Gene Martin - Happy Birthday

I was invited to attend the birthday party of a friend of mine.  He was turning 90.  He was surrounded with his family and seemed to be having the time of his life.  Here are a few snapshots; click the thumbnail to enlarge the images.

Sharing stories with the family.  Great-grandson looks on in admiration.

Here's Gene singing one of several songs he amused the family with.  He has a pretty good voice.  He even expressed fear that now that he's sung in public, that the church choir would probably be coming after him.

Here's the family.  It's my understanding that everyone if the family was able to make it to Queen Creek for the celebration.

I wish I knew more about Gene.  He has had many careers including a long one in the Air Force as Judge Advocate General (JAG).  He also claims the distinction of being one of the two great men born in Lamar MO, the other being Harry S. Truman.

Tree at 90 degrees from the sun

Click to enlarge

My brave cousin - part II

You may remember that my cousin Amy had a bout with breast cancer last year and that she asked me to photograph her and her family as they shaved her head as her hair began to fall out. Here's the link in case you missed it: http://bkbarnesphotography.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-very-brave-cousin.html.

I'm happy to report the rest of the story. Amy is recovered and doing very well. I really like the short hair and hope she stays with it. She totally pulls it off.

She stopped by the studio yesterday while doing errands and I persuaded her to sit for the camera. I grabbed five or six shots. Here's a representative photo.

More bicycle riding blather...

I competed in a 200K brevet in the high country of the state, riding from Show Low out to Springerville and Eager and then south through Greer and Sunrise ski resort and then back to Show Low. It was a great ride and I've put some photos on my Facebook page. Here's a link the the stats for you biker type folks. Monday, I'm back to the photos.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/11797985

Just some biking stuff

OK - no photos here, just a link to a friend's blog where you'll find a write up and some phone-cam photos of a recent long ride out past Superior AZ.

http://randocommute.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-of-world-devils-canyon-and-flat.html

Century bike ride

I'm hoping to participate in a 200K bike ride in August, so I though I'd better get some long rides under my belt. This morning, I took off at 4:30 AM, by myself, to do 100 miles (a Century). I snapped a few photos along the way with my Blackberry. The photos aren't great, but they do capture a moment. This was my first Century.

5:36 AM, Sunrise over the Superstition Mountains. This was along Baseline heading east. 11 miles out.

6:30 AM. At the top of Idaho in AJ there is a hill we always climb. This is at the top of that hill. 26 miles out.

8:01 AM. This is at the top of King Kong, Bush Highway right where you can see the Salt River. It's a good climb. I'd climbed Usery Pass frontside and raced down the backside. From here I went down Bush (Power) to McDowell where I hit 50 miles and then turned around. This photo was at 48 miles out.

10:06 AM. Ellsworth and Brown. At Power & McDowell I turned around and rode down King Kong and then up the backside of Usery and down the front. It was time for more water. From here I continued east on Brown heading for AJ. This is at 67 miles out.

11:45 AM. Goldfield and Baseline in Mesa (where Baseline ends). I learned that by this point the temperature had risen to 103°. I was pouring as much water on me as I was in me. 85 miles out.

1:14 PM. Home at last. I burned 6,196 calories, but lost no weight. It was 108° by this time and I just got into my board shorts and sat in the pool while I consumed two Big Macs and a large chocolate shake. The two little fingers on each hand are still numb, but other than that, I'm pretty much OK. I've been invited to do another Century next week. Still thinking about that.

If you're interested in seeing the route and my metrics, follow this link: Lost Dutchman/Usery Century

My very brave cousin...

Warning - there are a lot of photos here, and it is personal, but there is a story. These are not artistic shots, but they do showcase the courage and positive attitude of my cousin Amy along with her supportive husband, children and extended family. Amy has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Her second treatment is in two days, and it was time to cut her hair which was starting to come out. She made a family party of the event and asked me to document it. Here is the story.

Here we are. One daughter is away at girl's camp and will have to witness the event through these photos. This is Amy's family (minus Abi - yes, that's how she's spelling it now), including her mother, one of her sisters, her mother-in-law and me, her old cousin. One last photo before the scissors come out.

Her son Ryan was the first to cut into Amy's locks. Under a father's watchful eye and with instructions not to pull his mother's hair, he started the process.

Everyone wanted to get in on the act, and actually just pulled her compliant hair and out it came.

Her husband Jim undertook the serious business of closely cropping Amy's hair. He was careful and gentle. The family watched...

Daughter Cosette (who one day you will see on the silver screen) wanted a go at it. The intent was to give her a very cool Mohawk for a few minutes, at least.

One of the twins (looks like Lily to me) even cut some of the hair under the professional guidance of her Aunt Amanda, a real professional.

Jim got the clippers back to make sure it was done correctly and the family watched a perfectly shaped head emerge...

As I mentioned, Amanda is a pro, so she was tapped to smooth out the amateur job and give her all the benefit of a skilled and talented operator - you just gotta have that when it comes to your hair!

Mother Janice (out on a hot date tonight I hear) and sister Amanda look on approvingly. If anybody has a face for this it would have to be one of the original Olsen girls.

Amy gets her first glimpse of herself in the guest house window. I think even she was impressed.

The hospital provided this very cute skull cap to keep Amy warm. I just know there are volunteers out there who lovingly make these and donate them. Probably from families who have also been touched by cancer. There is goodness all around.

Amy's friends had a lunch for her the other day and they all came to the restaurant wearing hats and scarves that they'd purchased for her. She received a ton of things (thanks girls - you know who you are). She spent at least 30 minutes trying on all the hats and scarves and modeling them for the family. I think she's going to need to go clothes shopping to pick up just the right things to accent all these new fashion accessories.

It was a simple hour spent with Amy and her family, but it was much more than that. It was a brave wife and mother putting a happy face on a scary time in her life. She was making lemonade out of lemons, so to speak, and giving a healthy serving and example to all of us there who thought we'd come to support her. Thanks for sharing Amy...

A real beauty, inside and out...