Paying homage to OJ

Take a bite
Montreal, QC, October 2009 [Click all images to enlarge]

About these photos: We're sharing orange-themed pictures all week long as part of Thematic Photographic. And it doesn't get bigger than Montreal's OJ! Please click here to share your own orange vision.

On a busy street corner beside the trench of a highway known as the Decarie Expressway sits a giant building that's shaped like an orange. Officially, it's Gibeau Orange Julep. But no one calls it that. It's embedded itself into Montreal's culture simply as "OJ". Long ago, you'd drive in and hostesses on roller skates served you in your car. Those days are but distant memories now, but pulling in here for a quick bite on the way home is still something special.

The food - mostly hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and fries - isn't really worth writing home about. And I'm sure your cardiologist wouldn't approve of your being here in the first place. But there's something about sipping the flagship drink - best known as "OJ", I think it's orange juice mixed with a bit of egg, then mixed continuously into a frothy mess - while sitting in the car that reminds me of what life must have been like for my parents when they were young. Indeed, it's one of those rare cultural icons that ties my generation to theirs: It was as important a milestone of my teens and early twenties as it was of theirs.

So even though we don't live here anymore, we bring the kids because we want them to know what a truly unique experience this is - and we want them to experience it before the inevitable march of time claims this special place, too. More importantly, every time we drive by here, we find ourselves in need of some happy. That's because this place is barely three kilometers away from the hospital, and we always pass it on our way back home. This has become our comforting antidote to the often jarring visits to a place no child should have to witness except to be born.

In the silence in the car after we first come down from the hospital, I often wonder what they're thinking, how the just-completed experience has changed them. They've been here so many times already that they're old pros - they know when to wear masks, when to clean their hands, when to stay back from the patient's bed, how to behave, etc. Yet still I wonder if being so familiar with illness and endings has aged them somehow, has taken away their grasp of childhood innocence.

As OJ looms in the windshield, I like to suggest stopping there. Even if I'm not hungry, just immersing ourselves - and most notably, them - in the experience of this place helps escape the sadness for just a little while. Over the somewhat greasy fare, we recount the stories of mommy's and daddy's earliest dates here, we speculate over what might be inside the orange, and we muse about the person who concocted this place all those years ago. Their faces light up, if only briefly, as we all manage to forget reality for a few minutes.

I guess we find our balm wherever we can, even if it comes in the shape of a tattered old, iconic orange building. I wish I could take this place with us when we head back to London.

Your turn: Odd, memorable, iconic places. And why they mean as much as they mean. Please discuss.

Oprah quits. World stops spinning.

So the big news of the day is that Oprah will end her long-lived talk show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2011. I know this because my BlackBerry lit up with all sorts of "Breaking News" alerts yesterday afternoon.

Breaking news? Give me a serious break. A fire that injures or kills people would certainly qualify. So would a military coup somewhere, as well as a mudslide that buries the world's last remaining significant eucalyptus tree reserve and threatens a rare community of pygmy koala bears. You know, important stuff that permanently changes our lives could all logically be thought of as breaking news

But this? I risk the wrath of Oprah superfans by saying this isn't news, much less breaking news. And it doesn't rank up there with koala extinction.

She isn't retiring. She isn't disappearing. She's simply taking her brand off of broadcast television and moving it over to cable. There are enough media channels in the universe that anyone who needs an Oprah fix will easily be able to get it after September 9, 2011, when her current show fades to black.

Remember when we all held our collective breath before Jay Leno signed off of the Tonight Show earlier this year? Well, now that he's essentially rubber-stamping the same show at 10 p.m. every night, we've all gone back to ignoring him. Life went on after Jay. It'll go on after Oprah, too.

I've always respected Oprah for trying to improve our world. In a media landscape marked by self centredness and pettiness, she's consistently kept her focus on helping those in need and inspiring the rest of us to follow along. But turning what is essentially a career strategy decision into a cultural milestone smacks of overkill. Can we please get a grip?

Besides, we still have Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz to fill our keep-it-simple, feel-good pipeline of middle-America pablum. Whether we like it or not, her legacy will outlive her show by a long shot.

Your turn: When we take TV too seriously. Please discuss.

Pieces of orange

ET would be proud
London, ON, November 2009 [Click photo to enlarge]

About this photo: We're celebrating all things orange all week long. With any luck, you'll be celebrating, too. Head here for more.

My wife knows "the look" almost before I finish making it. When something catches my eye, I furrow my brow and begin looking at it from all angles, often involving my hands to help the composition along. Before long, the camera comes out. She's used to it by now, and thank goodness accepts me for the flawed individual that I am.

