Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Macedonia
I shot vacation bible school at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church yesterday. The story is about kids getting fed during bible school. This picture doesn't make the cut. So, I place it here.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Moving day
The residents of Glade Haven, a trailer park in Bonita Springs, Fla., have until midnight tonight to move out to make way for a 200-unit condominium. I went there this weekend for a daily story to see if anyone was packing up. Here are two of my favorite images.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A Living Testament
Please go HERE to watch the mini documentary I've created on three historically black churches in Naples.
I feel incredibly lucky to work at a newspaper that still gives amazing space for stories it deems important. Here is the layout for the story that ran in today's paper. Read Katy Bishop's story HERE
I feel incredibly lucky to work at a newspaper that still gives amazing space for stories it deems important. Here is the layout for the story that ran in today's paper. Read Katy Bishop's story HERE
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The devoted
Tanya pulls out a scrapbook with pictures from the past year. Smiling faces of two teenagers in love peer back from the pages. She and her boyfriend, Ramade, are hugging and smiling at Busch Gardens, King Richard’s, from photo booths and swimming pools.
Looking through, you would never know that Ramade has spent nearly half of the past 15 months in the hospital and almost died twice.
Ramade Robles, 19, or Rome to those who know him best, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in January 2008. It was one month after he and Tanya started dating.
“He gave me the option of leaving,” said Tanya Lyristakis, 20, a computer science student at Florida Gulf Coast University. “But, I asked ‘why would I do that?’ ”
Tanya has taken it in stride. The hardest time for them came in December when Rome was sent to the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center in Gainesville for acute pancreatitis, a problem caused by his chemotherapy treatment. Rome was put into an induced coma for two weeks so his body would heal.
“A nurse told me to prepare for the worst,” Tanya’s voice shakes as she remembers. Doctors told her he had a 13 percent chance of surviving. She called his family members so they could come say goodbye.
It has been a tough road. But, in many ways, not as difficult as the road he walked before being diagnosed.
Rome is the youngest of seven but has been in and out of foster care, sold drugs on the streets in Tampa at age 16, has been arrested on more than one occasion and has little family support.
Before being diagnosed, he was cleaning up his life. He landed a job at UPS, where he met Tanya.
For Rome, the physical pain he has gone through since his diagnosis is more manageable than his lifetime of emotional pain.
But the past is not what concerns them now.
Rome started attending a weekly support group on Wednesdays at Cancer Alliance of Naples. Tanya goes with him.
“It helps to know there are other people out there who have an understanding,” Rome said. Talking to people who are going through similar experiences makes him feel normal.
“He’s given hope and helped others to feel they are not alone, and they’ve done the same for him,” said Ellen Harris, a licensed mental health counselor who facilitates the support group every week. “We are all amazed at his ability to have an upbeat attitude about life despite all the things he’s been through at a very early age.”
Harris said the devotion Rome and Tanya have for each other has been an inspiration to the group.
That devotion is what keeps Rome moving forward through his illness.
“I count my blessings that I can walk, hear, see and taste normally,” he said. “And of course, I’m lucky to have you,” he adds looking over at Tanya in their East Naples living room.
“I would have died if I didn’t have her.”
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Cobbler
To watch the video please click HERE
He’s like an old shoe. A little worn-in, but reliable, nonetheless.
Everyday his attire is the same — a black T-shirt, some variation of slacks and tennis shoes.
“My grandkids, when they were small, they thought this was my skin” said Silvio Palomba. His blue eyes shine behind wire frame glasses. His salt-and-pepper mustache turns up in a smile as he laughs about his appearance. He throws his hands in the air in a way that says “eh, whatever.”
He could use a little polish. But, he saves it for the shoes.
Bells chime and a customer walks through the door of Silvio’s Shoe Repair on Ninth Street in Naples. It’s a sound Silvio has heard six-days-a-week since he opened the store 1980.
“I was a plumber in Italy,” Silvio, 62, said in an Italian accent he has retained despite living in the states more than 40 years. “So when I come to this country, my father-in-law (a cobbler in Boston) made the offer, ‘you come work for me I pay you 60 bucks a week.’ ”
He got a $20 raise every time he and his wife had a child. They had three.
