Virtual-Doug

Look Out, Sports Illustrated – Here I Come

Yeah – I keep busy.  I’ve decided that all those photos I take at high school sporting events should not be wasted.

Take a look at www.rgvsportspix.com.  Mom and Dad can wander around and find photos of their star athlete, then order photos.

To add more choices, I’ve asked a couple of photographer friends to work with me.  My only problem will be to watch my ego deflated as they take better photos than me.

Let me know what you think – would you buy a photo from the site if you were Mom and Dad?

Flowering of the Cross and Việt Nam

Easter at our church is a biggie for kids.  One of the most delightful customs is called “The Flowering of the Cross.”  A plain wooden cross is set up in the front of the altar.  Its not a very pretty cross – in fact, its kinda ugly – a small but accurate representation of crosses used to execute people two thousand years ago in the Roman Empire.

(Be sure to click on each photo – you will see a larger version.)

The little plain cross has rubber bands on it.  The purpose of the rubber bands is to hold flowers – flowers brought from people’s homes.  Before the services began, the children brought those flowers forward where they put them on the cross – with the help of some of the ladies of the church, of course.  In front of their own eyes, the kids created something beautiful from something ugly.  It’s pretty enough for families to have their picture taken next to it.

Take a close look at the flower in the center of picture.  It grows at our home, though the previous owner planted it.  The blooms seem to be on the bush almost all the time, as though it had no season.   I have no idea what it is called – nor does the Mystery Guest Blogger.

But we know what it is called in Việt Nam.

It is named “Trang.”

There are two Trangs in this picture – the smiling one is Trang, one of my former students and now an employee with IBM in Sài Gòn.  The other trang is, of course, the flower – the same as the one used to beautify the ugly cross.

Even here in deep south Texas, there was a little Việt Nam at Easter – a reminder that Easter is for everybody.

He is Risen

Okay – this would seem to be posted a day early, but in Việt Nam, Easter has already arrived.  Of course, the Vietnamese are used to getting up early – at most of the Catholic churches, the first Mass is at 5 AM every week – so a sunrise service is not a big deal.

This will be the first Easter we have celebrated here in America in four years.  Last year, we had just arrived in Huê to begin a month of work with MEDRIX.   We went to a “late” service (8 AM) and the message was just as joyful in Vietnamese as in our own English service at home.  Oh yes – it is very different – the men sit on one side of the sanctuary, and the women and children on the other (the Mystery Guest Blogger and I sat together)  and the building was warm (no air conditioning – another reason for early services), yet we knew what was going on when someone read from a book or well-scrubbed kids brought some bread and wine up to the priest.

Of course, in 2006 and 2005, we were living in Huê.  Seeing Christianity practiced through Asian eyes gave us a perspective of the wider scope of God’s grace. 

After a morning at our own church building where we helped others scrubbed the place up for The Big Day, we look forward to an Easter at home.

Yeah – its nice to be home, but then again, Việt Nam is home too.  Happy Easter, everyone.

Keepin’ Busy

Yeah – keeping busy.  That’s the real reason I haven’t posted lately – I’ve been having too much fun.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that Texas had a primary election recently.  In South Texas, local politics get pretty raucous.  One race for a state legislative office was particularly rough – at one polling place, the cops were called because the two candidates were going at it in the parking lot.  During early voting, anyone getting near the voting place was met with whistling and screaming – in Spanish.

(Be sure to click on the photos – you’ll see a larger version that way.)

Around here, we have a phenomenon called “Winter Texans.”  In Florida, they’re called Snowbirds. Escaping the harsh winters of the upper Midwest, these retirees enjoy the warm Rio Grande Valley.  This gentleman is 83, and retired from being a golf pro in Minnesota.  He still walks 18 almost every  day.  I took a lot longer taking the photo than I needed to – I just enjoyed nursing a cup of coffee and chatting with him and his buddies.

