty comfortable in front of the camera and was willing to try any crazy stuff I could come up with(his words!) Unfortunately I couldn’t think of any crazy stuff, but I know I have a willing subject for when I do! We wandered around the downtown Concord NH area and found some great spots. I really enjoy the urban setting of a city, no matter how large or small, and if you are unfamiliar with NH, Concord is not that big! Brent is a huge soccer fan, and plays goalie for Trinity Christian School. Enjoy your sneek peek, a larger gallery can be found on my fanpage.

Got up quite early on Weds. morning to explore the city in the daylight since the first session of PartnerCon wasn’t til 8am. I met up with my friend Susan again at 6am and we headed down Royal street towards the water. The golden early morning light is beautiful. I met a cameraman filming some stuff for a new reality series based in New Orleans and chatted with him for awhile. It seems he worked on Survivor for 2 years, which I thought was pretty cool. nice guy. Just behind Cafe Du Monde is the Moonwalk, and there were a lot of marines doing their running drills down the boardwalk with packs on. I felt safe needless to say. And proud to be an American. We had breakfast at some hole in the wall, which wasn’t anything spectacular, but I did get to experience grits, and once I put butter and sugar on them, they were actually quite tasty. After about an hour and a half it was time to head back to Canal street and begin a day of workshops. Joe Buissink had a powerful and passionate presentation. He had many in tears with his words and his images. His work is full of emotion and the special moments of the wedding day and is just jaw dropping too. He has quite an interesting life story too. very touching. We then got to hear Zach and Jody Gray, and I can see why this husband and wife team is so successful. They have real charisma and work well together, and their humor was infectious. A lovely Christian couple to boot, and they are completely debt free thanks to Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover! They had one of my favorite sessions of the week and it was fun running into them later in the evening during a street corner concert consisting of an 8 man brass group! It was the one time I left my camera in the hotel room, so I have no pictures of them. One of the highlights of my day was getting to spend the afternoon with Scarlett Lillian and Stephen Knuth. We hopped on the Charles street trolley and started riding it and found a great park and did a very fun photo session along with my friend Susan. The ride back was also a blast as we had quite the colorful trolley driver, and we even had a newly married couple hop on, so I asked if I could do just a few pictures. Day 3 was an extremely fun day. One day left and its going to be a fast one as my plane leaves at 2pm to head back to NH. Looking forward to a shooting workshop this morning though. I have learned so much and it has been a thrill to sit and listen to some of my favorite wedding photographers. I have been truly inspired and moved, and learned a lot. I have forged some new friendships, and getting to meet some of these icons has been a real thrill for me. Partner Con returns to New Orleans again next year, so I am already planning on a return trip! Bigger gallery here.

I did Nick and Ian’s senior session together as they are very good friends. We went to a great spot in Hill NH. It was a perfect Fall day, as the winter like temps seemed to disappear for a few days and Fall weather came back! I loved the old rusted car to start off the session with. I always wanted to do something with an old car like that. We then headed off to Paradise Falls which was a beautiful spot, and then we went back to some friend’s of Nicks to get some photos of him in his uniform. He went to basic this summer and is finishing up his senior year then goes off to serve our great country.Bigger gallery can be found here

I wrapped up my second week of being back to work.  I had been worried about how I’d manage to work night shift, how much I would have forgotten, and how I’d do emotionally.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been rather disappointed with the number of people who have told me it won’t work and that I’ll have to go days.  In reality that probably just gives me the extra drive to find a way to make it work.

I’ve run across many people who don’t understand that 10% shift differential is a substantial amount of money and I’m dealing with a money deficit.  I also now have child care expenses, which we’ve never had before.  At this point, financially, night shift makes sense.

Raising our son was also very important to John and I.  By working overnights I have the ability to spend a few good quality hours with Nathaniel.  If I worked day shift, by the time that I’d get home, I’d have enough time to feed him and put him to bed.  That isn’t what John or I wanted for our son.  In time, I’m sure that things will change and there may come a point when working day shift will make more sense.

I also wanted to return to work doing a job that I know and working with people who are aware of me and my situation.  The last thing I need is for somebody to look at photos and start asking about my husband not realizing the situation and facing another “Happy Home Depot man” moment.

Well, I’m pleased to report back that the two weeks went very well.

The downfalls are that, I don’t have a desk and my personal belongings are in a box in my managers office.  We’ve also had some people change shifts, so some of my friends have moved on to day positions, which makes our friendly family-like team feel a little less like cozy.

But, I’ll have a desk soon and then I can then set it up the way that I want.  It was hard when I stopped by for a visit and saw everything unchanged on my desk- like favorite pics of John… looking so healthy and happy.  A new desk for a fresh start– really isn’t a downfall.  I can also e-mail or call my friends who have left, so it’s not a goodbye.

I’ve started resuming my job function and I’ve found that it’s pretty much like riding a bike or getting back in the saddle.  Some things are different, but the basics are the same.

My sitter has been phenomenal.  I couldn’t be more happy in my choice.  She loves Nathaniel and treats him like her own son.  Her daughter adores him.  In all my choices that I’ve had to make alone… I know I made the right one with that!  She also has even watched Nathaniel longer, so that I can get some extra sleep.  What more could a night shift person want!!!!

We’re getting a new manager since my old manager got married and is moving to Ohio.  I wish her the best.  Through correspondence and a meeting with my new manager, I made a point to convey- I’m back.  While I’m at work- work is what I’m here to do.  I need a purpose.  I need a focus.  I’m the same ‘ol reliable, hardworking Mary that I was before.  My personal life has been turned upside down and I’ll never ever be the same, but that is outside of work.  My professional life is separate from my personal life.  I asked to be considered for additional responsibilities.

Now that my fight for John is over, I need to stay occupied and find my next cause- my next fight- my purpose.  I told the new manager that John would expect nothing less of me… pick up the pieces and continue onward while always doing my best.  I want to be a good role model to Nathaniel and learning by example is a great way for him to grow into the young man that John and I want for him to become.

So… that is the first two weeks back.

Today I had the privilege and pleasure of photographing the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team.They are a traveling musical/preaching ministry team that does meetings in churches all across the country and also in foreign lands. I love their recordings and they have a very unique sound-part Celtic and part Appalachian. We had them at our church for an entire week, and this was an off week for them, so it was a great time to do some new photos for their website. We headed off to Hopkinton NH, where we began the session in an old restored barn. It was a beautiful fall day, but also a bit chilly for this time of the year. We spent the better part of an hour inside the barn, but I am not sure I actually got what I originally envisioned in the barn but daylight was burning, and a hot meal of home made meatball subs was awaiting us next door at my friends house. As we ate lunch , we warmed up in front of the wood-stove, and then headed off to a field, with instruments in tow. This was my favorite part of the day. The team was quite relaxed and natural in front of the camera and having such a great looking group also made my job much easier. I had a lot of fun, and more than a few laughs, and am very pleased with what we got today. The team will be in Scarborough Maine all next week at Cornerstone Baptist church if you live in the area, and I would encourage you to attend a few meetings. You will be blessed and challenged. A bigger Gallery can be found on my facebook