I haven't been much for updating my blog lately. Thanks for checking. I'm planning to get back into it this weekend. I've been really busy working, but that's not the real reason. As many people who have read my blog regularly know, I lost my Mama on March 3, 2007. (I wrote about what Mama meant/means to me here.) It has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through--hopefully ever will go through. Losing a parent is always difficult, I'm sure, but to have Mama stolen from us by an evil man who wanted nothing more than money for something is just more than any of us could handle.
The justice system moves slow in America, but we seem to have finally arrived at an end. The trial was in September (I've posted about it here). The sentencing was this Monday. What is below pales in comparison to what my siblings, my niece and my nephew so courageously said, but this was all I could muster. The D.A., who really strikes me as a good and decent human being, had tears in his eyes. They sentenced the man that murdered my Mama to 45 years. The end result should be life in prison.
I woke up yesterday morning with the realization that this was the first morning since this evil man murdered my Mama that he woke up with no hope. I'm sure that before this he had hope that he could get away with it, hope that a jury would believe his lies and finally hope that a judge would fall prey to an easy sentence. Thankfully, none of that happened and he will wake up in a prison cell until he dies.
Well, anyway, this was my impact statement
To know me was to know my Mama.
Her favorite color was purple. Her favorite season was spring.
She loved the land and watching the purple irises poke their blooms skyward. She loved the jonquils and the daffodils springing out of the ground first to chase off the winter. She even brought me the blooms of some of the first of them the Saturday before she was murdered.
We talked on the phone every day for the last 4 years of Mama's life and she would always tell me about something growing or changing in the yard. She loved Marengo County and she LOVED Octagon.
More importantly, Mama believed in the people here. She probably taught more than half of them in school. She taught for something around 30 years, taking enough time out to raise the 6 of us--and to teach us all to be good, decent people and to care about those around us. She taught us to believe that people are at their core decent. She grew up in the Great Depression and learned that we must all look out for each other in order to survive.
She taught by example as much as anything else. She always treated everyone with respect and love. She had high hopes for all her students and worked hard to make sure that when they left her classroom, they were better for it. She'd do all she could to help them find jobs after graduation and she even helped them with work clothes if they couldn't afford them on their own.
There are so many things I still have to learn from her. I didn't know until I was thumbing through a book on WWII that she had volunteered with the Red Cross weekly while in college to wrap bandages for the soldiers. She loved to write in the margins of books.
She could have told me all about this and the thousands of other things that I don't even know to wonder about, but she was stolen from me.
And that's only part of the pain I feel. When I first started talking, I said to know me was to know my Mama. The important part of that statement is the "was." I'm a very different person today than I was on March 3, 2007. Like Mama, I trusted people. I was pleased to see the first blooms of spring popping up in my front yard from the bulbs I had dug the year before at Mama's house. I was happy. I was laughing, smiling, living life. I was talking to Mama on the phone and telling her about those first flowers popping up. I was excited to know that I could pick them soon and take them home to her in the way that she always brought flowers to me.
And then, because someone wanted something and is an evil, evil man, Mama was stolen from all of us. I immediately knew that something was wrong--before we got to the house, before we talked to anyone. On the drive from Birmingham to Octagon that night, I cried and I cried. But I started to get angry, too. I still cry regularly. But the thing that has impacted me the most is the anger.
I'm not afraid of people anymore, perhaps even when I should be. Instead, I'm angry. I've lost much of that kindness that Mama instilled in all of us. I've lost the trust that she always had--willing to stop even in her 80's to offer help to someone broken down on the side of the road. Mostly, I feel anger.
I hope some day to feel the same love and joy for the world again. I don't know if seeing the maximum sentence for this horror will give me back my hope, but it is all I can ask for. I'm honestly still shocked that the maximum sentence isn't death. I'm still amazed that the most we can hope for in a sentence is actually the least that could possibly be acceptable considering how cruel and violent this attack so clearly was.
Anything less will certainly be a cruel blow from a system that claims justice as the goal. The loss of my Mama is the largest, cruelest and most incomprehensible thing I've ever been through. Please don't let the violent, cruel person who committed such a horrible murder ever find his way back on the street--EVER. The thought of seeing him walking any neighborhood is just too much to bear. The thought of all those wonderful people who live in Octagon trying to go to sleep at night with the knowledge that this violent thug could one day walk their streets again is too painful, too unacceptable to imagine.