So while chatting with my mom on the phone in the kitchen one bright afternoon, she barely batted an eyelash when I started removing the yellow and brown Reese's Pieces from the pile. With a slightly exasperated smile in her voice, she told my mom I was at it again, and then continued with their conversation.

Another moment in another day. And somehow she helped make it more memorable to me than just another closeup picture of junk food. How does she do that?

Your turn: My next foodie pic should be...?

Thematic Photographic 76 - Orange

When the game ends
London, ON, June 2009

About this photo: This entry launches our new Thematic Photographic theme, orange. To be a part of the fun, simply post an orange-themed pic on your site, then leave a comment here so everyone can find it. Repeat as often as you wish. Click here if you'd like to learn more about Thematic Photographic.

I'm not sure why I stuck around the playground at our kids' school after the bell rang and everyone headed inside. I had a camera and a few extra minutes before I needed to get on my way. I guess some days we all need a little quiet time before diving into the day.

The basketball, sitting alone in the middle of the court, seemed lost in the asphalt, suddenly forgotten by the boisterous kids who mere minutes ago were fighting each other to get it through the net. They'd be back at recess, but for now it was just me, a ball, and a whole lot of sunshine-drenched silence. I'm glad I hung back.

Your turn: Got something orange in your archives? If so, I hope you'll share it here. If not, you've got the perfect excuse to head out with your camera and bring home something orange. We're at it all week, so have fun with it!

Stars & Stripes Forever

Flag day
New York, NY, November 2009

I wanted to share one last travel-themed moment before we go orange (check back at 7 p.m. for that.) Why? Because I came home from our lightning-quick visit to New York with hundreds of pictures and no idea how to efficiently share them all. Ideas welcome, btw.

Just before I took this shot, I was walking down Broadway doing my best to drink in what made this place such a global magnet of attention. I don't think I was ever able to really figure it out. On the surface, the buildings, stores and people look much like they do in any other major North American city. But look a little deeper and the combination of factors sets this place apart. The buildings are just a little bigger, just a little more architecturally fascinating and imposing on the streetscape. The people are just a bit harder edged and a bit more big-hearted - all at the same time. It's subtle, but enough to imprint itself on your soul.

The sum of the parts can't be found anywhere else. And even on a relatively quiet morning, you can close your eyes and feel the energy of this place. As I caught this total stranger sitting alone in a spot where everyone is typically on the move, I wondered what he was thinking. The moment-in-time quality of the scene almost compelled me to take the picture. So I did.

Your turn: So, what was this guy thinking?

Striking stupidity

The transit strike that's gripped our city this week has forced a mad scramble for alternative means of getting to work and school. The University of Western Ontario and its student council combined forces and launched a "community van" program where volunteers drive rented vans between seven points throughout the city. Sounds simple enough, right?

Not so much, apparently. Since no transit strike would be complete without a healthy dose of stupid behavior, the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents the transit workers, has called for an end to this shuttle service. They've predictably called it "union busting".

Somewhat more surprising is the response from unions representing university workers. The president of the UWO staff association says the volunteers represent scab labour becuse they're replacing regular workers. Even better, if the bus drivers start picketing the campus, they'll refuse to cross the picket lines. I guess solidarity to students doesn't rate in the average UWO prof's world view.

So, from where I sit, a volunteer-based, alternative means of getting around town that has absolutely no connection to regular bus service is at risk of being shut down because unionistas call it "scab labour". I suppose, then, that my own volunteer-based, alternative means of getting around town would also qualify:

• I rode my bike to and from a couple of appointments this week. Since my legs did the work normally done by a bus driver, I guess they now qualify as scabs.
• I drove the kids to school, and later to their gymnastics class. I think I passed a bus stop along the way...call me a scab.
• I walked the dog along part of a bus route last night. I suppose that, too, makes me a union-busting scab.

At the end of the day, transit workers have decided that the only way for them to score a better deal is to walk off the job. Whether we agree or disagree with them, that's their choice.

But they're not the only one with choices - or needs. As citizens, how we move around the city in their absence is entirely our choice. I'll be damned if some union leader decides for me how I can and cannot get myself and my family from place to place. Call me a scab if you wish, but please don't call me a transit rider when this thing is over: By then, I may just decide to stick with my hastily-arranged choices in union-busting, self-provided transportation.

Filling up. Looking back.

