Ramadan Rocks! And Other October Revelations

October has been a good month for me, particularly shooting-wise. I've had interesting assignments and lovely interactions with the folks I've met on them.
(1 photo package) Ramadan is great! It's such a beautiful concept- purification, overcoming the desires of the body with the strength of the soul, allowing for the mind and heart to be fully focused on the love for and relationship with Allah. And what amazing dinner parties every evening at sunset when the fast is broken. For a religious holiday that I didn't know much about, I felt incredibly connected and inspired to be part of it.

I went to a home gathering and the the local mosque. The food was to die for, the mood joyful and loving. Kids running amok getting hugs and scoldings from relatives and family friends. Women embracing, leaning in close to talk and holding each other's infants. The men filling themselves beyond repair with the excellent and endless array of foods, leaning their heads back, laughing with each other, teasing each other, holding children on their laps. A really warm, safe feeling of belonging to a cherished community saturated me and made me feel soft and cozy. I just wanted them to pretty much adopt me. (Can a semi-Quaker, quasi-Lakota-traditionalist, magicalrealist, ex-Californiahippie & now Midwestern meditative be an outskirts member of a mosque community and celebrate Ramadan without coming to Islam? hmmmmmm )













































































(2)The Elkhart musical instrument factory strike has been going for 6 months and the encampment has been manned 24-7 by strikers since it began. The Union is in talks with management but nobody knows how it will turn out.





















(3)Portrait of a local painter comissioned to create themed weekly Notre Dame football poster-murals.




















(4) Breaking a decades old tradition at a very stodgy private school a bag pipe teacher demands that both boys and girls get to take his class-- together.




















(5)A thriving homegrown community center in South Bend aimed at connecting young boys with grown men who can mentor and love them, even if no one else does.






























(6)A woman visits the grave of her son- a police officer who was killed off duty while on a date 6 months ago.
















(7)The children of a man killed in an accident, which his young son accidentally caused, wrap themselves in quilts made of his clothing.

Guate! Guate!

Oh me. I think I'll be lazy again and speak to you in pictures. I took a summer trip to Guatemala, it was fantabulous. I highly reccomend it and as a solo traveler I felt totally comfortable everywhere I went.
Here are some hi-lites.

In the US we have the infamous mud-flap girl to keep the truckers company this is Guatemala's answer to that also commonly paired with a sticker exclaming "I love Jesus," "Jesus is my best freind" or "Smile God loves you"























Unbeatable bike ride.

A Few Tid Bits From The Saturday Night Police Beat

Wow, I've been riding with a lot of cops lately and I have learned a few things I thought I'd share.

1. Don't assume the toughest looking cops are the meanest.
They often have secret softie sides when you scratch the surface. I mentioned my cats and plans to buy them Christmas presents and Mr. Tough drove to the pet store, invited me to do my shopping, and called his wife to ask if he should bring a gift for their 3-legged dog.

2. Don't leave your cat toys behind in the patrol car.
Why? You too may get asked, unexpectedly, in a loud voice, in a hallway full of people who want to keep the wet t-shirt contest going at the Inferno, the following unexpected question:
"Did you get those cat toys back?"
And look up from fumbling with your sync cord to find all said wet t-shirt contest advocates staring at you with skanky smirks going between you and the cop.

Ah yes, my kinky little cat toy fetish exposed again!

3. Do leave your (unopened) water bottles behind in the patrol car.
They like that and it got me a free horchata in return.

4. Don't take a minute to ponder the situation when 5 cops run out of a restaurant with the reporter in tow.
You too will find yourself watching:
( add the voice of The Count on Sesame St. here)
1,-- 2,--- 3--- patrol cars whizzzzzing by out of the parking lot with their sirens blaring.

And then you'll have to make an ass of your self flagging the last one down in the road- thus earning your self the proud title of "hook" as in hooker who waves down cars in the dark on Western Avenue. Lovely!

5. Do give guff back when you get it from them 'cause it catches them off guard and gets them off your case for said parking lot "mishaps."

6. Do eat your food fast and have your camera in hand cause they will leave your slow-ass behind.

7. Don't eat with cops. It seems fun at first- like a little cops reality show. Its kind of a novelty gig. BUT beware the dinner table conversation.

