Shattered Dreams

The Accident
(Thursday, May 8, 2008) On Thursday, May 8, 2008, a 911 call went out over the Public Address System at Robinson High School. There had been a wreck involving two cars on Tate Drive in front of the school. Students were dismissed from class and observed the mock drama called "Shattered Dreams".

I am the 2nd from left in bunker gear starting an I.V. on my patient. My fellow firefighters work to free another crash victim.

The event, organized by Officer Brent Ewing, and assisted by his wife, Jennifer, was an attempt to cause the students to be safe during the prom and graduation season. Robinson ISD, Robinson FCAS (Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Students), Robinson SADD (Students Against Destructive, Robinson Police Department, Robinson Fire Department, Hillcrest Hospital, and Providence Hospital joined forces to present the event, “Shattered Dreams” at Robinson High School on May the 8th and 9th.

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More teenagers and young adults die in traffic crashes than from any other cause. Alcohol and seat belt non-use are major factors. In the 15-24 age group, nearly half of all fatalities are alcohol related. In attempt to raise awareness of the negative consequences of impaired driving, the Shattered Dreams drama was presented to the students of Robinson H.S.

The Robinson VFD was fortunate to be included in this event which has a huge impact on both the students and the community. Also included were the folks from PHI which provided the helicopter to transport one of the patients to the local trauma hospital. We had a total of 6 patients; one went by 'bird', two went by ground ambulance, two were 'arrested' at the scene for DUI and MIP - minor in possession and the last patient went in a body bag to the hearse.

The complete slide show (about 8 mins long) can be viewed on the school's website by clicking here.

Texas Wildflower Parade - Continued

So, first we had the Bluebonnets in our previous post and now we move on to the other colorful participants in this annual event.

Usually after the Bluebonnets, the Indian Paint Brushes are the next to appear. These get their names because they literally look like brush tips that have been dipped in paint especially in large groupings.

Then, shortly after the Wild Primroses bloom. These delicate flowers range from a pale pink in color to a deep vibrant pink. I have heard they come in shades of yellow as well, but I haven't seen any of these where I live yet. A friend of mine calls them buttercups, but they aren't like the buttercups I grew up with back East. You know the little, bright yellow weeds we used to pick and put under each other's chins to see if we liked butter? Ahh h~ memories!

Here's a close up of the same bunch so you can see the little yellow stamens inside the centers:

About the same time as the Primroses bloom, these delicate little Daisies start popping up. Does anyone remember the line from the movie "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan where she's home sick and he brings her daisies?? She says something about how she likes daisies because they are such a friendly flower...remember??

The last (main) member of the Texas Wildflower Parade is the Indian Blanket. Not to be confused with the Indian Paintbrush, this flower has a two-tone vibrant color of the kinds seen in woven Indian Blankets - hence the name!

Here's a stunning close-up of the Indian Blanket so you can get a good look at the colors of the petals. It almost looks like a painted daisy, doesn't it?

All of these pictures were taken with my new Olympus FE-210 digital camera. It's a step up from my old Minolta camera which was 5 mega pixels. The Olympus is 7 mega pixels and takes great video too!! I used it in a low light situation at Church last month to record the Mime Stations of the Cross that my younger son K was participating in. I even burned the video to a disc for the CCE teacher of the entire event and he was very please with the results. He told me he hadn't ever gotten a copy of the event from a parent and a recording his wife had done was from a previous Mime event 8 years ago!

I think I will loan my old camera to my son K to use on Boy Scout Events. It's a nice camera, but I really like the features on this Olympus as well as it's compact size.

All of these pictures were taken while Max and I were out walking over a period of several weeks. I tried to wait until the flowers were at their peak and I had some good light. You can tell many of the pictures were taken late in the afternoon, as that's when Max and I usually walk. The few I took in the morning were probably from our morning walks on the weekends.

Enjoy the pictures and I can't wait to see what Summer brings in the way of things to photograph!!

Texas Wildflower Parade

Well, Spring has sprung here in Central Texas and the wildflower parade is in full bloom. There is an actual order to the way the flowers blossom, believe it or not! Usually the Bluebonnets are first and they are, by the way, the State Flower of Texas!!

Here's a close up view of these gorgeous flowers:

Here is my favorite walking partner, my mini Schnauzer Max!

Max loves to lay in the flowers and rub all over them. I guess if they smell good to my nose, it must be almost overwhelming to Max's super sensitive nose.