i like to tell stories

On 10/24/08 – 10/25/08 between 11:30PM and 2:30AM, 3 people randomly dropped in here at #1RN. The pattern of the evening seemed to be visit Jonathan, bring beer, drink beer, get your picture made and then go on with your night. I am okay with this. (Unless they are drinking in order to tolerate me, but I don’t think that is the case, at least in these…).

People rarely come by, but when they do, it is sometimes grouped together randomly in one day or all within a few hours. I am okay with this too, even more so when they overlap. Random 1, 2, 3.

Kodachrome only has one lab left in the whole world. Thankfully someone made a video and at least took note. I don’t envision Paul Simon singing about a sensor or a Larry Towell Leica Song to become singing about his Canon anytime soon…. even if someone someday does, it just wouldn’t be the same and while Mr. Simon and Mr. Towell are still quite admirable, whoever does sing about that sensor, you wouldn’t want to be friends with.

I have done many silly things to get a photograph: I have been hit with police batons, I once (accidentally) banged my head into a police baton that was being held stationary by the police at an entirely different event, I have dangled over the edge of a 20 story office building, I have placed lights (tied down) too close to edge of another office building, I have forgotten the super conductor I was photographing is a large magnet only to have some gear be sucked right in, same goes for an MRI room yet a different day and many more countless and forgotten foolishness. Yet today, when I did this, I never gave it a second thought. I know this place, I know shotguns and I know if there was anyone in the world that wouldn’t shoot me in this situation, it’s Anthony. Yet today when I sat down and made this little 2 minute movie, seeing just what was going on from a slightly different point of view, I wondered just how smart I really am…? (not worried once, not even just a little).

When shooting someone shooting, make sure they have a serious championship victory under their belt, or like Anthony, several victories.

I rented an SWC903 for 48h in 1997. I was broke, bored, lonely and the rental barely fit on the credit card back then. I still want one as I still want a handful of other specialty cameras. I shot outdated chrome film I got from the trash with one of the most expensive cameras out there at the time. A few years later that film got processed for free by a girl I crushed on at a magazine. This week, 11+ years after making the them, I sat down for the first time and looked at the negatives and made a few scans.

– – –

Last year at Nationals, it seemed there was a C5 up there floating around just about all the time.

This year, I really had to hunt for them. It didn’t feel right without them.

She smiled at me.

I had just gone through the TSA check in San Antonio. I sat down, put my shoes back on and started walking to the food court to look for breakfast. That’s where and when I first saw her. I saw her red hair and heavy makeup first, that’s what got my attention, then it was her face, she was really cute. Honestly, that’s what really caught my attention first, if we were to ever meet, a crush would be likely. She was leaning forward and eating a bagel or donut offered up to her by who I assumed to be her boyfriend. It was a simple yet intimate moment. It made me smile a little inside. I walked by them a second time after getting my food and that’s when it caught my eye why he was holding her food out like that for her, both her arms were missing from just above the elbows down and the scars looked really new. She couldn’t have been more then 25. Her boyfriend looked about the same age and the bags they had were mostly military. It hit me as I kept walking like a punch in the face. What I thought was a romantic and playful simple moment was in fact something else while still potentially being the same. My eyes started welling up with tears. I kept walking, trying to not let them out as I walked to my gate.

It was the second time in 24h I did this. While competing in clays, I noticed a trapper had a Segway. I walked over and gave it a bunch of close looks as I had never seen one like this or seen one up close. It was just sitting there, parked and ready for action. I wanted one instantly. The trapper was a young kid, shaved head, polite and speaking with my squad mate already about something else. As I got closer I realized I hadn’t even noticed his left leg was entirely gone, it was simply a silver pipe with gold hinges for a knee. That’s when I put it together with the news I had seen months ago about some new veterans getting Segway’s during their recovery.

I felt really foolish at first but then decided I’d rather be a fool then live in a world where I assume people are missing their limbs from war because they have a Segway or a romantic boyfriend.

Now I was sitting in a rocking chair by the gate in San Antonio, waiting for my flight. She walked by with her boyfriend and I wondered where they were off to. Was it home, was it a vacation, was it her first time out of San Antonio and its hospitals?

Now sitting on my flight in the aisle seat, getting hit with bag after bag as everyone filed on, I looked up as one bag all the sudden had a cat in it I could see through the mesh. The cat was scared and starring at me, as I leaned in for a closer look at the poor cat, the next bag hit me, I looked up and there she was again. “Sorry,” she whispered as she smiled at me when our eyes met and then down the aisle she went, cats in bags and boyfriend in tow.

I walked out of the bathroom at LaGuardia after being one of the first off the flight. There were people all around and it was really crowded in the terminal. As I stepped over some bags and through the crowd to get to baggage claim, I saw her again for the last time. I hadn’t even realized she was on my flight to NYC as well. She was bent down and wrestling with her bags with what was left of her arms. I think she was actually just talking to the cat, but I’ll never be sure. As I went down the last set of stairs, I tried to not let the tears out all over again.

NSCA National Sporting Clays Competition in San Antonio, Texas.
October 27 – November 3, 2008.

My second year going to Nationals, same goal, top ten in one event in my class, just one. Seems simple right? It is not, it is one of the farthest things from simple I have ever tried. Over 1400 shooters from all over America and beyond converged to battle it out over a 75 target green, yellow, red and orange course for 300 targets in 4 days, plus side events. I shot this MAIN event, the Krieghoff Cup and 5 Stand. Last year I fell short and walked away almost crying with an 11th in the K-Cup in C Class. This year, I am in B Class, a step up making my goals even harder. I saw many other B Class shooters this time around. College students on teams with real coaches and sponsors, guys that work in the shotgun business and range owners. Here I was a jackass that lives in Times Square and only gets practice twice a month in a good month, showing up to battle it out with the lofty goal of top ten in B Class…. classic.

When all the dust, drama, roller coaster rides of performances and grudge match shootouts were over, I was:

14th of 162 in the MAIN, prizes to 15th
I get an award and 1 punch (1 point towards A Class)

14th of 117 in the 5 Stand, prizes to 10th
No award, but 1 punch (1 point towards A Class)
8th-14th had the same score of 83/100, all ties receive same punch as 8th place.

85th of 163 in the Krieghoff Cup, prizes to 10th
No excuses and no comment.

All above results are in B Class.

When competing, shooters are randomly put on a squad of 5, unless you know 5 people and go together. Being just me, I was shuffled into the mix. I have to say, I got an AWESOME squad. They loved shooting and kept me from totally losing my mind when I did poorly and cheered when I did well. I would not have had the scores or fun I had if it had not been for meeting and shooting with them. So BIG thanks to Carlo, Jacqueline, Theresa and Dan. That’s Carlo FIOCCHI by the way in the red vest, just like the sign we are standing with. I was the only non FIOCCHI family or employee on the squad. Carlo hooked me up with a hat, stickers and patches. I even won 2 boxes of ammo in their raffle. I am now an even bigger fan of FIOCCHI then ever before…

Still shocked, amazed and stoked I got 14th in the MAIN. Already dreaming up belt buckle designs to order for myself in celebration, to me, it’s that big a deal.

Before each event, I would arrive early and relax in the parking area waiting my turn to start. Here are two views from two different days in one minute of what it sounds like from the parking areas when the Green, Yellow, Red, Orange, 2 different FITASC, 2 different 5 Stand, sub-gauge and multiple practice courses are all under way.