Virtual-Doug

Bilingual Discovery

I discovered something - a similarity between religious leaders and politicians here in deep South Texas.  As with anyplace else in America, both groups are prone to talk a long time, but here along the Rio Grande, they really talk a long time.

Its because they have to say everything in two languages - say something in English and it has to be said again in Spanish.

 Last weekend, I covered the annual Citrus Fiesta in Mission, Texas.  While most of that day long assignment was a lot of fun, the day's first venue was the Mayor's Breakfast.  Like most grip 'n grin gatherings, this was boring.

I mean boring.

(As always, be sure to click on each photo to see a larger version)

I don't want to be too harsh - the breakfast had a very good purpose.  Being on the river, a huge part of   our economy is derived from cross-border business with Mexico.  Many of the attendees were mayors and business people from Mexico.  Most of them speak no English, but the majority of people in south Texas are bilingual (except for a few of us old white men), so all the speeches had to be given in both languages.  Fortunately for me, after the crowd burst into laughter when a joke was made in Spanish, I only needed to wait a few minutes to hear the same joke in English. Keys   to the city were exchanged, gifts were given, pledges of undying respect were made, and (I am sure) some business deals were made.  There was even a signing ceremony as the city of Mission, Texas, became sister-cities with two Mexican cities.  A "breakfast" that began at 9 in the morning wasn't over until after 1 in the afternoon.

A few days later, I covered the installation of the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville at   the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle.  Liturgical churches, such as the Roman Catholic church, know how to do ceremony right.  With much singing, chanting - - and of course, speech making, The Most Reverend Daniel Flores became the sixth Bishop of Brownsville.

Of course, they aren't called "speeches" in a church  - - - they are called Sermons,   but like the politicians' speeches, everything has to be said twice.  Actually, the new bishop was a very good speaker, but the stories of his childhood and expressions of his hope for the future were duplicated in English and Spanish.  To further complicate matters, a Cardinal from the Vatican graced the ceremonies with his presence.

I'm just happy we didn't have to hear his talk in three languages.

Monthly

 

Geographic Bachelor

The Mystery Guest Blogger is in Ohio as I write this - she's in the process of moving her mother here to South Texas.  Those cold Ohio winters are getting to be a bit much for her.

 So - - I'm alone.  Well kinda alone.  We've had our cat Bao for many years, but we recently acquired Jack.  Like Bao, he's a foundling.  When you see a kitten in the neighborhood, you're in trouble once you give it a name, so bringing him into the house followed soon after calling him Jack.  Obviously, Jack has been living in someone's home for awhile - just pick him up and he purrs.  He was in great shape when we found him, but he'll go in to the vets for a little snipping next week.  He is as rambunctious as most kittens - and drives the older cat nuts.

(Be sure to click on the photos to see a larger version.)

While I stay busy taking photos for the local weekly newspaper and my own web site, I do have a little   time to veg out - one eye on the television and the other on the laptop, which is always handy.  I'm not really a big television watcher, but I'll slip in an occasional movie DVD once in awhile.

 I'm a lucky guy - I'm married to a lady who likes the smell of a good cigar and has no problem with me smoking in the house.  My daily cigar is smoked at the end of the day - a time to get out the book I'm reading, put my feet up, and end the day with an Arturo Fuente or a Macanudo.

But, like a lot of guys who have worked all thier lives and can't bring themselves to sitting on the front porch whittling and am going back to work.   I have accepted a part-time job working at the University of Texas-Pan American for the brilliant woman who originally hired me ten years ago.

Life is good.

You Can't Do This in Việt Nam

One of the highlights of the Christmas trip to Colorado was to take Tuan and Trang skiing.  They had seen their first snow only a few days before - then we drove into the mountains to Copper Mountain.

 Yeah - it was cold.  I am a firm believer that taking skiing lessons is the only way to go.  Lift tickets, lessons, and equipment were all included.  But they made it through the process of trying on stiff heavy boots they had never worn before, then waited for the five hour lesson to begin.

 

If anyone can make it through the first two hours of ski school, then they will enjoy skiing.  Watching the two of them, I remembered the first-day strange feeling of sliding down a hill on boards strapped to your feet - and I remembered the labor of walking sideways up the little hill.  Everything feels so weird during the first few hours of skiing.

 Of course there was a little bit of friendly competition.  Trang let me know that she didn't fall  - at least at first.  Being the daring young man he is, Tuan pushed the limits a little more with predictable consequences.  I thought he was quite graceful when he fell.