Now, his grandson T.J. Palomba, 15, walks around his grandfather’s store to help every Saturday.
“He’s gonna be the next cobbler in town,” said Silvio, hoping to spark some interest in T.J. about the family business. But, he knows right now T.J. is probably more interested in video games.
”I’ve been coming here forever,” said T.J. “I grew up in the store. I know how all the bags and boxes and shoes are in order.”
An untrained eye may disagree that anything in Silvio’s storefront is in “order.” In fact, it looks a bit like chaos. Rows of boxes on top of boxes. Shoes stacked with yellow tags waiting to be returned to their owners.
Customers don’t seem to mind the lived-in feel of the store. A steady stream come in and out on a recent Saturday to drop off and retrieve shoes. Silvio prides himself on being able to alter shoes for a custom fit.
“He is amazing,” said Debra Newman who works at Marissa Collections on Third Street South in Naples. “If he can’t fix it, it can’t be done.”
But, shoes aren’t his sole business anymore.
Purses, belts, luggage — Silvio repairs it all. Over the years, he has had to take on these extra items to secure business.
Forty years ago he saw for the first time a shoe made with a plastic sole instead of leather. He and his father-in-law didn’t know at the time what they were dealing with. “We took them in, thinking it was like rubber and the glue wouldn’t stick on them.”
Today, he says, you can buy a shoe for less than you can repair it. “That is what ruined this industry,” Silvio said. “But, you can’t blame anybody, it’s progress.”
He’s like an old shoe. A little worn-in, but reliable, nonetheless.
Everyday his attire is the same — a black T-shirt, some variation of slacks and tennis shoes.
“My grandkids, when they were small, they thought this was my skin” said Silvio Palomba. His blue eyes shine behind wire frame glasses. His salt-and-pepper mustache turns up in a smile as he laughs about his appearance. He throws his hands in the air in a way that says “eh, whatever.”
He could use a little polish. But, he saves it for the shoes.
Bells chime and a customer walks through the door of Silvio’s Shoe Repair on Ninth Street in Naples. It’s a sound Silvio has heard six-days-a-week since he opened the store 1980.
“I was a plumber in Italy,” Silvio, 62, said in an Italian accent he has retained despite living in the states more than 40 years. “So when I come to this country, my father-in-law (a cobbler in Boston) made the offer, ‘you come work for me I pay you 60 bucks a week.’ ”
He got a $20 raise every time he and his wife had a child. They had three.
Now, his grandson T.J. Palomba, 15, walks around his grandfather’s store to help every Saturday.
“He’s gonna be the next cobbler in town,” said Silvio, hoping to spark some interest in T.J. about the family business. But, he knows right now T.J. is probably more interested in video games.
”I’ve been coming here forever,” said T.J. “I grew up in the store. I know how all the bags and boxes and shoes are in order.”
An untrained eye may disagree that anything in Silvio’s storefront is in “order.” In fact, it looks a bit like chaos. Rows of boxes on top of boxes. Shoes stacked with yellow tags waiting to be returned to their owners.
Customers don’t seem to mind the lived-in feel of the store. A steady stream come in and out on a recent Saturday to drop off and retrieve shoes. Silvio prides himself on being able to alter shoes for a custom fit.
“He is amazing,” said Debra Newman who works at Marissa Collections on Third Street South in Naples. “If he can’t fix it, it can’t be done.”
But, shoes aren’t his sole business anymore.
Purses, belts, luggage — Silvio repairs it all. Over the years, he has had to take on these extra items to secure business.
Forty years ago he saw for the first time a shoe made with a plastic sole instead of leather. He and his father-in-law didn’t know at the time what they were dealing with. “We took them in, thinking it was like rubber and the glue wouldn’t stick on them.”
Today, he says, you can buy a shoe for less than you can repair it. “That is what ruined this industry,” Silvio said. “But, you can’t blame anybody, it’s progress.”
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Anticipation
My favorite part of the homecoming was the waiting. Monique Miles and her husband Alex Calvert came home for a two week leave from Iraq. I loved watching her family as they tried to spot them in the crowd.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dedication
The name on the cross says Lee Bumrok. His age has been worn thin. I didn’t know anything about him accept that he was a casualty of war.