The justice system moves slow in America, but we seem to have finally arrived at an end. The trial was in September (I've posted about it here). The sentencing was this Monday. What is below pales in comparison to what my siblings, my niece and my nephew so courageously said, but this was all I could muster. The D.A., who really strikes me as a good and decent human being, had tears in his eyes. They sentenced the man that murdered my Mama to 45 years. The end result should be life in prison.
I woke up yesterday morning with the realization that this was the first morning since this evil man murdered my Mama that he woke up with no hope. I'm sure that before this he had hope that he could get away with it, hope that a jury would believe his lies and finally hope that a judge would fall prey to an easy sentence. Thankfully, none of that happened and he will wake up in a prison cell until he dies.
Well, anyway, this was my impact statementTo know me was to know my Mama.
Her favorite color was purple. Her favorite season was spring.
She loved the land and watching the purple irises poke their blooms skyward. She loved the jonquils and the daffodils springing out of the ground first to chase off the winter. She even brought me the blooms of some of the first of them the Saturday before she was murdered.
We talked on the phone every day for the last 4 years of Mama's life and she would always tell me about something growing or changing in the yard. She loved Marengo County and she LOVED Octagon.
More importantly, Mama believed in the people here. She probably taught more than half of them in school. She taught for something around 30 years, taking enough time out to raise the 6 of us--and to teach us all to be good, decent people and to care about those around us. She taught us to believe that people are at their core decent. She grew up in the Great Depression and learned that we must all look out for each other in order to survive.
She taught by example as much as anything else. She always treated everyone with respect and love. She had high hopes for all her students and worked hard to make sure that when they left her classroom, they were better for it. She'd do all she could to help them find jobs after graduation and she even helped them with work clothes if they couldn't afford them on their own.
There are so many things I still have to learn from her. I didn't know until I was thumbing through a book on WWII that she had volunteered with the Red Cross weekly while in college to wrap bandages for the soldiers. She loved to write in the margins of books.
She could have told me all about this and the thousands of other things that I don't even know to wonder about, but she was stolen from me.
And that's only part of the pain I feel. When I first started talking, I said to know me was to know my Mama. The important part of that statement is the "was." I'm a very different person today than I was on March 3, 2007. Like Mama, I trusted people. I was pleased to see the first blooms of spring popping up in my front yard from the bulbs I had dug the year before at Mama's house. I was happy. I was laughing, smiling, living life. I was talking to Mama on the phone and telling her about those first flowers popping up. I was excited to know that I could pick them soon and take them home to her in the way that she always brought flowers to me.
And then, because someone wanted something and is an evil, evil man, Mama was stolen from all of us. I immediately knew that something was wrong--before we got to the house, before we talked to anyone. On the drive from Birmingham to Octagon that night, I cried and I cried. But I started to get angry, too. I still cry regularly. But the thing that has impacted me the most is the anger.
I'm not afraid of people anymore, perhaps even when I should be. Instead, I'm angry. I've lost much of that kindness that Mama instilled in all of us. I've lost the trust that she always had--willing to stop even in her 80's to offer help to someone broken down on the side of the road. Mostly, I feel anger.
I hope some day to feel the same love and joy for the world again. I don't know if seeing the maximum sentence for this horror will give me back my hope, but it is all I can ask for. I'm honestly still shocked that the maximum sentence isn't death. I'm still amazed that the most we can hope for in a sentence is actually the least that could possibly be acceptable considering how cruel and violent this attack so clearly was.
Anything less will certainly be a cruel blow from a system that claims justice as the goal. The loss of my Mama is the largest, cruelest and most incomprehensible thing I've ever been through. Please don't let the violent, cruel person who committed such a horrible murder ever find his way back on the street--EVER. The thought of seeing him walking any neighborhood is just too much to bear. The thought of all those wonderful people who live in Octagon trying to go to sleep at night with the knowledge that this violent thug could one day walk their streets again is too painful, too unacceptable to imagine.