With the advent of spring sports, I’m not always shooting inside a “dimnasium” and it’s nice to get a daytime assignment too.  Of course, when I’m assigned to shoot a soccer game, I’m in deep trouble because I know nothing about the sport.  Nothing.  However, I know a good athlete when I see one.

Spring break starts this week for the public school students.  It’s a great time for kids to get in trouble, especially here in deep South Texas where South Padre Island is a mecca for hell-raining college students.  One student at a nearby high school lost a friend in January.  The buddy had just completed Marine Corps basic training, but died in a car wreck while home on leave.  From that sad experience came a school club promoting teen safe driving.

If you are a high school senior, you know your life is about to change – big time.  These three girls have lettered in varsity softball together for four years.  That’s quite an accomplishment. They’re good friends, and it was obvious as I was working with them during the shoot.  They kept insisting I take more photos – then I realized they were having more fun posing for the camera than they would practicing.  They laughed when I pointed that out, let me take one more shot, then went back to sweating in the sun.

Finally, I shot a track meet last Friday, but the start pole vaulter didn’t even make his first effort until the sun was low in the sky – low enough that the stadium lights were turned on.  The photo sums up the day.

Going to a Reunion

Most readers know I lived and worked in Việt Nam for a year and a half, and make frequent trips back even now.  What some readers may not know is that the Mystery Guest Blogger and I have a long association with Việt Nam.  We met there in 1969 – she an Army nurse, and me an Infantry officer.  I had the distinct honor and privilege of commanding Company C, 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.  In fact, the first part of my email address – Comanche6 – comes from my radio call sign of Tall Comanche 6.

Charlie Company is lucky – lucky to have a guy who regularly organizes reunions.  The first was back in 2000 in Atlanta, and more have followed.  Jim “Tree” Machin, who lives in the Chicago area, has taken it upon himself to track down and find men who served with the company and bring them to the reunions.  In doing that, Jim has helped a lot of them deal with the demons they still have – demons caused by not being able to talk about their experiences, or feeling nobody cares.  Jim has made it his life’s work, and many people have been the beneficiaries.

The last reunion was in October, 2006.  This was only a few months after we had returned from living in Việt Nam, and Jim asked me to make a presentation for the guys – something about what Việt Nam is like today.  I blogged about that reunion and the presentation, and was rewarded with seven people making some very cogent comments.

I was a bit taken aback at the men’s reactions to the last presentation.  I had anticipated a little antagonism, but instead got such a positive response that I had to be cut off after an hour for what was supposed to be a 20 minute talk.  The questions were good, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Some mentioned that it helped them with the demons.  Since that reunion, one of the men I served with has died.  His wife sent me a cherished email telling me that my talk helped Eric with his demons.  I was thrilled.

We’re doing it again in September.  I have been asked to do another presentation – and I am thinking of doing one titled “Traveling in Việt Nam.”  I’ve thought of having the Mystery Guest Blogger join with me – especially if the men’s wives sit in on this presentation.  What do you think?  Good topic?

Small City Doings, Part III

(You might want to read the postings below first so you understand this one.  Small City Doings, Part I and Small City Doings Part II )

Who doesn’t love a parade?  Its one of those things that kids don’t have to pull Mom and Dad out the door to go see – most folks love a parade.  The parade was to start at 6:30, but folks began to line the route hours before the start.  Popcorn to munch on, and lots of barbecue too.

(Go ahead – click on the photos.  If you do, you’ll see a larger version of the pictures.)

The last rays of the sun were still in the western clouds as the fire trucks, police motorcycles, and other noise making contraptions passed by, followed by the King and Queen and their Royal Court.  The evening was a little chilly (for South Texas – the temperatures were in the high 50s) and I wondered how cold the girls would be by the end of the parade.  I don’t think they cared.

One of the local VFW Posts had this Color Guard made up of old timers like me.  As I was taking the shot, a thought came to me – so I turned around very quickly to look at the crowd.  Sure enough, the crowd came to its feet to render honors to our flag.  That impressed me.