But, with a simple internet search he came alive.
I saw his face and read his story.
His name is actually Bumrok Lee. He moved to the United States with his family from South Korea when he was 4 years old. He grew up in Cupertino, just outside of San Jose, Calif. He died at age 21 on June 2, 2004 after suffering injuries from a car-bomb in Iraq while serving as a corporal in the U.S. Marines Corps.
I found out that he was raised mostly by his sister, Elis, while both of his parents worked full time and that he joined the service so he could later go to college and help support his family. He and his girlfriend, who he had known since junior high, joined the military at the same time.
An article on SFGate.com tells that his girlfriend, Sakura Dao Pham, was an Army Reserve medic in Baghdad at the time of his death. After being wounded on May 29, 2004, he was sent to her hospital, but she wasn’t on duty. She didn’t find out he was there until four days later, after he died.
Her blog reads:
“It hurt so bad to find out you were critically injured and stayed in intensive care for four days at the 31st CSH. Everyday I visit and take care of other wounded soldiers, but I never would have thought that I would not be able to do that for you. How can God not let me see you and take care of you for the last time? But in my heart I know you wished for me not to see you hurt like that.”
He is one of more than 4,000 military men and women who have died in the war in Iraq. On the day I photographed his cross, I was focusing on the hand pulling flowers from the ground and the vast number of crosses on display in Arlington South last month on Naples Beach.
Lee has connected people in his death. Message boards dedicated to him are full of notes from people with shared experience and loss.
He ended up on Naples beach. And now, he is connected to me and to you. No longer anonymous in a sea of names.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Nina
I haven't posted very regularly lately. Frankly, I feel like I'm in a bit of a slump with my daily work. That said, I am working on something that I care about that has taken up a lot of my time and hopefully is starting to take shape. So, stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I introduce you to Nina, my little sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters. We've been together for two years and I think she's awesome. She knows how to be herself. I keep telling her that puts her light years ahead of most people her own age. I dyed her hair blue yesterday (she dyed a little of mine too, but she pulls it off better). We did a quick photo shoot in my living room.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Sleepy time
Remember when nap time used to be scheduled in to our day? We didn't know how good we had it.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
NAACP — Evolution of Equality
Today marked the 100 year anniversary of the NAACP. I shot portraits of some of the black community leaders in Naples and Fort Myers as they gave their reflections on the NAACP — it's past, future, as well as race in our community. To read their entire contribution to the Naples Daily News go HERE.
Veronica Shoemaker, 79, former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, stands in an area that used to be called "the bottoms." The area, just north of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard near the railroad tracks, was where the black community lived in "shanty homes." The tracks separated black and white communities. "There were laws against African Americans going west of the railroad tracks," she says.
"We have come this far in the first 100 years and the time has finally come for all the other good things that are happening right now. People are very, very appreciative as we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the NAACP for the effort that was put forth for us. But we can’t sit back and take it for granted.
We must never forget voter registration and education. That is the key, believe you me. Voting is a master key to the continuation and the implementation of what has happened in the last 100 years. The NAACP has been the mother, the father, the sister, the brother that has kept this civil rights movement together."
Oliver Phipps, 46, the principal of Estates Elementary School in Golden Gate Estates, stands with students of every color who attend his school. Phipps is the son of teachers. His mother was a third-grade teacher in a school with all black students and his father taught in an all white elementary school.
"Today, four decades after many African-Americans lost their lives because of the color of their skin, I am able to be an elementary school principal in a desegregated society. I remember my father telling me the story of his first day on the job as a teacher of an all-white middle school. When he got to the school and looked in his classroom, there were no materials. He went to the principal and the principal told him that his materials along with all the other teachers’ were in the cafeteria. He could not use the custodial staff to assist him until they were finished assisting the white teachers. When he got to the cafeteria, he thought he was in teacher heaven."
Dr. Ann Knight, 76, a former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, sits in an old school desk in the classroom where she attended first grade at the WIlliams Academy Black History Museum. The Williams Academy was the first government-funded school for black students in Fort Myers.
