In memory of the tree of life. 

Angel's wings  

Framed in tree trunks. 

Sunset in the cemetary. 

The headstones of unknown soldiers embraced by a fallen soldier.

A healthy blue spruce. 

Down Under 

The Storm of the Century

I was out of town when a surprise storm, packing 80 mile per hour winds swept through St. Louis, Missouri. From Atlanta all I could get in the news were a few second blurbs, between reports on the war in Lebanon, about widespread power outages back home. I tried to reach my kids, but there was no answer. The answering machine didn't pick up either. My "kids" are adults now, at 22 and 18, but still, you can't help worry when you can't get hold of them and your town is in the news. I thought about catching a flight home, but one of those few second blurbs on the news said that part of the roof at the airport was torn off, so I figured that may prove futile.

Oddly enough, my camera store had a power outage the week before, and whatever UE did to fix it, kept them up this week. So I was able to get hold of my colleagues at the store, who told me power was out all over. Traffic was plodding through blacked out traffic lights making highway intersections into 4 way stops. Later I was able to get hold of a neighbor who reported that altough houses were damaged in the neighborhood, with trees down all over, my house was not damaged, but there was no electrical power, and the kids had gone to friends houses to escape the heat wave.

That was just the beginning. I returned home day 3 of no power. My photography colleagues had shot the most fabulous lightning storm ever reported. They said the lightning would crawl across the sky then burst into spiderweb spokes like fireworks. Their pictures confirmed that and more. Over the weekend the temperatures got better, but we still couldn't see past dark. The refridgerators had to be emptied. Lawns were piled high with sticks and downed trees all over town. The house two doors down had a huge tree on it. Day 5 my power came back on. But I was leary of restocking the fridge because we had power once for 10 minutes on day 4. How long would it stay up?

Here are a few pictures from a photoshoot at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetary, a little over a mile from my home. Life still isn't the same here. Cleanup will take a while. Today I saw a traffic jam caused by a line of electric trucks exiting the city. Thanks to all you hard workng crews. Now that we have lived powerless, we have seen the light and have a new appreciation for the electricians who keep the city humming.

Life without electricity:
Neighbors get out of the house and talk to eachother
A flashlight isn't adequate light to put contact lenses in
People get ugly when they can't see to put on their makup
You go to bed early because, there is nothing else to do in the dark
You wake up refreshed from a long nights' sleep (that is if the heat didn't keep you awake)
The trash company has to deal with tons of food trash from hot refrigerators
You'd dispose of that food another way, except the garbage disposal doesn't work
You eat out a lot, which costs a lot
I missed my books most. I usually read before falling asleep, but the flashlight just isn't good reading light.
People think about turning on fans, but they don't work either
Dishes have to be washed by hand, now that's a chore I miss
You think about going to a laundrymat, but hope the power returns before you have to
If information is in your email that you need, like the location of an event, forget it

I wasn't here during the storm so I can't share great lighting shots, but here are a few after the storm shots.