Seems that I can't catch a minute to do anything these days.Worked hard all day on Monday until a friend from high school (Walter Smith) came by Monday night for a quick visit. He was in town going to St. Vincents. Yesterday, had to drive to Montgomery to give a presentation on scenic byways--small world. Kathryn Friday was there--my high school English teacher. Hadn't seen her in years and I've seen her a dozen times in the last year-and-a-half. Small world. Today, another byways meeting, this time about directional/wayfinding signage for byways through the Alabama Department of Transportation. There is certainly a need for more effective signs for tourists. We're working on it!
Oh, and the usual work on my monthly Sierra Club newsletter, AIA Christmas party invitation, CAWACO/Five Mile Creek updates and more. I'm tired.... At least no meetings tomorrow!
Oh, and the usual work on my monthly Sierra Club newsletter, AIA Christmas party invitation, CAWACO/Five Mile Creek updates and more. I'm tired.... At least no meetings tomorrow!
Seems as though I haven't had as much time as usual to play with my blog. I think I've gotten a bit caught up playing with flickr, plus I've just overall been really busy working on several projects. Getting finished up with a program manual for the Alabama Communities of Excellence and finished a newsletter for AIA, Birmingham chapter. I've been pounding out ads for Underwoods (sister company to Birmingham-based Bromberg's Jewelers). Oh, and I wrote a reasonble itinerary for the Alabama Front Porches website that I posted on the blog I created for them. Need to scan some more old photos in. Haven't really made anything interesting to eat in over a week--busy and boring.
Well, I haven't really been doing a lot of cooking the last week (made several homemade sourdough pizzas, but those just all look the same in photos). Here's a sandwich I made for Ann's birthday last week. Fresh Big Sky Bakery bread (a Birmingham bakery), fresh veggies and blue corn chips. It is pretty similar to a sandwich that we got frequently at Ketabies--sp?? (later the Highland Market and now Rojo).
The sandwich is pretty simple: fresh sprouts, tomatoes, shredded carrot, walnut pieces, Swiss cheese, raisins and Ranch dressing between two slices of good wheat bread. Simple and delicious.
I am pretty sure this is Uncle Bud, Aunt Sadie Lou, Mama and Aunt Phoebe. I don't know who the other person might be. Any ideas?
A trip to Bibb County last week netted a few good photos of the Cahaba River and the changing fall colors.
I know some of these folks (Mama, Mammy, Uncle Bud, but I surely don't know some of the others. Any guesses?
Anyone want to help me with identification?
Well, yesterday I had a busy day in Thomasville at a meeting with the tourism group that represents the 11 county region we are working with for the www.alabamafrontporches.com website. After the meeting, I zipped out to my sister Julia's house for a minute (really about 20 minutes) for a quick visit. She had some great birthday gifts for me and for Ann. But what was the greatest gift of all was a photo album she had of Mama's. Loads of great photos to add to my blog. Starting with these two: on the left, Uncle Bud Hinson (Mama's brother) and on the right Mammy, Papa Hinson and an unknown man holding a shotgun--can't tell if that is Mammy's shotgun or not. Great stuff and much more to come!
Well, that would be some years ago. I was driving up Highway 5 yesterday through Centerville and saw two of my favorite birthday spots. We went there SEVERAL years. The Sawmeal Restaurant was one. We would go there and have chili and saltine crackers. Great stuff. Thankfully, the Sawmeal is still there. The other, the most wonderful place in all the world, the best place to find anything, was the Army-Navy store pictured below. Anything you could imagine would be there. Well, if you could, as any healthy young boy would, imagine only things in camoflauge or knife-like. Mama took me some years. Aunt Gladys and Uncle Edward took me several times (once after Mama was convinced that Uncle Edward wasn't the world's greatest driver anymore). Mama and Papa, Mama and some assortment of my wonderful sisters. It was a great ritual. I still have some of the things I got for my birthday. I suspect the old WWI gas mask is somewhere in Octagon still.
Sadly, the store is no longer around. A Mexican restaurant now, no less. I imagine that the original owners drive by and feel the same sadness.