"I returned to Southwest Florida after graduation from South Carolina State University and worked in the public schools for 40 years. I have witnessed many changes in our school system due to our desegregation.
In 1965, the local chapter of NAACP filed a suit in Lee County that mandated our public schools to become desegregated. As a result of desegregation of Lee County Public Schools other doors opened for people of color."
Wilson Bradshaw, 59, president of Florida Gulf Coast University, remembers growing up in segregated schools in West Palm Beach. He marvels at how times have changed and how the NAACP has helped in evolution of equality.
"With the recent election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America, our great country stands before the world as a glowing example of what can be achieved when the foundational principles of democracy are actualized. Still, we must not be complacent.
Since the inauguration, I have been asked many times, “Now that America has elected its first president of African descent, does race matter anymore?” Racism still exists and race still matters. However, we are living in a world where equal opportunity and education are beginning to matter more, and I am delighted to be a part of this evolving landscape."
Ralph Anthony, 42, a 16-year veteran of the Naples Police department, was the community policing officer for the River Park area in Naples for four years.
"I try to not focus on race. I try to just concentrate on doing the job. Again, the job is challenge. Once you start working on some of the problems, working with community leaders and they see that you’re dedicated to work on the problems, after awhile they see you as a part of their community and I don’t think race is a factor. After awhile everybody knows you.
Good people make good families. Which in turn makes for good schools, good recreational parks and good churches. That in turn influences the community. "
David Bankston, 46, is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Neighborhood America, a technology company based in Naples.
"Race is one of those things that is never far from your mind as African-American. Growing up, it seemed we could never be perceived as equal team members. I watched others get promoted with far less experience. I felt the instant reaction as you turn the corner to enter the room for an interview. Nothing was said aloud, but it was evident — you were not “what they were looking for” and the interview progressed to the inevitable conclusion. I overheard many “jokes” that were cut short. I drove behind the Confederate flag truck guys who were wishing for the days of separatism and inequality. I watched how it always seemed that the news highlighted the worst minority they could find for the “what happened quote.” I remember, as a child, walking into stores only to be followed, glared at.
Hmmm. I thought — what’s it going to take to change the world?
The answer, to my surprise, was there all along; the American spirit is still alive in all of us. The founding fathers’ dream still lives. “One nation...,” “Indivisible,” “Peace and justice for all.” It took us 100 years to overcome, and by no means has the issue of race in America been “solved,” but we as a nation have joined in one voice and said “Racism is old thinking, and it’s a new day. The majority of us agree.”"
LaVerne Franklin, 68, former Collier County NAACP president, sits inside the sanctuary Bethel AME Church, a historically black church, in Naples. Franklin, originally from Philadelphia, says that God's words have given her strength to persevere through the tough times of segregation and inequality.
"Raised and educated in the North, I encountered overt, covert and institutional racism. Stratification based on color and race in housing, academic course selection and employment was counteracted with social justice survival strategies that were taught by family members and the NAACP. God’s words gave me the strength to persevere — When you have fought the good fight, finished your course, and run the race set before you (2 Timothy 4:7) you won’t have to wonder what it would have been like if you had given up and failed to reach your goal. You will have no regrets as you hear our savior say, “Well done.”"
Veronica Shoemaker, 79, former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, stands in an area that used to be called "the bottoms." The area, just north of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard near the railroad tracks, was where the black community lived in "shanty homes." The tracks separated black and white communities. "There were laws against African Americans going west of the railroad tracks," she says.
"We have come this far in the first 100 years and the time has finally come for all the other good things that are happening right now. People are very, very appreciative as we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the NAACP for the effort that was put forth for us. But we can’t sit back and take it for granted.
We must never forget voter registration and education. That is the key, believe you me. Voting is a master key to the continuation and the implementation of what has happened in the last 100 years. The NAACP has been the mother, the father, the sister, the brother that has kept this civil rights movement together."
Oliver Phipps, 46, the principal of Estates Elementary School in Golden Gate Estates, stands with students of every color who attend his school. Phipps is the son of teachers. His mother was a third-grade teacher in a school with all black students and his father taught in an all white elementary school.
