The One Arm Dove Hunt in Olney, Texas In 1972, while hanging out at the local drugstore, Olney residents, Jack Northrup and Jack Bishop, decided to have a little fun with strangers seated nearby who were obviously eavesdropping on them. I should add that around the town of Olney, Northrup and Bishop are known as the “One Armed Jacks” since both men are missing upper-limbs. It all started with a joke… The two Jacks began describing how much they enjoy hunting with bolt-action rifles and muzzle-loaded shotguns. Although they kept straight faces, this was a joke; it’s impossible to shoot…
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People Watching in New Orleans Re-visiting my travel photos to choose ones for this post made me realize how rarely I focus on strangers when taking pictures. I do this partly out of respect for other people’s privacy, and partly because they aren’t that interesting or unique to the place I’m documenting. New Orleans, however, is different! I’m comfortable taking photos of people in NOLA in the same way I’m comfortable taking photos of guests at a lively party. It feels natural and not invasive. Perhaps this is because I never feel like a stranger in New Orleans, but more…
Garden of Angels Murder Memorial At their trial, Carolyn Barker was horrified to hear two men not only confess to killing her granddaughter, but remark that they hoped to get famous for the deed. That’s when she decided something is wrong with society’s glorification of murderers, and that it is their victims who should be celebrated and remembered. Barker placed a small white cross in memory of Amy Robinson, her 19-year-old granddaughter, in the area where her body was discovered by police. Soon, other crosses appeared. As of 2013, 102 white crosses stand in memory of Texas murder victims. Different…
Larry McMurtry’s Booked Up In 1988, Pulitzer Prize winning author Larry McMurtry returned to his hometown of Archer City, Texas with the dream of transforming it into a book-themed town. He even took out ads in literary magazines proclaiming, “Miraculous birth! Visit the newly born book town of Archer City, Texas, and help the endless migration of good books continue.” For those who can’t quite place the name, Larry McMurtry has written dozens of novels, several of which have been turned into movies, including the Oscar-winning “Terms of Endearment” and “Brokeback Mountain.” Even if his name is not familiar, you…
Japanese Gardens of Fort Worth A few weeks ago, my husband and I popped over to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and wandered through our favorite section, the Japanese Gardens. As usual, I went snap-happy, taking lots of photos. The ones I’m sharing here show bright koi fish swimming beneath the swirling reflections of the trees. I found it really hypnotic! Follow me on Instagram & I’ll follow you back! I’ve gone from turning up my nose at the idea of cell phone pictures, to being an avid iPhone photographer, which is why my theme for the 2014 A to…
Christmas in the Desert My family and I spent last Christmas in the desert. Needless to say, it was not a white Christmas, although the opening lines of that famous Irving Berlin song, did apply: The sun is shining, the grass is green The orange and palm trees sway There’s never been such a day In Beverly Hills, LA But it’s December the 24th And I’m longing to be up north At least, they sort of applied. We were actually in Arizona, and I don’t think any of us were longing for snow or New York. It was tough to…