I’ve been keeping a digital journal of quickly made collages about my apprehension with hospitals and medical things.  Here are a few ‘pages’ from it:

I’ve been working on a series of collages over the last few weeks using images taken from the Smithsonian photographic archive.  This and the previous few collages posted on the blog are part of the series.  With Google as my usual source for images, using the Smithsonian’s has been a nice new challenge to work within a specific archive.  Not that what is available is limited by any means - there is a wealth of beautiful images, and its through the strength of these pictures that I feel I’ve come to some nice discoveries in how to put things together.  Check out the Smithsonian Photography Initiative blog, THE BIGGER PICTURE, and browse the thousands of pictures featured at Flickr Commons.

Jack Kemp died.

Back when I was 18 and didn’t know any better than voting conservatively (growing up a fundamentalist in Alabama affects you in certain ways, and it takes some time to grow out of) I cast my first presidential ballot in favor of the Dole/Kemp ticket.  Around 10 years later I met Jack Kemp for the first time at the Vice President’s Residence at the Naval Observatory.  I was there assisting the VP’s photographer. I remember Kemp bounding across the room to where I was standing, and as he reaches me he stuck out his hand assertively and with great volume and force of character said, “HI.  I’M JACK KEMP!” He shook my hand heartily, nearly loosening my arm from its socket, and then wished me a Merry Christmas with a pat on the shoulder as he continued to work the room.

I thought that was special.