Why, you say?

Let's see.

First we had the "Pancho From CHIPS tried to Make the Move on Me When We Were Promoting Seat Belt Safety" conversation
(if you don't remember that show you're just too young for me to explain it to).

Opening up the ooooohhh you're-so-gay theme.

Then we had "Who Can Make the Most "You are Gay, no no Youuuu are Gay, no no You are Really Gay" jokes and ribs at each other b4 the end of a meal.

Then we took the flying leap into the deep (no pun intended ) deep dirt of who poops, when and where they poop (7-11 seems to be popular),;

how often or smellily' they poop

what each one eats that makes them poop (beans and hot sauce)

and, of course, farting tendencies and foul anal export histories was a kind of seasoning- sprinkled in there like hot pepper.
(Quite a Freudian link to said gay conversation if you ask me. Never in the company of gay friends have I heard so much talk about the ins and outs of everyone else's asses. But who am I to say.)

8. Do use the barter system. Our most recent cop ( all will remain nameless) was approached by another cop at a scene as a new call came in. The other cop made an offer:

"I'll type up the report on this here case if you go to the new call and let me go and take a shit."

The offer was considered, the terms perceived as favorable ( paperwork is a drag but ALL of it has to be done) and the barter was a success.

9. Do hang on 'cause fully sanctioned crazy drivers know no bounds. "We don't heed no stinking flashers!" Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!


*disclaimer
All the cops in this story were really good to me, they let me shoot at all the scenes, genuinely work their butts off in some really awful situations and have renewed my attitude about law enforcement in our town- despite their strange male bonding habits and constant need to call each other gay and stinky so it wont show how much they dig each other, so thanks guys. See you at the taqueria.
-Hook

Back In the Saddle . .or the office chair as it happens.

I'm missing some great weather to be sitting here so I'm going to make it short and sweet.
Here's some stuff I've shot lately. Enjoy.





1. March for Immigrant Rights in Goshen, IN
2. Cats in Niles, MI find a new place to perch after a house fire.
3. A survivor, this poor Niles, MI pup was dropped of a HWY overpass and made it to tell the tale. Want to sign his cast?
4. Small town pastor walks through what was salvaged from his church after a fire.
5. A creative Bush protester in downtown South Bend with dog in tow.

Jesus and the Saint Mary's Girls

Today I shot Jesus (pronounced Hey-soos). He's 6. Isn't 6 cool?
He's working on his English pronunciation at home and reading with help from some students at Saint Mary's College.
I got a lot of stuff I liked and can't run it all so I thought "What the heck I'll put it on the website." In case you were confused this is my website NOT my "blog". I hate that word! What is it- bl og a bloody frog? a blowup dog? WHAT? -and if you called me a "blogger" on the street I'd probably come back with somethin' about your mama'.
Any way, I hope you enjoy the photos.

What Im up to lately, told in photos

1. Photo of bird at a feeder 12-05
Shot this about the safe ways to feed birds and not get avian flu.

2. Joey in his customized SUV 12/23/05
Joey was paralyzed a year ago in a car accident. He's planning to go to Portugal and have a stem cell treatment surgery in hopes of gaining some more feeling and ability. He's a T6 if you know what that means. Awesome guy. I'll be working with a great reporter to share Joey and his family's story. Im starting by following him and his friends as they go out partying New Years Eve (I'm PSYCHED).

3. Sharia, Kyron, Kylon,Kyra and Ivan in their hotel room 12/23/05
This family lost their rented home in a fire 3 days ago. They did not have renters insurance. They are planning on enjoying Christmas no matter what but the hotel room is getting a little clausterphobic for them and being homeless , even if its temporary, is taking its toll.

4. A sea of fog with mountain peaks in the background 12/15/05
The view from the road on the way down from Hurricane Ridge in Olympic State Park in Washington.

5. Susan and her son Adam making christmas cookies 12/22/05
Susan has four kids and was about to retire from the military reserves this year. She just found out she's going to Iraq for a year and will leave promptly after Christmas. It's her first major deployment.