And – a parade has to have bands.  There were four high school bands and at least three junior high school bands.  I guess they had to do a couple of rehearsals to get ready for the parade - football season has been over for two months.  But they were all proud and loud.

Lots of pretty girls.  All the duchesses rode atop convertibles, including the Duchess of Plumbago.  (The Mystery Guest Blogger tells me her gown is the color of the flower.)  They smiled, alternated arms to keep waving, and pretended they weren’t cold.

 

This duchess cracked me up – as I approached her car, I saw the cowboy boot poking out from under her gown.  How “Texas” can you get, eh?

Some floats were very elaborate, as was this one – lots of flowers and well lit up entered by the nearby city of Hidalgo.  It’s a bit of self-promotion as it depicts the annual Festival of Lights held in Hidalgo during the Christmas holidays – and is good advertising to the many Winter Texans here for the season.

Speaking of Winter Texans, they are an important factor in the economy of Mission, Texas, (and the rest of deep South Texas) and an extremely important part of the Citrus Fiesta.  In fact, the parade had two separate categories just for Winter Texans to compete in – and still another category for “Golf Carts”, which was for floats built on the golf carts owned by almost all Winter Texans.  I just had to get this shot of our Canadian neighbors having a lot of fun, eh?

A lot of the floats had kids on them – what could more fun than watching a parade than being in the parade?  This float was from the Mission Police Department.  On it was a Color Guard made up of the some of the officer’s kids.  This young man took his duties seriously.  He would not drop his salute until I let my camera hang around my neck and return his salute.  His Mom and Dad must be very proud.

And horses – you just gotta have horses in a parade.  There was a group from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church called itself “The Cavalry of Christ.”  This rider saw the camera, and just put on a show for me!

It was a fun night, though this blogger was a tired old man by the time I got home.  In all, I took over 1,000 photos during the day – and that many an hour in front of the computer.  But the newspaper ran an entire section devoted to the Citrus Fiesta, and three pages of nothing but photos.

Yeah – it was fun.

Small City Doings, Part II

(You might want to read the posting below first so you understand this one.  Small City Doings, Part I)

If you’ve never been to a rural county fair, you’ve missed a nostalgic part of Americana.  The Texas Citrus Fiesta comes close to replicating a country fair in what is called the “Fun Fair.”  Tents of vendors selling kitschy souvenirs, cotton candy, lots of barbecue stands, live bands – everything a country fair would have except animal displays and quilting contests.  Of course, it has its own unique flavor of deep South Texas. It’s a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family. 

(As always, be sure to click each one of the photos - you will see the larger sized version that way.)

One of the connections to the past is the Vaquero Cook-off.   (Vaquero is the Spanish word for cowboy – the men on horseback who herd cattle on large ranches.)  As the sign on this tent says, the idea is to keep alive old traditions, such as baking pan de campo (camp bread) by using cast iron skillets buried in the embers of a camp fire.  A jury judges the entries – La Esperanza Ranch won this year.

Of course not all the eateries are nostalgic or even serve “healthy” food.  Chili cheese fries, anyone? Who cares if they are fattening – an afternoon of eating junk food like this is good for the soul. 

Maybe your tastes run more towards something sweet – a funnel cake right out of the fryer with lots of powdered sugar and cinnamon on it should do the trick. 

But then again, maybe you want something in the way of fried spicy potatoes on a stick.   There is a food stand that will serve every desire.  And – because it is a fun day, Mom and Dad don’t care if its good for you or not.

I was drawn to the bandstand.  True enough the country band wasn’t too bad – not bad at all, especially as they mixed in some songs from that L’il Ole Band from Texas, ZZ Top.  They had a bunch of folks line dancing in front of the stage. 