But the reward for those goofy first two hours was being able to get on a ski lift and ski   down a nice trail on their own.

What fun - and it was mine to watch and enjoy.

Christmas in the Rockies

My brother and his very patient wife hosted us for Christmas - all four of us.  Tuan and Trang endured the long two-day drive from south Texas to Denver - but it was worth it.

It was worth visiting  Red Rocks, the huge outdoor amphitheater in the foothills.  It was a bit chilly that day, but the place offers spectacular vistas and a different geology than either of the Vietnamese had seen before.  Built during the depression, it hosts many concerts throughout the year.  I love how the place was kept "interesting" rather than just bulldozing everything down and build something from man-made materials.  It really is a very kewl place.  It kept Tuan busy with his camera and Trang busy posing.

It was worth it to experience snow - there were two snow storms in Denver while we were there.  I've already documented the first snow.  The next one introduced them to the more mundane aspects of snow - like getting rid of it.  I thought of having them shovel snow, but my brother has a snow blower.

It was worth it to harass the local population of Canadian geese.  Knowing its a lot more fun to hear them squawk and see them fly, she ran towards the feeding flock, waving her arms and making lots of noise so as to take pictures of them taking off.  Doing that is fresh-fallen snow made it even more fun.  The geese probably thought otherwise.

But, it was Christmas.  Trang had spent last Christmas with us in Orlando with our son and his family, so she had seen an American Christmas before, but Tuan had not.  With no kids around, we didn't get up particularly early and we all had to have a little coffee first, but then everyone dived in - and Trang played Santa Claus by handing out the presents.  We all got a bit goofy.

The Mystery Guest Blogger (otherwise known as my wife) loves to stuff the stocking with inexpensive but fun items - that is her yearly challenge to herself.  The old standby paddle-with-a-rubber band-and-ball made for a lot of laughs.

Even Rufus had fun and made a new friend.

Hope y'all had a Merry Christmas.

Monthly

First Snow

My brother brought it up - there is just something special about being in snow for the first time.  There is no good way to describe snow - you just gotta experience it - and that's what Tuan and Trang did today.

I'm in Denver, Colorado, for Christmas with my brother and his wife.  The city has been hit by a snow storm - just in time for a White Christmas.  Its not a bad storm - a few inches is not going to slow down a city like Denver very much, but the 6-8 inches was enough for the two newbies.

They've heard about snow - they've seen pictures of snow - they've thought about snow, but snow is something that must be experienced.  So - it was out the door at first chance to see what the stuff is like.
 
She found out its great to throw the stuff around.  This was powder snow - not good for snowballs.  She created her own snow showers. Her laughter said more than words - she was having a lot of fun.

(Be sure to click on the photos - you will see a much larger version if you do.)

So - - - what does snow taste like?  She had to find out.  My brother had to remind her not to eat yellow snow.  (Yes - he has a dog.)  There being no yellow snow in sight, she scooped up hands full and tested them for texture and taste.

He had to have a new Facebook profile photo - as well as something to prove he is a little crazy.  Yeah - it was cold - but he just sucked it up and ran around in the snow and 25 degree temperature for a little while.  He wasn't any worse for the wear and later rode the light rail service into downtown Denver to see a friend.

Fun.

Monthly

 

The Three Ts at Thanksgiving

All three of them were here:  Trang, Thanh, and Tuan.  While Trang and Thanh are graduates students at the nearby university, I drove to San Antonio to get Tuan.  The four hour drive gave us a good chance to talk.

It was more than Thanksgiving - we celebrated two birthdays as well; Tuan's and the Mystery Guest Blogger's.  Trang gave a lovely shawl to the MGB which occasioned a chance for a nice group photo.  That's Trang in the green, Thanh in front and Tuan flashing his charming smile.

(Please don't tell anyone about this, but after 38 years of marriage, I forgot my wife's birthday.)

Tuan's birthday was actually a few days prior, but it was still a good opportunity for baking cakes. Though the Vietnamese don't have the sweet tooth we Americans have, we enjoyed the cake. At age 26, he is just finishing up the first semester of his doctoral studies in environmental science.  I glanced at some papers next to his laptop - - and didn't even understand what the paper was about much less the directions given for working on the project.

Thanh had a chance to relax - and learn a bit more about American cooking.  The MGB put her to work making Tuan's birthday cake.  For both Tuan and Thanh, this is their first year of seeing the American culture close-up.  It was also a chance for the MGB and me to pull them into the fold of being in a family.  Having been through the experience of learning how to live in a very different culture, the MGB and I want to provide these three a place of shelter - of refreshment - of love - of a family away from home.