Oasis
Locust Grove, GA, January 2009

About this photo: Thematic Photographic's travel theme continues. Please click here to share your own travel vision. I'll launch a new theme tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. I'm thinking it should be orange. Does that sound like a decent choice?

I know it's a forgettable piece of architecture in the middle of a forgettable town late on an otherwise forgettable night. But I have an annoying habit of retaining the forgettable.

We were on our way home from vacation, and were finishing up our first long day in the car. Debbie and the kids had gone inside to fetch snacks and stretch muscles, while I stayed outside and filled the tank. When I was done, I found myself alone with the wondervan in a darkened parking lot, so out came the camera.

Some background: I tend to get reflective when we're in the middle of a long journey. I feel responsible for shepherding my brood safely to our destination. Before we set off, I often spend a quiet moment during which I'll touch the car, close my eyes and wish for an easy, predictable trip. Along the way, I look for fleeting alone moments, and I look for ways to remember that feeling of responsibility, of being the dad of a family, of simply being somewhere new and exciting. Or, as the case may be, not-so-exciting.

I know these trips won't last forever. I know the kids will grow beyond the point at which they want to sit in a car or spend hours on end with mom and dad. I won't always be responsible for them from the beginning to the end of their journey. And I'll miss what it feels like to wait for them to return to the car so we can get back on the road, together.

Your turn: What do you think about in the middle of a long journey?

High school not-so-confidential

So I missed my high school reunion. While it would have been lovely to catch up with folks who in many respects defined an important period of my life, I realized that now is just too soon. I don't know how long is considered "long enough" after someone close to you dies before you feel right attending larger events, being among people and generally being your usual smiley-happy self. But I do know that I'm not quite there yet.

We attended a family wedding in New York last week. It was probably too soon, as well, but it was my cousin's wedding, and being there was incredibly important for us all. Her mom, my aunt, is my late dad's sister, and in an extended family where not everyone seems to appreciate the fact that we are, indeed, family, my aunt and uncle were - and still are - always there and always a central part of our and our kids' lives. It was tough to be part of a celebration so soon after losing my father, but I'm so glad we went.

As we wrestled with whether or not to also attend the reunion, we realized it just didn't rate on the same plane as my cousin's wedding. At the risk of offending the organizers - and I'm sure we did, but whatever - we simply didn't see ourselves pretending to be happy shiny people at this thing. Had the timing been different, we would have been there in a heartbeat, and I would have come back with a memory card filled with photos and a head full of fond memories to boot.

But the timing wasn't different. Life sucks that way, sometimes. And as I endure the torrent of "gee, you should have been there" e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets and IMs over the next week or so, I'll have to keep in mind that not everyone gets that being among the crowd is the last thing I want or need at this early stage. Some folks get that some days I still need to be alone, and some folks don't. And some folks don't bother to take the time to read.

I'm learning, slowly, that I don't necessarily need to waste cycles trying to make everyone aware. It just doesn't matter.

Going postal

When light does its dance
Toronto, ON, January 2009

About this photo: Thematic Photographic is all travel, all the time - until next Wednesday, anyway. Head over here to share your own distant vision.

When you're early for a meeting in a faraway city and you've got a bit of extra time on your hands, it's only natural to want to pull out your camera and grab a few frames. Never mind that the temperature's cold enough to turn your fingers white: There's a certain appeal to shooting in the crisp, clear air that results.

Two things that I remember about this rather frigid moment:

• Architecture was a lot nicer way back when. I'm sorry more examples like this haven't survived through time.
• Surprises - especially pleasant ones like this delightfully reflected light - can happen any time. We need to keep our eyes open as a result.

Your turn: Something you didn't expect to see while on a trip. Please discuss.

Ocean ranger

Destination unknown
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008

It's as long as a skyscraper is tall, yet on the horizon it slips by, barely noticed by the folks frolicking on the beach. Except my daughter, who sees it first and tells me to get my camera out.

As we sit on the sand and watch it slowly make its way across the seeming edge of the planet, she muses aloud about where it might be going. She rattles off a list of potential destinations, all touristy places more likely to be visited by a cruise ship than one carrying cargo containers. I correct her. She rolls her eyes, reminding me she was kidding, and she knows full well it's a cargo ship. Smart girl.

We decide we like its blocky, built-for-a-purpose form. You know full well what this thing was built for. We wish we could get a little closer to it, get some answers about what it's carrying, where it's headed, what it's called and who sails on her. But for now, we're content to watch this mysterious leviathan continue on its way. Answers may come another day, if at all. But for today, we're content to sit on the beach and just be.