But – as an old rocker at heart – I was drawn to the retro band that came on next.  Yeah – they did some “oldies”, but when they did of the more bluesy  numbers like “Shotgun” (Junior Walker and the All-Stars, 1965) the band rocked.  I noticed more than a few boomers in the crowd who couldn’t resist moving to the beat.  This guy wailed!

And you never know – there is competition out there too.  This little girl got a case of the uncontrollable giggles when she realized she was a shootee as well as a shooter.

And remember, folks – this is Texas.  How could it be said better than this man?

Note:  I had a ball shooting the Fun Fair.  As I was shooting, I got to wondering why I didn’t do this more often – get out and take photos of “the real Texas” as I used to do when I lived in Việt Nam.  I took pride in the fact that I shot pictures of the way people really lived – the “real Việt Nam.”  But towards the end of the afternoon, it dawned on me – to shoot “the real America”, I would have to be inside.  Because most Vietnamese don’t live in air conditioned homes or work in air conditioned businesses or drive air conditioned autos or shop in air conditioned malls, it is possible to shoot the “real Việt Nam” outside.  With the exception of events like this, or in the case of some few people who do live mostly outside,  there are few opportunities to photograph “the real America.”

Small City Doings, Part I

Some background - -

Mission, Texas, is a small city of approximately 50,000 people.  It sits right on the border with Mexico.  In its early years, it grew because pioneer agriculturists planted citrus groves.  Though trade with Mexico and nearby maquiladora plants are eclipsing citrus as the main industry, Mission still celebrates the annual Texas Citrus Fiesta as it has for 71 years.  Mission is really an overgrown small town, and the flavor an agricultural, rural culture is evident during the festivities.

A festival requires a Queen (and king, but he’s secondary) and of course, that also requires a Royal Court.  The local high school gym becomes a coronation ballroom for the night as pretty young ladies of all ages became part of the pageantry.  This was not a beauty contest per se and the girls were dressed in elaborate gowns representing various fruits.  There was a Duchess of Watermelon, a Duchess of Ruby Red Grapefruit, and a Duchess of  Papaya – and many more.  Each was introduced with such formalities as saying they from “The House of Gonzalez”, or Smith, of Hughes – or whatever her family name was.  Of course, they didn’t come from the towns of Mission, Edinburg, or McAllen – they came from the “Royal Province” of . . . Each Duchess walked the runway, bowed to the King and Queen, then joined the rest of the Royal Court.  The gowns were so huge the girls had to have help to sit down.  For some reason, Americans are fascinated by royalty, even though our Constitution expressly forbids having hereditary titles.

(As always, be sure to click on each photo - you'll see the full sized image that way.)

There are costume contests too – mostly little kids, but a few adults too.  This little girl was dressed up as if she was at a sock hop in her poodle skirt.  Most times I enjoy watching kids performing in public, but I often sense they are pushed into cavorting before crowds by parents trying to live out their dream through their kids.  But this girl was having a ball. When she saw a camera, she turned on the charm.  She loved walking the runway.  Not so with this tyke – she walked half way down the ramp, and burst into tears.  Mom was right there to help,  but I have my doubts she will want to do this again.

It was a long night for little girls and old photographers.  There were endless awards, but then again, why shouldn’t there be?  A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into the evening, and everybody should have their fifteen minutes of fame.  The long list of kudos certainly kept the announcer busy.

As I looked out over the gym (the same gym where I’ve taken innumerable basketball and volleyball photos), I wondered how much longer events like this will continue.  They come from a day when America was mostly rural -  country fairs, festivals, and church socials were a way for people to get together.  Today, air conditioning and television keep most people inside, and for younger people, at least, a lot of socializing is done over the Internet.  The city of Mission, Texas, is no longer a small town.  In reality, Mission is part of a group of cities that include McAllen, Pharr, and Edinburg – and unless you look for the city limit signs, you won’t know which city you’re in.  It is now a metropolitan area, not rural.  The low attendance at the Royal Court festivities were self-evident.  In fact, I took this photo from a balcony area where I was the only person.

