I was watching the news this evening at dinner and saw that here in Long Beach there was going to be a memorial vigil honoring the 399 teenage soldiers who have died serving their country since 9-11.  The service was supposed to happen just minutes away, so I grabbed my camera and headed over to where everything was happening.

The first thing that hit me when I got there was the string of crosses and stars of David that lined Ocean Blvd all the way from Redondo Avenue to the Long Beach Art Museum.  Each symbol had its own sandbag ready to be lit at sunset along with the photograph and name of the service person being honored.  It caught my breath because looking at these guys and girls, they were about the same age as my dad when he went into the service during World War II.  I immediately felt a wave of gratitude that my dad made it through WWII and the Korean War when he was called back to serve.  These soldiers weren't so lucky.

I met a number of wonderful, warm people at this memorial  -- just regular people who had family serving our country.  I'm glad I took the time to show up.

I've been working with a local church group that goes downtown L.A. to Skid Row and feeds and clothes the homeless.  They're called Dare to Care for the Homeless.  They want to reach out to other organizations to help with money, food, clothing or people to volunteer.  The people who do this work have the biggest hearts, and it's so inspiring being able to help them in any way I can.

This last weekend, while I was with them photographing what was going on, I had the chance to talk to a number of different homeless people and spend a few minutes with them.  I wanted to share a few of the wonderful people that I met.

            J.R. and Yolanda.  Just a couple kids trying to take care of each other.

                                                            Leroy.

Bob.

Lou.

Joe

I never tire of working with Joe as a model.  After all these years together and with all the changes we've both gone through, I love to see him in new ways, and my photography has allowed me to keep exploring him.

One of the things I love about photography is how I can explore different ideas and thoughts and create them in a visual way.  With this self-portrait, I am remembering that throughout my life, I have spent so much time watching the world go by looking from the wrong side of the window, but how I'm coming to realize how wonderful it is to open my doors and walk in the parade.