July 13, 2024: Assassination attempt on President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
I was at an early dinner with a friend when I got a text that simply said, “Holy shit.” That seemed a strange message. So I texted back, “What the heck?? What is holy shit?”
That is how I found out that Trump was shot.
Continue reading “RNC: Thoughts on Assassination Attempt”
What started as a single exercise to get me out of my comfort zone has grown into a regular gig photographing protests here in Chicago. Over the past two years, I have improved my skills dramatically, I have found the courage to photograph people unapologetically, I have claimed the authority to record what is going on out in the streets, I have befriended a handful of photographers who are doing the same thing as I am, and I have learned a LOT about people, politics, and propaganda.
We are about to embark on what is likely to be a crazy timeline to be living through (as if the past four + years haven’t already been insane!) as we count down the days to the 2024 presidential election.
Continue reading “Election 2024: traveling to the RNC and the DNC”
I have been taking photos of protests here in Chicago for a couple of years now. And I am addicted! One reason I love it is because the opportunity for creative, interesting photos is unlimited at these events. Another reason is that as someone who used to teach journalism, and assigned a book in my classes that was specifically about fake news (Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News by Bernard Goldberg) even over twenty years ago, long before Trump coined the term. I only bring that up because I have had people explain to me that there is no such thing as fake news, that Trump made it up because he didn’t like the coverage about him. I always try to explain that no, the news has always been “fake.” So I really love the opportunity to witness a newsworthy event in person and then compare it to the news coverage. I don’t think there has been a single time when I have felt that the coverage was objective and/or fair.
For those who think I’m exaggerating, I would ask you to think about a time you were involved in what became a news event. How did the media coverage compare to your experience? How accurate were the stories with basic facts? Knowing that the media struggle to report the stories that you actually know something about accurately, you have to ask yourself what evidence there is that would make you assume they get all of the other stories right. But I digress…
Continue reading “Thoughts on Attending a Trump Rally”
The other day I had a semi-complicated transaction that required my presence at the bank, something that could not just be done at the ATM outside. Having to go into the bank is an errand I rarely look forward to. When running errands, I often find myself doing everything I can to keep from interacting with customer service people. I keep my head down, avoid eye contact, complete my transaction, and get out of there. Usually it’s because I am simply trying to check off items on my list. But it is probably also because ever since COVID lockdowns, I am shockingly willing to go out in public looking like I just rolled out of bed. (Yes, I am working on that!).
Continue reading “Thoughts on Chatting with Strangers”
I am pissed.
Whether or not that is the appropriate emotion to have, I can’t say, but that is what boils up most days I walk down Michigan Avenue lately.
Sanctuary city Chicago is now learning what it actually means to be a sanctuary city. Before this year, the moniker was just another in a series of virtue signals so often practiced by our politicians to manipulate us and by everyone else on social media to impress their friends and to signal their alignment with the current cause célèbre.
Continue reading “Thoughts on Sanctuary Cities”
There are plenty of mainstream news stories that spark debates here in Chicago. And then there are the niche issues that small groups of people feel passionate about and protest to bring attention to them (and hopefully media coverage).
My city apartment sits in the perfect spot to catch a large majority of these protests. Some groups gather at the small Jane Byrne Park in front of the Water Tower (two blocks from me) to protest causes such as animal cruelty, a Tibetan uprising, Russian war crimes. Larger ones usually meet in the Federal Plaza, Daley Plaza, or Wrigley Square. Other demonstrations are targeted at specific businesses: anti-fur at Louis Vuitton or fossil fuels at Chase Bank.
Protesters march up and down Michigan. They march around the Loop
Continue reading “Photographing the Turmoil: Palestinian Rallies”
My birthday always lands around Presidents’ Day weekend, and for many years I have elected to plan out-of-town trips to celebrate it. But this year, as my birthday approached, I grew concerned as I had not made any plans. Then one day while scrolling through Twitter, I saw that the Libertarian Party was planning an anti-war rally in Washington DC on my actual birthday.
I have recently become interested in attending protests with my cameras in tow. When I attended the first protest as a photographer, I was incredibly nervous and self-conscious. I have always been uncomfortable taking photos of people and usually avoid doing so, or I try to sneak in shots when people aren’t looking (which rarely results in a memorable photo).
But I quickly realized that people at protests are pretty much begging to have their photos taken. That still did not make me feel any more comfortable, and it took a couple of protests to get into my groove.
Continue reading “Thoughts on Protesting War in Today’s World”
There is a whole industry that preys upon school districts, both public and private, by offering speakers to come give “important” talks to local school children and/or faculty and staff for a nice fee.
Once such group got money from the private Catholic middle school where I taught for a few years. Our administration hired someone to come talk to the faculty of the dangers of texting and walking. I am not kidding. They actually paid money for this.
During a campuswide faculty/staff meeting, an hour was set aside for this guest speaker. Back when smart phones first entered the scene, occasional videos would go viral of people so engrossed in their phones that they walked into fountains or dropped into holes in the ground. They were funny. We all laughed at them. But did we seriously need “an expert” to explain to us that this practice of staring at your phone while walking is dangerous??
And to make matters worse, the person who actually did the presentation, complete with powerpoint slides (to me, an immediate sign of an amateur) and said viral videos, was a terrible public speaker. What a waste.
Continue reading ““Not My Responsibility!””
I had a whole plan for today, all mapped out on my calendar. But my walk to the gym put a huge wrench in those plans. And I feel the need to write about it. So here we are…
At around 11:15 AM, I left my apartment, and about a half block ahead of me, I saw an elderly woman with a cane fall in the street near the end of the crosswalk. I quickened my step as I watched her struggle to get up. People walked up and down the sidewalks without even a glance at her. So I yelled out that I was coming, to just stay put and that I would help her.
She was a bit overweight – I wasn’t going to be able to get her up by myself, so I called over to a woman walking across the street. The two of us were able to get her to her feet. But she was very shaky. I then wondered if she was injured and that we shouldn’t even have tried to get her up. But she insisted she wasn’t injured. Just shaken up.
Continue reading “Lessons Learned Walking to the Gym”
And here we are – the conclusion of a speech I gave in 2007. I have spent the past ten installments expanding on my thoughts and experiences from fifteen years ago. I enjoyed the process because I could directly see how so many of the problems we are seeing in education today were obvious much longer ago. And seeing where we are today, I would have to say that my concerns were warranted!
This will be the last installment, and I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts on this topic and on what they are seeing in their children’s and grandchildren’s schools. Thank you for joining me on this journey!
If you would like to go back to the beginning, you can find the FIRST essay in the series here.
Continue reading “Group Identity (Conclusion)”
The Writing Life 