"Today, four decades after many African-Americans lost their lives because of the color of their skin, I am able to be an elementary school principal in a desegregated society. I remember my father telling me the story of his first day on the job as a teacher of an all-white middle school. When he got to the school and looked in his classroom, there were no materials. He went to the principal and the principal told him that his materials along with all the other teachers’ were in the cafeteria. He could not use the custodial staff to assist him until they were finished assisting the white teachers. When he got to the cafeteria, he thought he was in teacher heaven."
Dr. Ann Knight, 76, a former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, sits in an old school desk in the classroom where she attended first grade at the WIlliams Academy Black History Museum. The Williams Academy was the first government-funded school for black students in Fort Myers.
"I returned to Southwest Florida after graduation from South Carolina State University and worked in the public schools for 40 years. I have witnessed many changes in our school system due to our desegregation.
In 1965, the local chapter of NAACP filed a suit in Lee County that mandated our public schools to become desegregated. As a result of desegregation of Lee County Public Schools other doors opened for people of color."
Wilson Bradshaw, 59, president of Florida Gulf Coast University, remembers growing up in segregated schools in West Palm Beach. He marvels at how times have changed and how the NAACP has helped in evolution of equality.
"With the recent election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America, our great country stands before the world as a glowing example of what can be achieved when the foundational principles of democracy are actualized. Still, we must not be complacent.
Since the inauguration, I have been asked many times, “Now that America has elected its first president of African descent, does race matter anymore?” Racism still exists and race still matters. However, we are living in a world where equal opportunity and education are beginning to matter more, and I am delighted to be a part of this evolving landscape."
Ralph Anthony, 42, a 16-year veteran of the Naples Police department, was the community policing officer for the River Park area in Naples for four years.
"I try to not focus on race. I try to just concentrate on doing the job. Again, the job is challenge. Once you start working on some of the problems, working with community leaders and they see that you’re dedicated to work on the problems, after awhile they see you as a part of their community and I don’t think race is a factor. After awhile everybody knows you.
Good people make good families. Which in turn makes for good schools, good recreational parks and good churches. That in turn influences the community. "
David Bankston, 46, is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Neighborhood America, a technology company based in Naples.
"Race is one of those things that is never far from your mind as African-American. Growing up, it seemed we could never be perceived as equal team members. I watched others get promoted with far less experience. I felt the instant reaction as you turn the corner to enter the room for an interview. Nothing was said aloud, but it was evident — you were not “what they were looking for” and the interview progressed to the inevitable conclusion. I overheard many “jokes” that were cut short. I drove behind the Confederate flag truck guys who were wishing for the days of separatism and inequality. I watched how it always seemed that the news highlighted the worst minority they could find for the “what happened quote.” I remember, as a child, walking into stores only to be followed, glared at.
Hmmm. I thought — what’s it going to take to change the world?
The answer, to my surprise, was there all along; the American spirit is still alive in all of us. The founding fathers’ dream still lives. “One nation...,” “Indivisible,” “Peace and justice for all.” It took us 100 years to overcome, and by no means has the issue of race in America been “solved,” but we as a nation have joined in one voice and said “Racism is old thinking, and it’s a new day. The majority of us agree.”"
LaVerne Franklin, 68, former Collier County NAACP president, sits inside the sanctuary Bethel AME Church, a historically black church, in Naples. Franklin, originally from Philadelphia, says that God's words have given her strength to persevere through the tough times of segregation and inequality.
"Raised and educated in the North, I encountered overt, covert and institutional racism. Stratification based on color and race in housing, academic course selection and employment was counteracted with social justice survival strategies that were taught by family members and the NAACP. God’s words gave me the strength to persevere — When you have fought the good fight, finished your course, and run the race set before you (2 Timothy 4:7) you won’t have to wonder what it would have been like if you had given up and failed to reach your goal. You will have no regrets as you hear our savior say, “Well done.”"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Never give up, never back down
Lisa Lefkow, 48, right, kisses her sister Bonnie Thayer, 31, after they finish the 21st Annual Naples Daily News Half Marathon on Sunday, January 19, 2008 in downtown Naples. Lefkow is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The two said they were running for "Team Lisa," and sending the message "never give up, never back down."
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