Waking Up to the Ultrasound

M., 18, couldn't believe it. She took the home pregnancy test 3 times. Still fighting the truth, hoping it was wrong- all three times, she went to the clinic. A strong positive. They told her the results were so clear the test finished in half its' normal time. She was pregnant. But this couldn't be, shouldn't be, she kept telling herself over and over. But she was.
Pregnant.

Somehow it just wouldn't set in, the truth. And as long as the truth didn't set in neither did the reality and rapid approach of a huge and difficult responsibility she was on the verge of crashing straight into. She was going to be a mother.She was not ready for this. Her man walked. He sends clothes and other things for B., the baby, but clothes dont buy food, pay rent, afford childcare, pay the doctors, none of that.

She sees the ultrasound and there's no more refusing it. It's time to speak the words and she does. Boom, dominoes, chain reaction; no place to live anymore. Her aunt didn't sign on for a teenaged roommate with a baby. No where nearby to turn. Mom is a mess, dad is nowhere. Her man, well he's not her man anymore, and no one in his family opens the door.

So it's off to another city, where she does have a grandmother who she calls mom. "Mom" raised her and did a good job. M. says, but all the love and support in Mom's heart for M. cant possibly meet the needs, such great needs, of a pregnant mom and soon an infant. Mom wants to help. She searches for a place to live for them but its too high, it's just too high.
M. moves into a home for pregnant moms without resources. It's a relief, but its not easy, and it's only temporary.
After giving birth to B., her son, she has 2 months to establish herself in the world and begin a life for her and her baby on her own. On her own. She never dreamed having a baby would be this lonely.

The father, he's been up to see them once. Her Aunt, she hasn't called back or responded to the birth announcement. She says she hinted at visiting for Christmas to a few family members from her old town but no one seemed to catch on. That or they just don't want to invite her. Lonely. And now M. is starting to feel desperate.
It's a Wednesday, she's been looking. Looking for a job, looking for a place to rent. Without a job and proof of a paycheck there's no apartment. Without an apartment there's no where to go. Without a car there's fewer jobs available, without a check there's no money to pay for childcare so she can go to work. . and the clock is ticking.

She has one month now and no leads, no clue, not much hope that things are going to work out somehow. She's facing some low options and it hurts. It hurts a lot. She does what no new mother on Earth wants to do. She faces the idea of homelessness. She calls the shelter to reserve a spot for she and B. She can't believe it, but now she does. The tears won't stop coming and the fear is getting worse.


NOT SLEEPING MUCH













L. ,17, pregnant from a boy she didn't want . . until he was gone. Now he wont see her anymore and she misses him like nothing she ever had. Mommas a junkie, "love me baby and hold this cord around my elbow for me. That's right. "

4-years-old, does what she's told, does right and it doesn't mean a thing.

No where to live no one to turn to. But now a baby is coming, on its way coming. Bigger sister, 19, already has 3 they hug you, love you never leave you. Bleeding? Way too soon to be bleeding. Hospital, alone, will anyone come? Nurse lecturing, "Where is he now if he loves you so much!" wheeling through rooms glare crossing over closed eyes.

So much pain. Not yet baby, not yet. But baby is coming no stopping her. She lives in L.'s arms a few hours a few minutes and then, no more. Tiny little grave at the cemetery north of town, has to take the bus out to see her, its rainy she writes love letters to her daughter on the bus, tells her stories dreams of the life they would have had . . leaves them at the grave. Sad, muddy, tiny, little grave.

Her eyes once wild, fiercely 17, desperate, bright, angry but alive have sunken in as she sits on the bed in bleak light waiting for some kind of life to show it's face.






DON'T NEED A MAN




M., 29, is putting it all together. Slowly, messily, haltingly she's becoming a mother. Learning the system, learning how to use money, find services, stay on top of appointments. Things everywhere lost messy loud out of control but there's a patience and a love even when she yells at them and looks like she's about through. Knows she was young, stupid, knows she still has a lot to learn but loves her children and herself now too. Takes care of herself so she can take care of them. They are doing good in school. She's proud.





