I take a camera everywhere I go. Last Friday afternoon, on my way to our weekly basketball game, it sat with me in the biggest traffic jam I’ve ever encountered. St. Louis’ I-270 came to a screeching halt and, like the other unlucky mid-day commuters who sat idling with me for nearly an hour, I cursed whatever accident lay ahead as I imagined yet another tailgating semi-truck spread in bits and pieces across the four lane highway.When traffic began to slowly creep forward, it was obvious the entire freeway had been shut down. A police car blocked every onramp and, as I crept over the first rise in the highway, I saw a thousand swirling red and blue lights ahead. Whatever ugly scene I was about to encounter, I thought, was going to be god-awful disturbing.
But over the next rise, something totally unexpected came into view: A white hearse followed by 50 flag bearing Patriot Guard Riders, followed by miles of mourners. The freeway had been shut down in honor of a 22-year-old fallen Marine.
"The mourners formed a seven-mile funeral procession and drove 21 miles through empty highways, all ramps shut down out of respect for Cpl. Riley Baker, who was killed last week in Iraq."Suddenly, where I needed to go, and how quickly I needed to get there became entirely unimportant.
I stopped by the National Cemetery on the way home from our game. The crowd of mourners was heading home and the Patriot Guard Riders were stowing away their flags.I sat in my car, in the distance, shooting photos of the flag at half-mast and lost in thought, until startled by a frantic tap on my window. Thinking I was about to be asked to leave, I hesitantly greeted the tapping woman.
“Do you want a really neat photo?” she asked. And then, she led me down the road a bit, to a section of WWII soldiers’ graves amongst which a fawn had taken residence. Somehow, the resulting photos said more about the circle of life than those I’d intended to capture:
Saturday evening, my daughter and I trekked down the road to our town's firework show . . .
Happy Fourth, everyone and Happy Birthday to my son who turns 16 today. I love you, kiddo.
|
Permalink |
-
At 3:39 PM,
-
At 4:15 PM,
Rhonda -
At 6:00 PM,
St Jude -
At 8:49 PM,
34quinn -
At 8:20 AM,
Nikki -
At 9:22 AM,
Mia -
At 12:57 PM,
RhondaJUDE: I feel old, too! I cannot believe I have a sixteen year old. I'll pass along the birthday wishes, thanks!
QUINN: Thanks, I hope you enjoyed the holiday.
NIKKI: 16! Dun, dun dun duuuuunnn!
Oh god, I know. This kid has already used up my last nerve, so 16 had better be a very good year.
MIA: I'm glad you're back, you were missed. Ya know, I hadn't even thought of looking the family up until you mentioned it. There is only one listing in the entire state . . . looks like I have a phone call to make. -
At 4:29 AM,
-
At 8:27 PM,
ditzymoi -
At 10:20 PM,
Rhonda -
At 11:09 PM,
-
At 2:56 PM,
Rhonda -
At 3:56 PM,
Pendullum -
At 4:36 PM,
Rhonda -
At 5:06 PM,
Rhonda -
At 9:58 AM,
Kevin Charnas -
At 12:20 AM,
Rhonda -
At 12:54 PM,
Rhonda -
At 5:57 AM,
Do the fireworks remind you at all of the birthing process? I mean, in a Freudian sort of way?
Happy birthday, B.