Sadly, the store is no longer around. A Mexican restaurant now, no less. I imagine that the original owners drive by and feel the same sadness.
Wow, what a busy week last week. First, I have way too much to do. Then, I get hooked on Flickr. (Even uploaded a few photos to the al.com photo section--they seemed to like my photo of the guys sitting in front of the Selma grocery store--they left it on their front page for almost 2 days.) But, I managed to get lots done, including a draft of a 48 page program manual for the Alabama Communities of Excellence program (ACE), photos for a new client (the American Society of Landscape Architects--Alabama chapter), ads for Underwoods, Florida sister company to Birmingham-based Brombergs and other things I can't even remember right now.
Oh, and I finally got around to writing up a travel itinerary for a trip to Selma, Alabama, Gees Bend and Camden. It is posted on the Alabama's Front Porches blog site: www.alabamafrontporches.com/blog. A little more work and I'll incorporate it into the main site. I ordered a GPS (Garmin nüvi 750
) yesterday to help me better plot my travels around Alabama. (click the link to buy it through Amazon.com--and give me money!!!)
Oh, and I finally got around to writing up a travel itinerary for a trip to Selma, Alabama, Gees Bend and Camden. It is posted on the Alabama's Front Porches blog site: www.alabamafrontporches.com/blog. A little more work and I'll incorporate it into the main site. I ordered a GPS (Garmin nüvi 750
) yesterday to help me better plot my travels around Alabama. (click the link to buy it through Amazon.com--and give me money!!!)
Wow, what a busy week--little time for updates, though I admit to playing a bit more than I should on Flickr. I've added some additional photos (mainly of Birmingham--downtown and the zoo). This morning, I'm going through a training manual for the ACE (Alabama Communities of Excellence) Program and reformatting it for consistent use of fonts, sizes, styles, etc. I'm trying to give it a cleaner, easier to follow look without putting loads of hours into it (it is somewhere around 45 pages). Other than that, just the typical updates to my various blogs (I added several links to a Facebook Group about Black Belt natives yesterday).
Ordered the Adobe CS4 suite of programs yesterday--can't wait to get that in hand. Oh, and picked up a new client as well: the Alabama chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. I'll be developing a website for them in the next few months, but Friday night I'm off to one of their banquets to take pictures. That's two months in a row with actual people photography work (a judge last month and now an event). I'm not as fond of taking people photos as I am of landscape or food photography, but I'm getting the hang of it more and more.
Ordered the Adobe CS4 suite of programs yesterday--can't wait to get that in hand. Oh, and picked up a new client as well: the Alabama chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. I'll be developing a website for them in the next few months, but Friday night I'm off to one of their banquets to take pictures. That's two months in a row with actual people photography work (a judge last month and now an event). I'm not as fond of taking people photos as I am of landscape or food photography, but I'm getting the hang of it more and more.
There are just too many social networking opportunities out there right now. I'm giving all the above a try. I've been on LinkedIn for a long time, thanks in large part to an old college buddy, Dale Kiefling years ago. I've been on Facebook for a lot less time, but still pretty interesting. Twitter is pretty new to me--I'm still getting the hang of exactly why I'm using it, but sort of secretly like it. Plaxo--pretty lame overall, but keep it up for a certain crowd.
And, I just joined Flickr today. Flickr is basically a photo-sharing website that lets you upload and organize your photos. Never been very into that sort of thing as I never saw a need--after all, I can post stuff to my blog anytime. Finally broke down and joined and uploaded some photos, though. It seems pretty cool so far.
And the reason for all this? I want to understand the social media networks in order to use them effectively for my own personal benefit and particularly to benefit my clients. There are many, many opportunities to market to a whole new crowd and in a completely different way. So here goes!
And, I just joined Flickr today. Flickr is basically a photo-sharing website that lets you upload and organize your photos. Never been very into that sort of thing as I never saw a need--after all, I can post stuff to my blog anytime. Finally broke down and joined and uploaded some photos, though. It seems pretty cool so far.
And the reason for all this? I want to understand the social media networks in order to use them effectively for my own personal benefit and particularly to benefit my clients. There are many, many opportunities to market to a whole new crowd and in a completely different way. So here goes!
