Another year approaches
March 31, 2006Monday is the best day of the year. Baseball season opens...and it's my 27th birthday.
I remember 10 years ago like it was yesterday. Funny how time just blows on by, especially when the last 10 years were worse than the first 17. I have lots of stories and the scars to prove them.
I remember thinking when I was a senior in high school where I wanted to be in 10 years.....this isn't it.
Odd as it seems...I really thought I'd be a park ranger.
Enviromental science and geology were my first choices when I started thinking about college. I've always love the outdoors. One reason that I love being a photographer now, I get to be outside....a lot.
I thought I'd be married with kids by now too. Hahaha...I haven't had a serious g/f in a long time, and I've let some of the good ones slip right through my fingers. Oh well, all good things come to those that wait.
I never knew where I wanted to live in 10 years....I always thought that Colorado would have been nice. I love the mountains (they're outdoors of course).
But I'm still here in Wichita Falls. Single. And turning another year older. At least I graduated college.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tail of two doggies
March 28, 2006Two of the sadder puppydog stories all year have taken dramatic turns in the last few days it seems.
Chance...the happy-go-lucky Border Collie guarding the Texas/Oklahoma border was nabbed by somebody who thought they were doing "the right thing."
And Little Joe...the rottweiler puppy who's ears and tail were lopped off has entered obedience training here in Wichtia Falls.
I'm not sure which is more cruel.
I got to meet Little Joe and his new adopted mother this weekend at Petco, where he was shopping for a new chew toy. He looks like he's doing alright, has a buddy to play with (Lucky) and will probably pull through to adulthood with hopefully few problems.
He's going to have some hearing loss. He will probably be grumpy, especially when somebody reminds him of the guy who did this to him. But I think that he's going to make the best of a miserable situation.
I wish I could say the same for Chance.
He was taken from home along I-44 where he had a constant enough source of food and water to live happily for 2 years after we ran a story about him. Some people can't leave well enough alone.
Two years. He was fine for two years. Happy. Probably doing what border collies are supposed to do. I'll be he ran into more than a few pastures and herded the cattle for no apparent reason other that he wanted to. That is what those dogs are bred for.
They're smart. Much much smarter than people think they are. They need space. A border collie will go insane if you keep him locked up in a home or fenced backyard.
Chance is probably planning his escape back to where he belongs as we speak.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
March Sadness
March 24, 2006As a photographer, one of the best moments I can capture at a sporting even is pure emotion. I love it. I don't care if it's happy or sad. Nothing tells a story better than an athlete crying his eyes out either because he won or lost.
That kind of emotion was on display in the NCAA tourney last night.
I do feel bad for Adam Morrison and Gonzaga. The way they lost to UCLA would have anybody crying. But I would have been out on the middle of that court shooting away as he lay on his stomach, bawling his eyes out.
Sadly, I almost prefer the sad emotion shots. In my opinion, they draw the reader into the story even more than a happy shot. As the photographer, I want people to have a genuine emotional connection with the photo.
I have shot a few things like that for some of our local teams on an early exit from the playoffs. The chances are greater that I'll shoot that same sad shot instead of the ultimate joy....a state title.
Either way, I'll be smiling. Sad or happy, I'll get the shot.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Amazingly...it gets worse
March 22, 2006I thought perhaps I'd heard the end of silly deaths and whatnot. Then there is this gem from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The family of a Saginaw man who died shortly after appearing in the noonday sun as Captain, the Texas Rangers mascot, has taken initial steps toward possibly filing a lawsuit against the baseball team, suggesting that the heavy costume, lack of training and weather conditions contributed to his death.Pat Titsworth, 46, suffered a fatal heart attack Sept. 21, 2004, after appearing in downtown Fort Worth where he passed out ticket coupons and attempted to get fans to attend the team’s final regular-season home stand.
Max T. Baker/Star Telegram Staff Writer
Posted by Jason Palmer at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tragic and Stupid
Seems like odd stories about death and Texas have been national news lately.
First, we have Miss Deaf Texas being struck and killed by a train as she walked along the tracks, text messaging her parents. Now, I'm no genius, but if you can't hear anything...wouldn't you stay away from places where sound is integral to safety? Maybe that's just me.
Is it national news because she was deaf though? Or because she was Miss Deaf Texas (which I didn't even know we had).
Now....we have a guy who dies running from the cops in Dallas. That alone might not be national news.
But he got stuck in the mud. Waist deep. And died. Huh?!
Probably going to be ruled death by exposure to the cold/wind. But this may be the dumbest story I have heard in a long time. It far exceeds the Miss Deaf Texas story in terms of me shaking my head.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The start of something big
When I was a student at Midwestern State, I wrote a lot of stuff for the campus newspaper. Since then, I haven't had many chances to put the pen to the paper.....so to speak.
That's about to change. Or, it has changed already, since you're reading this. Whatever.
I'm not sure if this is gonna be the best idea or not, giving ME a blog. I've got a lot to say. You probably won't like most of it, I don't care. Send me a comment.
What I DO know is you're gonna get a lot of my personal thoughts on stuff, maybe a few photos too, who knows. Hopefully, I won't be the only person who enjoys this.
peaceout...jason
Posted by Jason Palmer at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
