Merry Rockwellian Christmas


St. Mary’s of Lourdes – Germantown Hills, Ill. – Rockwell or Gerik, you decide.

On account of working straight through Christmas this year, I opened presents with my family last night: Wichita to Peoria, via iChat video. It really did work, too, approximating some sense of tradition. FedEx Priority Overnight should also deserves big kudos since I took so damn long in settling upon gifts for my four immediate family members.

The pomp and splendor of a Catholic Midnight Mass is not easily pushed out of mind. St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Peoria delivers the annual trifecta of large choir + full brass + 1937 Wicks pipe organ that has cost me tears on a few occasions. Recordings coming later today…

I covered a house fire in Bartonville tonight that trapped an elderly couple inside. Only one made it out alive. Related story

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Between darkness and light


Springdale Cemetery on a bitter Sunday evening

Adding to my usual seasonal confusion: A balmy 53 degrees on Dec. 21, the winter solstice, plummeting 30 degrees late that night and, much like a champion boxer falling down for the count, never rising again. Add two inches of snow and a constant 25 m.p.h. wind, gusting to nearly 40; winter hath cometh, lefteth and cometh yet again.

“Now commences the long winter evening around the farmer’s hearth, when the thoughts of the indwellers travel far abroad, and men are by nature and necessity charitable and liberal to all creatures. Now is the happy resistance to cold, when the farmer reaps his reward, and thinks of his preparedness for winter…”

Henry David Thoreau, “A Winter Walk,”Excursions, p.134.
The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920

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Coffee and tears

I’m killing time sipping at Mocha Joe’s in the Metro Center (names which mean absolutely nothing to you) and a sadness is overpowering my double-shot cappuccino. I’ve been here once before, but never before saw the stunning, dark-haired girl working behind the counter, a girl made even more adorable by her perfect laugh punctuating the Christmas music.

See that cityscape painted on the table? “Serving Peoria since 1993.” And now closing December 31, 2007. Thanks for coming.

Kids of our own age


Party trick. (David Zentz)

“It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend, one’s present or future thirst, the excellence of the wine, or any other reason.” -translation from Latin proverb

You should know that the photo involved chairs and then no chairs.

Pigskin


Portrait of Metamora senior Brad Herman: this year’s large-school football Player of the Year (Adam G. / Journal Star)

I have to give Brad some kudos; sadly, I’m not always impressed by the charisma of high school and college athletes. But this guy was relaxed, truly interested in helping me create a nice portrait and never complained even once of the bitter 20-degree windchill. Thanks, man.

Travel travel travel, yet I still managed to produce a rushed multimedia piece on high school football. Far from perfect, especially trying to match the audio recordings from three different games on different equipment… It’s the product of four talented photographers, spending week after week covering the insanity and often inanity of Friday nights under the lights.

The Snap: an exploration of high school football (be patient, for pjstar.com is quite a jalopy)

Not making THAT mistake again

The salt truck army is out in force and snow is imminent.

Maybe Peoria finally realized their incredible gaffe when this shut down the city for three days last December?

In other news, I’ve been traveling more than usual for work this past month. A weekend jaunt to Maryland for college soccer is soon to be followed by a road trip to Columbus, O-I-O this weekend. Combine that with a 45-min multimedia presentation at Bradley University earrrrly Monday morning and a nearly 2-hour presentation to the Peoria Camera Club tonight and you’ve just taken any free time, thrown it in a garbage compacter and detonated it SWAT-style.

I’ve also discovered that my car’s transmission is not well. It’s been such a good little car thus far, but all children eventually disappoint.

A twenty-pound bird

Perhaps I didn’t know what I was getting into. When Dave and Clare mentioned “hike,” I thought that it sounded like a great idea before sitting down and gorging ourselves on a Thanksgiving meal. It’s best to realize the difference between “hike” (over an hour and through the woods) and “walk” (mere minutes of ambling.) I do now and had an excellent time in the process.

Post-adventure, we had the traditional turkey+dressing+pumpkin pie+wine Thanksgiving that I was so desperately needing. I’m still astounded that a vegetarian would even consider cooking a twenty-pound bird for just three of us gangly carnivores.

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