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ISO 560
Chad completed his first Ironman-distance race today. He had hoped to complete it in less than 13 hours; he completed it at around 11:45. This is a significant milestone in his training for the Coeur d’Alene Ironman race next June.
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The Jansons had a pretty rough night.
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ISO 200
I had hoped to take a more symbolic photo like last year. However, traffic around DC was a nightmare due to road closures (at least when I was going to go out), so I took this photo of Tana and Jaron before the Mormon Choir of DC’s September 11 concert (Tana is an alto in the choir).
Ten years ago, I was in Crescent City, California. I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The phone rang and it was another missionary calling to tell me about the attacks. He also reminded me that as missionaries, we don’t watch TV and that day would be no different. I told the three other missionaries in the house about the phone call and we just kind of shrugged it off not really knowing what to expect. We went about our day. Most of our appointments were cancelled, so we decided to visit a few people and knock on some doors. People were much nicer than usual. A few wanted to pray on their doorsteps, and a few invited us in to watch TV. We thanked them, prayed with them, and moved on. The most I saw on that day was a few live shots of New York and a couple of shots of the Twin Towers burning (it’s amazing how many TVs are within view of the front door). It wasn’t until a week later when we were at the store that I saw an photograph of the second plane only a few feet from the second tower.
Eight months later I was home from my mission. I was flipping through the channels and I saw something about September 11 on the History Channel, I think. It was then that I saw shots of the plane crashing into the tower, the fire, smoke, and the collapse for the first time. A few minutes later, my dad walked in and said something to the effect of “seriously? You haven’t seen enough of this? What else is on?” I looked back and said “I’ve never seen these images before. This is all new to me.” I suppose that’s when it hit Dad that I really was out of touch on my mission. We talked for a few minutes about where he was on that day and where I was and what I was doing. My memories of that day are so vastly different compared to those of my parents, my wife, and most of my friends.
Working in Washington has given me a new and deeper understanding of 9/11. I have colleagues who were at work on that day and saw the smoke from the Pentagon. I’ve met people who were in the Pentagon and that day and met people who lost friends and family in New York and Virginia. I’ve learned much from their sacrifice, their courage, and perhaps most importantly, their optimism.
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Bry and Emilie moved to Virginia this weekend. It’ll be great having them (and KB!) around!
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The Wallaces got this frame for Christmas and used some of my photos to fill it. It’s always thrilling to see a photo I took hanging on someone’s wall!
F/11, 1/60 second
ISO 800
We gave Jaron and Tana Ticket to Ride: Europe for their birthday (yes, they share the same birthday. Oh, and it was their third anniversary), so naturally, we had to play it. It’s a bit different than the version with the U.S. map, but still a lot of fun.