Three little girls now. They drive me crazy, they do (laughing). It's just us and God. No men. They try to talk to me and I'm just mean so mean. No room for a man in my life. I tell women " Giiiirrrrllllll just get yourself a dildo I'm NOT kidding. You don't even need to be messin' with no men." We've got the food stamps now and people at the church really help got them these new outfits, got us this little house.





The first time I thought I was so old and no children I wanted a child . . It's hard by yourself.
The second time, that was it, so mad at myself, at him didn't want any reason to ever see him again. The first one's daddy so bad wouldn't stop coming to the house threatening me, scaring her. No, no more men and no more babies.

At the clinic walking in and a man, he stops me, a man "please just listen, be open for god to speak to you, you can change your mind." another MAN trying to tell me how to live, control my life, ooh noo. Into the clinic, keeping my appointment.
In the gown, up on the table, there's the ultrasound doctor saying something and wait. Wait. no. wait. Two heartbeats. Two? There's two? Shivers over me, them paliptations "I jumped off the table still in the gown and grabbed my clothes." Came outside sweating, spooked like I'd seen a ghost. Looked for the man, he was gone. Still trying to find him today.

Today on NPR. . (Poor Little Donkey).

Today on NPR they had this excellent show, an interview with a dude from Lonely Planet about a book called "Seat of My Pants" or that. Oh, I am so sad for you if you missed it.

Anyhow the book (and thus the interview) was about the crazy misadventures that happen when you go traveling that at the time can be a nightmare but later make the best stories.

So, people were calling up and telling their stories of hilarious woe. It's good I didn't crash my car and its good no one called 911/psych teams on the loopy lady laughing hysterically all alone in her car.

I got to thinking (always a bad thing) about my own misadventures while traveling so heck, why not write them down here and invite ya'll to tell me your own. ( Just click on comments and word me up. ) Then I can run yours on here too. YAY. A certain brother of mine has the best ones of all so I'll have to see if he feels like sharing or not.

So, the one in particular I was thinking about today is about, well, we'll just call it Learning to Dodge Donkey Guts Like A Pro in Mexico.

I was in Oaxaca, Mexico, one of my favorite places on Earth. My house mate at the homestay and I decided to go to see a true natural wonder commonly called el llave (something like the faucet) in the mountains surrounding the city.

What it is is a high cliff with a sulfur spring that bubbles up through it and out onto it's plateau forming these surreal hot spring pools on the peak of a cliff. The minerals have deposited and sculpted themselves into an indescribably strange and beautiful creation down the cliff's descent in colors you cant believe. You sit in there enjoying the hot springs and looking off the edge of the cliff into a deep valley. It Rocks!
(The place is called Hierve el Agua just in case you pass that way one day "This petrified waterfall is formed from the calcium carbonate and magnesium in the water. There are two such sites in the world, the second being in Turkey." -www.planeta.com/)

So, we went and it was all it promised to be and more. Sooooo relaxing and interesting. We were blissed out all day long. Sadly, the last bus of the day was coming much too soon and we lined up wishing we had planned to stay the night at the little ecotour cabin sites there. They were all full. Ah well, next time.

It didn't seem unusual to me that the line for the bus was really long. After all it was the l a s t bus. We packed on, in classic Mexico style, ignoring all common sense as far as any max capacity/weight limitations for the bus, and off we went.

As I mentioned before we were at the peak of a mountain. We had to wind down down down back into the Oaxaca valley along a narrow road with a steep cliff drop off one side. Along the route were little tiny villages and not a few, or a number or even a bunch but every single one of them was a stop for the bus. And lo and behold at evey single one of them were passengers waiting to hop on. Did I mention the bus was full beyond belief already? Take a whooooollle bunch of tourists and all our excessive first world crap and cram them into the bus in your mind until there is standing room only (and that is the first stop, you know, at the very top).

I'm not worried though, it's Mexico! We are livin'it!

SCREEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!! go the brakes doing a holy mary version of a stop, at a serious grade, in about one millionth the time and distance I would try to stop my own little car on a grade free road.

Clunk clunk clunk passengers climbing on, tucking in somehow to the tiny spaces left between already smooshed bodies.

SWAAAAYYY,SWAAAYYYY, SWIIINNNG goes the overstuffed bus around the increasingly curvy curves as we snake our way down.

