The Median

I talked to the paramedics that brought her in and found out that the young girl had jumped out of a car going 65MPH down highway E470. My mind races with questions like...What would compel someone to jump out of a moving car at that speed? Someone that doesn't want to live life anymore I suppose. I've never been able to connect with suicide.

We take her into emergency room #3, take x-rays, and pull them up on the screen...Dr. Palo establishes that she has broken virtually every major bone structure in her face, her right humerus, and right scapula. Dr. Palo orders emergency surgery and we take her up to the O.R.

With in minutes of arriving to the O.R. we see the family of the young girl and a group of about 5 of her friends. Everyone is hysterical. The police are in the corner of the waiting room questioning an older man...Possibly the father?

We retreat back to the ER and continue through the rest of our already strange day.

Patients come in left and right...one of the busiest Sundays we've had in quite a while. It must be a full moon or something. I can't seem to stop thinking about that young girl up in surgery. For some reason I begin visualizing a "reenactment" of the event in my head. I see the car door open...the solid yellow line zipping across the pavement of the highway. Then I see the young girl jump and hit the ground.

This image repeats over and over again in my head. No matter how hard I try...I can't stop it. At this point I realize that three hours have past. My good friend Scotty comes up to me and says... "Have you heard more about that trauma that came in?" I say no and he begins to fill me in. "I talked to Kathy in surgery and she said that the young girl jumped out of the car because she got into an argument with her father, who was driving at the time. "An argument?" I say. "Just an argument?" I have heard of troubled youth before, hell I was one of them, but I've never heard of anyone jumping out of a moving car just over and argument.

My mind continues to race. What if the father was beating her...or maybe she was on drugs? Only they know the real story.

Work continues on into the evening with little time to even breath...It's like everyone decided to hurt themselves/get sick all at once. In health care, you always have a customer.

T.B.C.

The Fantastic Adventure of R.A.Y.

Greetings and Salutations!!

This year i made a picture book about my September 21st
To view please click on the following link:

The Fantastic Adventure of R.A.Y.

i've thouroughly enjoyed the posts thus far and look forward to those to come!!

Cheers to Life!!

Radiohead, House of Cards

From Awaji-Island

My Friend Gaku sent this:

I live in Awaji-island.
Today, I worked part-time in the botanical garden.
It was very fun.

Joseph's Septemer 21st 2008

My day was spent in the close arms of friends and family.  

AM

Reading in bed with Denise while drinking breakfast tea.

Brunch with Denise, her sister and sister's son.

MID-DAY

Alone time.

Met with Dre, Aaron, Danielle for Broncos football at Dre's house.  

Played pass in the street, ate snacks and cheered on our team.

PM

Cooked dinner with Dre, Danielle, Aaron, Fish and Allie.  Wonderful meal to fill our bellies.

Watched kung fu movie and ate ice cream.

LATE-PM

Read myself to sleep.

Great day!

Posted be me on behalf of my brother Joe

The Inception

I woke up around 8:00 in the morning to the constant howling of our neighbor's dog. Whenever a siren sounds the dog feels the need to communicate with it.

I stumble out of bed and make my way to the bathroom to relieve myself of the harmful toxins I exposed my body to the night before. For some reason whenever I am sitting on the toilet...I have the most profound realizations. I am a working vessel...I am breathing air...My design is complex...There is blood pumping through my veins and arteries. I don't know why, I just sit there an contemplate these things.

Suddenly realize what I was dreaming about the night before. My teeth were falling out of my mouth again...This is the third dream now...maybe I should look up it's significance. I check the mirror and give a big grin...Thank god! There all there.

I come out of the bathroom and grab my economics textbook. School has become my life. I read for awhile and notice that it is almost 9:30am. I change my clothes, throw my backpack around my shoulder and go out the door. It's a bright day, full of sunshine and crisp air. As I am walking to the bus stop I wonder when the cold will come. I prefer the winter...something about it makes me feel alive. Maybe it's the fact that everything else around me is dead.

I walk up to the corner to find my good friend Mano (he is a regular at the bus stop...He's there in the morning when I leave and there in the afternoon when I get back. For all I know he sits there all day). We talk for a bit about the state of our U.S. Economy. (I always seem to have "current event" conversations with him) The bus pulls up and I step inside.

The long bus ride down south is a beautiful hour as usual. As strangers pile on and off the bus I can't help but wonder where they are going?...What lives do they lead?

I reach my destination and a sense of sorrow washes over me as I realize I have to say goodbye to the beautiful day and succumb to working for a wage.

The second I clock in there is an overhead page stating that a trauma is coming to the ER. I rush over and see the paramedics bringing in a 16 year old girl that is completely covered in blood.

More to come...

Frank Vietnam Vet

Ned & Victoria

Ned. Vietnam Vet.

Richard & Eva

While walking down the street I hear the giggling of a girl coming from the second story window of the apartment complex in front of me. I look up and the girl is running around the room naked. It sounds as if the couple is engaging in a round WWF wrestling. I ask them if I can take pictures of them. They allow me into their space & I photograph them.

Family

All once homeless, the people in this house have come together to create family. Tonight they will hold a branding ceremony. Each family member will have a circle branded on them to signify unity.

Vera is 18 years old. She has a 3 month old baby who lives with her mother. She tells me that her street dad is the one person that can put her in a corner and make her sit... no other person can make her do this but him. He loves her.

Vera

Vera

the house disappearing

On 21st Sep, I was editting photos. I took those on 20th though...


we had party at my friend's house (in Koenji Tokyo) that is supposed to be pulled down soon.

Besides editting, I was cleaning my room. I found that I like the smell of chlorination.

Friends,

It has been a great day. I miss you all, and can't wait to see what is
in store for tomorrow... Or today. Thanks Gavin! Big love,

Beau

Caps and bottles

More bottles and crates

11:52 Crates

The last minutes of the day

Bhakti batch # 2

I'm up to my ears in chai!

Jen-ai washing bottles

Benigno washing bottles

We reuse all our bottles... This process is a total meditation too,
although it's not one I'm too fond of.

8:01 Bhakti Chai

Here's a little something I've been working on for the last couple
hours. Making chai is meditation for me.

Bhakti Chai shoes

Literally, the sweetest shoes I own!

The house before

I'm at work now making Bhakti Chai. Brewing is going smooth. I'm going
to shoot some video of the brewing process a little later.

It's okay the weep now Mary

On my walk back I stopped in at this local church service. Gavin, you
would have loved it. The subject, is title of the song they were
singing.