So when I clicked the shutter, I was supposed to be nodding my head in prayer at the 'Blessing of the Mountain' ceremony held at the gap of Rich Mountain near Trade, Tennessee. This girl and I were the only ones not bowing our heads. Instead, she was gazing at fire and I was shooting her through the heat of the flames. The girl did not pay for her transgression because it could probably be argued that she was, in a sense, in her own sort of inward prayer. On the other hand, I am an adult and should've known better. As soon as I shot this frame I immediately backed into a greasy, slimy pile of cow poo. The gods were most certainly laughing at me.
This weekend is Trade Days . In it's day, Trade, Tn., was a bustling outpost for the Native Americans and frontier dudes to barter goods and baubles. The coolest item I learned about Trade today was that it is a site for a new internet radio station called Mountain Trade Radio which plays a heavy concentration of Blues, Rock and Jazz. The owner is Bill Hegemann who passed me his info card after the Blessing.
And another nugget to ponder for those of you who are local: Boone Drugs at New Market is now accepting digital files to be emailed to [email protected] for printing. The great thing about this is you only have to make one trip to pick up your photos. The sad part is that you only get to see Diane and Darren once. Truly, they are the best photo printers in Boone and that is my professional opinion. So there.