But, not all was turkey and birthday cake. We live in a citrus area.  Nearby is an orchard that lets folks pick their own fruit.  I haven't quite figured out why three graduate students want to work as field hands, but they had a lot of fun - and let me tag along to take a photo or two. 

No way I was going to pick fruit - I have too much dignity to protect!

After a lot of goofing around - and occasionally picking some fruit - the 1/2 bushel bag was full.  The orchard provides a pull-along wagon to help in getting your fruit to your car, and this provided an opportunity for a battle of the sexes.

And women call themselves the weaker sex.  Yeah, right!

Football is Over

The last of the local teams have bowed out of the playoffs - high school football is over for me.  This was my third year of shooting football - and I'm glad its over.  I'm also sad its over.

Much more work goes into shooting football than other sports.  Not only are the games longer, but I have to get to the stadium earlier to set up, and buck the crowds when I leave.  Contrary to popular thinking, photos do not flow from the digital camera to the Internet  - they have to be selected and processed.  When over 800 shots are taken at a game, it takes more hours to process them than it does to shoot them.

But what fun.  High school sports are the last bastion of true amateur athletics and I love watching the kids give it all they have.  Though I am sure most have visions of future NFL glory in their heads, most know they won't even play in college, much less the pros.  That doesn't keep them from playing as hard as their talent allows.  I believe there are a lot of life lessons to be learned through sports and the good coaches try to do more than just win games.

(Yeah - go ahead.  Click on each of the photos.  You will see a larger version of the picture if you do.)

The day after I shoot a game, I have many people ask me about some play or pass or strategy used.  It also surprises people that I take pictures of the scoreboard after each point change.  Its because I have no idea whats going on - my head is buried in a viewfinder.  When the play is over and my camera is  digesting the shots, I am either moving to a different place or thinking about what kind of shot I want next - - but I am not thinking about the game.

" . . . thinking about what kind of shot . . " you ask?  Yes - if it is third down and 8 yards to go and I am shooting a team with a passing quarterback, I anticipate a throw, then check to see where the best receivers are and try to get this result.

I see the unusual too.  To the best of my knowledge, there is only one other blue artificial turf field and that is at Boise State University,   but there is a high school stadium with blue turf in south Texas - and the home team plays in blue just as Boise State does.  Funny thing - when you are in the stadium you don't really notice the blue, but in photos, it looks just plain weird.  One good thing about artificial turf (at least for a photographer) is that the stuff reflects the stadium light upwards making for better exposures.  Only one of my local teams plays on an artificial turf field.

I even shot a junior high game - or I should say games.  The two local junior high schools have a 7th  grade red team and a 7th grade white team, along with an 8th grade red team and an 8th grade white team.  I have no idea what the differences are between "red" and "white" teams, but when the two schools played each other for the mythical city championship, there were a lot of people in the stands.  The caliber of play was predictable - lets just say the kids have a few things to learn, but they still gave it their all.  Their were bands playing and cheerleaders cheering and all the rigmarole of a varsity high school game.  I may do more of junior high games next year.

One of the things that makes shooting football different from other sports are the ancillary activities that go with it.  The band doesn't play at softball or soccer games.  Sometimes there might be cheerleaders at an important basketball game, but its not the norm.  Ah - but there are both varsity and JV cheerleaders at football games.  They do some spectacular stunts.  I'm not sure that the best athletes aren't on the sidelines rather than on the field.  They are also very difficult to photograph because cheerleaders are on the sidelines and are not lit directly by stadium lights.  I can use flash for some shots, but not for the truly fast moving feats they do.

Every game has at least one spectacular play. The "regulars" - the other photographers I see at many of the games - all like to ask "Did you get it?"  Of course, I usually miss it,  but occasionally I get the interception or tackle-breaking run or the open field tackle.  I am always intrigued by how the editor chooses the shots to run in the paper because his tastes seem to be quite different from mine.  Of the 800 (or so) shots I take at a game, about 80-100 are posted to my web site, I turn in 10 to the newspaper, and one shot gets run in the sports section.

As the season end draws closer, it becomes time to photograph the thrill of victory.  (I don't have the heart to photograph the agony of defeat)  One of the local schools (the one where Tom Landry played his high school ball) won its first district championship since 1993.  The place went nuts - crowds on the field, coaches high-fiving and big linemen jumping in the air like ballerinas.  But it was fun dodging the delirious fans.

I'm sad the season is over - - but I won't miss staying up until 2-3 in the morning either.