Crush, crush, crush, swing oooouuuuuuutttttt- everybody leans hard with the pull of gravity - -trying not to lean too hard on the person next to you/ trying not to topple over if you are standing.

Swuush,swusshhh, screeeeeee (brakes) leeeeaaaannn into the curve, everybody now!

SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! stopping on a dime again- this guy must have seen too many car commercials.

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK. Hmmmmmm that's amighty big bag that guy has and . . WHOOOOOOAAAAAHHH we're off again, poor dude, not even a chance to find his footing falls right into us, but catches himself. He's up,it's cool. We all smile, the it's cool smile. WHOOOOOAAAHHHHH that was a mo-f---- CURVE!! Here he comes again zoooooommmmm in and ahhhhhhhhh zoooooooommmmm out. Okay,okay it's cool, it's Mexico, we're livin' it!!
But yeah,I need to recollect a bit, I wont lie. I gaze down,kinda letting my eyes go unfocused until. .

WHAA!!!! OHHHH SHIT! There's . . is it? I mean, wait, is that? yeah , yep, yep undoubtably it's blood, a pool of blood on the floor. it's growing, it's running along those little bus floor lines, like rows in a field. Geeeeze, blood, yeah ,yep. Blood. Okay,it's cool, it's Mexico.... SCREEEEEEEE!!!! SWAAAAAAAAYYYYY Leeeeeeeaaaaannnnnn, crush. OH, OH, OH, FU-K. FU-K BIG MO-Fo off-the-charts FUUUUUUUUUUU------KK !! it's the guy, yeah, it's the bag, it's leaking, yup, leaking --no make it more like dripping or well what the hell I'll be honest the bag is oozing blood out the bottom corner and . WHOOOOOOOAAAHHHH !!!LEEEAAANNN!!!SCREEEEEEEE!!! It's coming closer, shit shit shit the nasty oozy stream is leaning too, leaning right towards us. Every out swing the little red sticky river is coming through the air closer and closer to us with the guy and the bag and the . .

No. Oh, no.
I soooooo should not have looked up. I'm an idiot. Yep, yup that's a foot. No, wait, not just a foot, it's a hoof. A hairy, muddy, poking-out-the-toppa-an-oversized-but-clearly-not-well-sealed-at-the-bottom leaf bag. It's leaf bag full of fresh chopped up donkey parts,so fresh they're still bleeding and WOOOOOAHHHHH ohmyGODohmigodohmigod it's gonna SHIT! I shove my house mate into the window with all the strength in my body to get the fu-k away from the blood as it leaaannnnsss towards me with the guy with the bag o donkey bits, right up in my face.

Poor guy, he's standing, totally insanely crammed in, no chance of getting his footing and now his donkey bag is bleeding all over the place (BIG DEAL) and these little guera girls are making an embarrassing scene for m. He's got to be thinking, " Fu-kin tourists overfillin' the bus, here I am just trying live my life make a buck and now these girls are screaming bloody murder over a little donkey blood. And making it seem like I'm out of place. Tourist season suuxxx!" --yeah.

Now she sees it, my house mate, she sees it all and WHOOOOOOAAAAHHHHH we're both screaming like idiots. We realize right away that screaming is such a shitty shitty wrong thing to do so we hold it in and look at the blood then each other then the blood and our veins are pounding in our faces and our eyes are huge and verging on tearing up then we look at eah other again and something happens.

It's dawns on us, I guess. We've got oh maybe another hour to go and there is no option and you know what in a way, in a way, this is insaaaaanely funny and that's all unspoken but we must be totally syncronized in this realization because we start to lose it, just lose it. And we get louder and louder and tears are running down our faces cause we are laughing so hard it hurts and every time----SCREEEEEEEEE !!! SWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! LEEEEAAAANNNN!!!
drip drip drip closer closer closer like a distorted version of Chinese water torture---- every time we hit another curve and the blood comes towards us it gets funnier and funnier and now we are screaming, even louder than before, but in a whole other dimension than before. And we cant stop, we just cant.

We'are livin'it Baby livvvv'innnnnnn it!
!Viva mexico!

(Per request- more Oaxaca photos)