Yesterday was the opening night for high school football in Texas. As everyone knows, it’s kinda a big deal here. Stadiums tower like college domes and tailgaters cook like it IS that holy day of the week. Only these are kids…17 year old kids. Needless to say, most of them are bigger than me.
I usually attend these games to shoot action shots for the Dallas Morning News. I’ll be the first to admit, I am not a great sports photographer. I only have short lenses. I also don’t like the deadline pressures. I have to miss halftime and most of the third quarter as I fumble to send photos into the office. On a side note, check out Dallas Morning News photographer Gerry McCarthy to see what awesome sports photography looks like.
It’s no secrete the best part of high school football is the culture surrounding the event. Everyone has heard of or read the book Friday Night Lights. I am also a fan of the documentary style television show. It is a true prize to photograph these games. It’s like being at a circus in the way that everywhere you look there is a photo to be taken. The hardest part is deciding when to press the shutter. I love the fans, the bands, the cheerleaders, and even the ridiculous Dallas women wearing heels to a high school football game.
I am hoping I get to shoot a lot throughout the season. I may even improve my action shooting…but I’ll certainly be looking elsewhere.
I picked up an assignment during my time here in Tucson.
The story looked into a part of the stimulus package aimed at giving small loans to businesses…and how the loans are not begin handed out.
When Mark Rusin and his wife Marcie retired to Tucson a few years ago, they decided to take over a franchise restaurant. They left the franchise and turned the restaurant into a Chicago style bar and grill. Mark is a straight shooter who resembles famed Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka spot on…seriously. When the recession hit, Mark appeared to qualify for the new small business emergency loans given out in the stimulus package. Due to a technical loophole, Mark was denied his loan.
From the article which you can view here: “As the snowbirds left for points north this spring, sales tumbled. June revenue was $72,000, down 28 percent from a year earlier. ‘I’m bleeding out to the tune of 10 grand a month right now,’ Mr. Rusin said. One of the new loans, he said, would see him through the next couple of months.”
They have had to fire employees and both now work full time in the restaurant…not part of the plan. Marcie works as the hostess and Mark is often seen bussing tables.
I think this article really shows the state of things today. Even with all the “emergency” spending put out there to give small businesses the opportunity to survive, there are too many bureaucratic hold ups. I hope things pick up for the Rusins and the rest of us…so we don’t need these lame loans to continue.
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