Your turn: When you took a small moment to talk about big things...

About this photo: It's travel week all week long. To dive into the thematic soup, so to speak, click here.

Early morning on Market Street

Down low in Frisco
San Francisco, July 2008

About this photo: Thematic Photographic explores travel-themed scenes all week long. If you have something from your own travels, please share it here.

The scene: It's early on a grey, damp, miserable morning, and I really should be back at my hotel getting ready to fly back home. Instead, I'm zipping through the streets, power-shooting whatever I see because, well, I don't want to return home without a tangible memory of my all-too-brief time here.

I'm manic like that.

Your turn: This streetscape seems to be telling so many stories. I hope you'll pick one and share it in a comment.

Images that haunt

I've started going through my photo archives again. It's something that I had always done regularly - it helps me learn from my experiences and (hopefully) improve my photography - but I stopped after my father's passing. I was afraid of coming across a picture that would send me spinning back into darkness.

Earlier this week, though, I ventured back into the sequentially dated, painstakingly edited and sorted folders on my backup drive. I wasn't looking for anything specific. I simply realized that sooner or later I'll have to come face-to-face with what we'd lost. And I can't avoid the stories - literary, oral, visual or all three - that I've long used to mark my and my family's journey through this world.

As I slowly clicked through the photos from the past number of years, I noticed a recurrent theme: hospitals. We'd spent so much time visiting my father there, and since I had decided to take pictures when most other folks would have left their cameras at home, I ended up with countless visions into a journey both he and we wished had never been taken.

I find myself hovering over photos of him in his hospital bed, of our kids gathered around him, of my mother's look of concern, of his hands holding get well cards from our son, of whatever trivial-at-the-time moments I decided to grab with my lens. Maybe trivial then, but certainly not now.

It's jarring, upsetting and more than a little haunting. I want to move back the clock, or at least PhotoShop some of the images so they don't appear quite so stark. It was hard to accept his getting sick, and then sicker. It's even harder looking back at this now that he's gone.

I don't know what I'll ever do with the pictures. I don't know if I'll ever post any of them online - for now, it feels like the kind of thing that will cause others more pain than joy. I guess I'm learning the flip side of my decision to use photography to tell my and my family's story. Sometimes, the story hurts too much to share. Sometimes, you wonder if you should have even brought the camera at all.

Thematic Photographic 75 - Travel

Madison & 29th
New York, NY
November 2009
[Click photo to enlarge]

Sooner or later, we all have to leave home. Whether we do so for work, for family, for adventure, we invariably end up seeing things we'd never see from our kitchen window.

That's what I'm looking for with this week's Thematic Photographic theme, travel. If you've been away and took pictures, we want to see 'em. See the Your Turn section below for more. And happy shooting!

About this photo: Early morning from our 9th floor hotel room (FWIW, the Carlton on Madison Ave.) The kids were still asleep, and I, as ever, couldn't sleep. The soft light beckoned through the closed shades. So I peeked out the sides and liked what I saw: Slices of shadow and sunlight on an urban landscape that could only exist here in New York. A lovely and memorable way to start the day, don't you think?

Your turn: If you brought home pictures (plural deliberate) of strange new experiences from faraway places, please share them on your blog, then paste a link into a comment below. Click here for more background on how Thematic Photographic works.

Never forget

Red badge of courage
London, ON, November 2009

I tweeted this earlier today as I walked the dog in my quiet neighborhood and pondered the kinds of not-quite-adventures my suburban existence would serve up before bedtime:

The price for freedom is paid not only on Nov 11th. Their sacrifice will be just as meaningful - and worthy of thanks - tomorrow.

I shared this from the comfort of my BlackBerry because I admit more than a little discomfort at the once-a-year outpouring of affection for our veterans. I know it's human nature to store it all up and then blast it all out in one brief day - witness Christmas, birthdays and wedding anniversaries - but I still find it sad that we share our thanks, thoughts and feelings so rarely.

If anything, we should celebrate our heritage, our lives and our connections with those who matter most each and every day. We have what we have because countless heroes among us have made - and continue to make - unthinkable sacrifices. Indeed, my walk with the dog this morning was made possible by complete strangers decades ago who stood in Hitler's way and ensured the darkness racist totalitarianism didn't shade the entire planet.

For them and all who have followed, I think I can at least give it some thought the other 364 days of the year, as well.

Your turn: You're thankful because...?

About this photo: We're winding down this week's red theme (head here if you'd like to share.) Tonight at 7:00 EDT, I'll post the next Thematic Photographic theme, travel.

