Pretty roses

These lovelies were spotted in an outdoor store front display during a city street sidewalk stroll...during gorgeous weather!

Found - Fellow young photographer from days past

Photo by Darrell 2007

In the search for a teaching position, I visited an EBR school yesterday.  It was a valuable experience spending time with the principal talking about the school and peeking into classrooms as we walked up and down the one hallway space.   I loved being on the receiving end of a couple smiles and waves as the middle school aged children saw us.  There was one child in particular that I felt like I knew, and right away I connected him to my volunteer days at the FEMA trailer park, Renaissance Village.  The principal had an opportunity during a moment when he passed by us to ask where he was from.  My heart jumped when this young man, now standing taller than me, replied, "New Orleans."  "Were you in the trailer park?" Long pause and thinking face, "I think so...I was so little then."

Immediately in my mind I started digging through my mental archives of images taken while there, by myself and the children.  When I came home, I went right to the blog I used to keep of the visits with the children, "See me see new", and peeked around for the post of his photos.  Found it!  "Photos by Darrell - July 13"  I smiled viewing them, and especially remembered the moment he took his photo of the clouds.  He just wanted to look up and see.

This experience of seeing him again, the first of any of the Renaissance Village children I visited, really speaks to me of the impact and importance of shared experiences of the visual and space.  I'd like to share the photos he took in print with him one day, and wonder if he'll be reminded of looking up to the sky.  I hope that it'll be a positive gift from his days past.


Here are the photos taken by Darrell on July 13, 2007.

The Red Star 8.08.15