Beginning of the end

My mother was always gracious enough to let my camera accompany us on her numerous medical journeys. in the ten plus years we walked those roads, I had multiple conversations with outsiders who looked upon this as disrespectful or inappropriate. Mom and I both knew that she had a story to share. I always felt that when the time was right, the images would begin to speak for themselves. And for her. Her story, her history, her journey was one that was so intricate and complex words often failed to convey the experience authentically while simultaneously retaining her humanity.

What follows is a short documentary project from May 2013. This is the first time these images have been outside the hands of trusted friends and confidants. In sharing these, we begin another journey. All images copyrighted.

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Poems, Prayers, Names and Connections

It has long been joked and understood that I am the glorious, difficult to describe, anomaly that happens when hippies have children and raise them on hearty diet of Jesus Christ, Joan Baez and Dr. Seuss. I was sung to sleep with James Taylor tunes and taught to recite the Apostles Creed. My musical intake consisted of John Rutter on Sunday mornings and Jimi Hendrix on the drive home. Grandpa schooled us in Pete Seeger's expansive catalogue. Mom steeped us in words and melody of John Denver tunes. She was a dedicated and devoted fan. Denver's words, perspective and bond to nature served as her poetic anchors. She valued his insight and articulation of the human spirit tremendously and looked to his eloquence for my name. The second stanza to "Zachary and Jennifer" poetically dreams of the naming of children : And we want to call her Jennifer And she'll dance in fields of flowers And she'll sing in summer showers Lending music to the time Oh we want to l...

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I am an avid reader of Consumer Reports. For three main reasons: 1.) I enjoy reading how human beings quantify and classify human-made products. Typically the products reviewed within the pages of this publication are items of luxury, the focus of the (perceived) American Dream. Televisions, stereos, Mp3 players, vacuums cleaners, refrigerators - these are the things that are dissected in Consumer Reports. These are the things that belong. 2.) I feel that as a person with monetary power (a power that only a minority of the world possesses) I have a responsibility to myself and to the larger global society to be informed when I make a purchase, especially a large one. 3.) My Aunt Jody read Consumer Reports religiously. As well as Reader's Digest (I read that, too. I have since I was about 9 years old). She was one of the most fascinating characters I have ever encountered. Reading what she read makes sense. Having qulified that this is a publication that I enjoy and...

Spectacles and Retrospectives

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