It was a fun night.  In the next few days, I’ll post stories on the Fun Fair and the Parade – both parts of the 2008 Citrus Fiesta.

The Dark Side of Girl's Basketball

Gimme a break - these dainty little high school girls are anything but delicate when playing at the varsity level. I thought it would be fun to explore the "darker" side of high school girl's basketball.

Make no mistake - I do not want one of these athletes mad at me. If they treated me half as roughly as they do each other when going after a rebound, this old man would be in the hospital.

(As always, be sure to click on the photo to see a larger version of it.)

And, when shooting these games, I try to stay out of the way. I like to sit on the floor near the baseline so I can shoot up towards the basket - but I worry that I will get clobbered one of these nights. A referee laughingly told me one night that I was due to get run over. (Actually, my only worry is that one of the players could get hurt running into my lens.) This player was tripped and was out of control when she made this shot - but she missed me.

Yeah - this may look like it was a soft place to hit, but at the velocity the ball handler was moving, this must have felt like she was running into a wall. The post player was big!

I wonder if these two reverted to three-year old behavior and kept screaming "Mine - mine!" at each other. (No - I would have heard it, I think.)

"Ooops - was that my foot you just tripped over? Hee hee."

"Lets see who can do a face plant first."

Merry Christ Mass

(It’s a record – a record I am not crazy about.  This is easily the longest period of time of not writing s since I began blogging back in June, 2003.  In 4 ½ years, I have never gone this long between posts.  Even while living in Việt Nam, I usually posted twice each week.

The Gentle Reader may ask “Why haven’t you blogged lately, Doug?”, though most likely Gentle Reader doesn’t really care.  But, since its my blog, I’ll answer the rhetorical question anyway.

When the Mystery Guest Blogger and I got back from Việt Nam in November, I went to work part-time for a newspaper.  It’s the same paper where I’ve been freelancing, but now I’m also working in the production of the paper and a seasonal publication called The Winter Texas Times.  Since it takes me about 5 hours to shoot and process the photographs of a sports event, and I do two or three of those each week, plus I work 15-20 hours each week, as well as  visiting my mother almost every day, the days are busy.  Of course, I used to work 40 hours (or more) a week, and have time for hobbies and writing, but that was before I started getting Social Security.

So - - there are my excuses and I am sticking with them.)

Every one likes to talk and write about the spirit of giving during the Christmas season.  Like most other newspapers, mine has been running stories along those lines. I think it’s a good thing – I just wish the same feeling pervaded during the rest of the year.  I guess we feel that way, eh?

There was one family whose mobile home burned down in November.  A nearby Catholic church found out about it.  The youth director of  the church called on some folks who work in the construction industry – the same folks who work with teenagers during the summer on The Mission Service Project to help seniors and poor folks fix up their houses.  The photo ran in the paper along with a plea that folks chip in with some construction materials.  I’ve been thinking that I need to go back out to the site and see how the new house is coming along.

(As always, be sure to click on each photo – you’ll see a full sized version if you do.)

I enjoyed the Lighting of the Christmas Tree for the City of Mission.  It really was a family affair – lots of kids.  Santa was there, but every time I tried to get a shot of him with the kids, the Mayor put himself in the scene too – and I just didn’t want a politician in my Christmas pix.  But – I came up on this by accident.  I was walking around, watching the kids with candy and new toys when I saw a little girl break away from her Mom.  Nobody told her to do this – she just did it.  This kid knows what Christmas is about, eh?

Today, I went out with a group of folks from the local Lions Club.  Yeah – they had fun.  They joked as much as they worked, but work they did.  I followed two of them around as they went to drop off groceries to families in need.  This Mom’s husband used to bring home the bacon, but is disabled now.  She has her hands full with little ones, so three bags of food were much appreciated.

So – how’s your Christmas going?