What we would have missed

The scene: Late at night, somewhere in western New York state. We're midway through our return home from a quick trip to New York City where we and my mom attended my cousin's wedding. Everyone but the driver - that would be me - dozes while the GPS softly lights the dash and points us toward home.

As we approach a seemingly dark exit, I furrow my brow when our navigator, who we've nicknamed Lucille, or Lucy, tells me to get off the highway. The device is set to default to the fastest possible route, so I'm surprised that she's pointing me toward, well, oblivion. But I've never driven here before, and I know better than to quibble with the Soulless Code of Garmin. So I hit the turn signal and take the exit.

We end up on a two-lane highway - US Route 20A - that snakes us through canopies of trees and up and down through more small towns and past more farms and farmhouses than I can count. This isn't a short detour: By my admittedly lame estimate, Lucy has decided to yank us off the Interstate for the last 90 minutes before we hit the border. The kids, sensing that the car is no longer cruising on the straight and level, wake up and start asking questions. Are we there yet? (No.) Are we off the highway? (Yes.) Why? (Because Daddy's lost and we've entrusted ourselves to a squawking box no bigger than your Nintendo DSi.)

So you can imagine that I'm a little more stressed than usual, and at first I find it difficult to avoid showing it. But I smile as I answer their questions because that's just what dads do - if mine was ever nervous during a long trip, he never let on. We always felt safe, and that's exactly what I want for them, too.

After a few minutes, though, my headlights swing past a deer standing quietly on the side of the road. No one's playing Nintendo now, and everyone's suddenly keenly aware of the things going on outside our car that we'd never have seen on the boring old Interstate. I start to relax and enjoy the unplanned experience.

We pick our way down a steep set of switchbacks before coasting into a brilliantly lit, one-intersection town. A lone pedestrian - a long-haired teenaged boy whose black t-shirt doesn't look warm enough for the chilly night - walks across the deserted street, swapping one whitewashed facade of dusty windows and shadowed entranceways for another.

As we climb out of the town and back into the pitch black night, Debbie calls out that she sees a windmill. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch it: a giant shadow of modern eco-friendliness that dominates the quaint farmhouses that line the side of the road. I have no idea how I'm able to make it out on the darkened land - and no time, either, as the road beckons my eyes back. Suddenly my wife sees another one, and another, until the entire field is filled with them. They're turning slowly in the black night, sending energy to a place that's got to be lighter than this. My kids remain glued to the window, amazed.

Eventually, we see a familiar glow in the distance as Lucy points us back toward civilization. We get on the highway and drive through the middle of Buffalo. The rest of the way home, I toss over in my mind what possessed our GPS to take us on such a ride. And I smile at the thought as I consider what we would have missed had the trip gone completely according to plan. Sometimes, the road less traveled is the one we simply need to take.

I'll leave the why of it all for another time.

Your turn: When a journey takes you somewhere unexpected. Please discuss.

Don't cry over spilled...

Droplet
Laval, QC, August 2009

Our youngest son has many fine qualities that would make any parent proud. Neatness isn't one of them. When Noah and food converge on the same spot in the space-time continuum, gravity usually ends up victorious.

Thankfully, it occasionally makes for an interestingly spontaneous moment with the camera.

For what it's worth, I'm perfectly fine with the occasional spill. With a soul as sweet as his, I'm good with the inevitable cleanups and laundry that ensue. Even the ring of chocolate around his mouth when he eats M&Ms is endearing.

Your turn: I know you've got some red in ya. Click here to dive in. And if you've already shared, don't be shy to share again.

Red meat

Montreal smoked meat...not quite a breakfast of champions
Laval, QC, August 2009

About this photo: It's all-things-red week as Thematic Photographic celebrates the happiest color ever. Don't know what the hell I'm talking about? Click here and all will be explained. But first, we eat.

Like many cities, Montreal is home to a number of foods that define its very soul. In some cases - bagels, for instance - they're fairly neutral from a health perspective. In others - exhibit A being the sandwich I've shared here or the hideously famous poutine - they ought to come with their own cardiologist.

I have a weak spot for smoked meat. I know it'll kill me eventually, but I can't say no if it's on the menu. I figure I'll do an extra few kilometers on the bike tomorrow to compensate. Or call a cardiologist and make an appointment.

Either way, it's a seemingly small thing that adds just a little more zing to our time on this planet. Seen from that perspective, maybe it's not so unhealthy after all.

Your turn: Things that we should avoid, but don't. Please discuss.