Month: March 2013

Untaken – 31 March 2013

My wife and I are at a friend’s house for a combination birthday and Easter celebration. I was sitting in a chair and reading a message that had come through on my phone. Suddenly, 2 young girls run loudly by me. I looked up at the distraction. While the perpetrators of this disturbance were long gone, another, even young girl walked by. She was obviously wondering where the older girls went. That in itself would normally barely register on my attention meter, however, I noticed this little girl, no more than 3 years old, wearing shoes that were at least 3 sizes too big.  That this was mildly comical was beside the point.  This toddler wanted to be part of the “big girls” group to the point she was trying to wear “big girls” shoes.

The decisive moment was actually 3 decisive moments as she turned her head to the left, to the right, and then once more to the left.  This little girl had a look of mild distress on her face as she wanted so find out where these girls went.  She then took off in her original direction, her feet shuffling as she struggled to retain the shoes that were way too large for her feet.  My camera, alas, was not in my hand when this unfolded, and the decisive moment passed before I could get the camera ready for shooting.

I understand that without the context of the “big girls,” this photograph would probably not have been understood by many.  It also may have been dismissed as one trying to capture a “cute” image of a girl wearing shoes that were too big for her.  It was the look on her face that brought everything together as she was desperately trying to find the older girls.  This point was driven home by what I could only say was her trying to be like the “big girls” as well, as evidenced by her wearing a pair of shoes that probably belonged to one of older girls.

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Untaken – 29 March 2013

I have a relative in the hospital right now.  He’s fighting an infection, the source of which the doctors can’t quite nail down.  I just found out today that he has been in the hospital for the past 3 days.  He was asleep when we got there, but his wife was there with him.  My wife and I sat down on the couch next to the window while his wife sat in the chair next to his hospital bed.  She had a hand to her face while she explained to us what he was going through.  As a medical professional herself, she knows how to handle tough situations, but she had a look of genuine worry on her face, even though she tried to hide it.  Her husband was breathing softly as the anti-nausea medicine worked its way through his system.  The decisive moment came when she told us that she had to call 911 because he was too weak to get up and get into the car.  She looked over at him with the love that can only come when you have shared your lives together for 26 years.  I had my point and shoot camera, in its case, in my hand.  I opened the case before the decisive moment.  My instincts were shouting at me to raise the camera, but then they fell silent, which I took as a cue to hold.  There was plenty of ambient light in the room as well.  It was at the decisive moment that I realized why my instincts had fallen silent – the emotions she was feeling at that moment were hers alone.  While I was free to empathize and share her worries, I had no right to steal them without her permission.  I quickly cleared my mind and re-engaged in the conversation.

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