The Kindness of Strangers

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I volunteered at the Holocaust Museum today. It is the 4th of July and thought what better place to be. I also decided to ride my motorcycle in because in their infinate wisdom, Metro decided to close the Smithsonian station. I found a parking spot about a block away at a metered spot with a number of other motorcycles. I had a wonderful and busy day at the museum. When I came back to my bike a number of hours later, I discovered this:

Seriously?

There was no way I could straighten the bike up without hitting the car. I was totally flabbergasted. The total disregard and thoughtlessness of the "cager" was astounding to me. You see ... there was nothing in front of the car ... except the cross street. There was absolutely no reason for the car to back in as closely as it did ... and in order to get that close, they had to have someone who backed them up.

As I stood their speechless staring at the car and trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get my bike out, another biker came over and was just as astounded as I was. He apparently worked in the building I was parked in front of and went inside to get the security guard who came out and apologized saying that if he had seen the guy park like that, he would have told him to move. The two very kind gentlemen grabbed my bike and physically pulled it away from the car. Something that I would not have been able to do alone. My thanks go out to these kind gentlemen. I wish there was a way I could repay you.

2010 MAWMR

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The Mid-Atlantic Women's Motorcycle Rally is coming up ... so I put together a slideshow of the images I took last year:

 

2010 MAWMR from Lida Verner on Vimeo.

A music slideshow of images that I took at the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Women's Motorcycle Rally (MAWMR) which raises money for breast cancer.

The songs used in this video:

Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas
Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves by The Eurythmics

You can find the individual images on my SmugMug site:  2010 MAWMR 

 

 

 

RIP Tim Hetherington

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Yesterday, renowned photographer, Tim Hetheringon was killed in Libya. So many journalists and aid workers are dying these days trying to cover the world's conflicts. Tim was only 40 years old and was nominated last year for an Oscar for his film Restrepo.

Tim Hetherington in Memoriam

 

to see the original page:

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/04/20/tim-hetherington-in-memoriam

Thoughts on Valentines Day

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To borrow a quote: “Happy Valentine’s Day! Or, if you’re single, Happy Look At The Flowers and Gifts Delivered To All Your Attached Friends and Coworkers Day!”

I have never liked Valentines Day. I always found it strange that Hallmark decided to celebrate an execution. With the emphasis that the world has on couples and marriage, Valentines Day has always struck me as a day of discrimination designed to make the unattached and alone to feel even worse. The one Valentines Day, however, that I remember with fondness was in either 8th or 9th grade when a friend and classmate, Karl Kuhrman, gave every girl in the grade a flower. No one was forgotten or omitted.

So for those that celebrate, Happy Valentines Day and those that don’t, Happy Monday!!!

Sweetie Pie

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RIP Sweetie Pie. Sweetie Pie was my parent's 18.5 year old cat who they brought back from Uzbekistan. Sweetie Pie was the result of a stray cat breaking into my parent's bedroom in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and having a litter of kittens on their bed. I watched her grow through kittenhood via letters (this was before the internet and email ... we actually wrote letters back then). My parents had all the kittens spayed with the one vet in Tashkent (he was actually the zoo vet ... but that's all there was) and had me bring all the vaccines the kittens needed when I came to visit because that wasn't available either. Initially, my parents had found another home which they had done with all the other kittens except the one they were going to keep (Sally Forth). My mother didn't give her a name wanting to leave that for the future family and so started calling her "Sweetie Pie". However, when it came time to give her to the family, my folks just could not let her go ... and both Sally Forth and Sweetie Pie came back to the States with them when their tour was over.

Sweetie Pie became my mother's cat. Sally chose my dad. Sweetie was always a very gentle, shy, scardy cat opting to spend most of her time in my parent's bedroom. As she grew older, she developed kidney disease and my parents nursed her for over a year. Yesterday, we finally had to say goodbye and let her pass on to the Rainbow Bridge where she is surly frolicking with her sister, Sally who has been waiting for her for the past couple of years.

I decided to try do make a painting of her for my parents. This was the result.

 RIP Sweetie Pie. You will be missed.

 

Take the 'Other' to Lunch

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In this era of vitriolic hatred and intense political feelings, so much could be accomplished if the two sides would just "take the 'other' to lunch". Unfortunately, fanatics (on either side) tend not to be reasonable. However, if we do not try, nothing will get better.

 

About the talk:

There's an angry divisive tension in the air that threatens to make modern politics impossible. Elizabeth Lesser explores the two sides of human nature within us (call them "the mystic" and "the warrior”) that can be harnessed to elevate the way we treat each other. She shares a simple way to begin real dialogue -- by going to lunch with someone who doesn't agree with you, and asking them three questions to find out what's really in their hearts.

 

 

Lives Gone By

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One of the curses and blessings of being a photographer is that you are always on the lookout for a good image. This means two things as far as I am concerned. One ... I tend to weave when I drive because I tend to keep looking for images and not paying attention to the road. Two ... I tend to stop at unexpected places.

 

I saw this cemetery on a side of a small country road


Born the same year I was. Who could this person have been. What could they have done with their life?

 

 

I had to laugh at the Halloween decoration at this cemetery

They died together. This one gave me a warm feeling.