Follow Us
Recent Posts
- Streamers
Wandering with a camera into a used car lot one bright sunny day, all I wanted... - Inflatable
I went in search of photos on this very cold and windy day, when this Christmas... - Fencing in Fall
The last remnants of fall are barely hanging on in the Northwest. Gone are the tree-lined...
- Streamers
Recent Comments
- Lisa Loftus on Inflatable
- Jennifer Bishop on Fencing in Fall
- Lisa Loftus on Fencing in Fall
- Robert Nease on En Pointe
- Lisa Loftus on En Pointe
Participant Photographer
Archives
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
Thank you David. For me your image is very powerful. It takes me to vivid images and stories formed by years in a highway patrol uniform. A world exists along highways which most people drive by and rarely give thought to. Skid marks, broken glass, oil stains, debris and personal items thrown from vehicles during crashes, discarded first aid supplies and blood stains, roadside memorials placed by love ones, and monuments to men and women in uniform who gave their lives. Beyond the roadside I am drawn to the image of a highway patrol officer knocking on the door of family members in the middle of the night to tell them a love one will never come home. The family is about to experience a pain which will never go away. The officer’s compassion means a piece of the pain will remain with the officer as well. I am also drawn to images of an officer’s family members at a graveside with a coffin draped with an American flag and a trooper’s “smoky” hat. Surrounding the family are rows and rows of men and women in dress uniform quietly showing their respect for a fallen brother or sister many of them have never met, yet they know the fallen officer very well. Like the fallen officer, they all stepped up to do a job which needs to be done because they recognize there is an important cause larger than themselves.
I have many happy stories from my years in uniform as well, but they are not foremost in my mind at the moment. A brother officer who I went through the academy with recently retired after thirty years in uniform only to die of cancer a month later Christmas morning (officers have a thirty percent higher risk of cancer and a three hundred percent higher chance of heart disease). Another officer with over thirty years of service who I worked with took his own life about a week ago. Another retired brother told me not long ago that if he didn’t get a handle on his drinking, he would be dead in three years. I also regularly see a brother who has chronic PTSD. He is a broken and isolated man who struggles to make it through every single day.
I share these thoughts knowing you understand because I am fortunate to call you a friend.
Again, thank you.