Her name is Cheryl

11-02-2009

I sat at the hospital yesterday with ma who is on a ventilator. She has always been a tough little fighter and now her fighting weight is about 75 pounds and just came through surgery to repair another stomach ulcer caused by years of Goody, BC and Stanback powders. Her lungs are also in pretty bad shape.

I've done the math and I was born a month after she turned 16 with my sister coming a year later. She's had lots of medical problems in the past few years and the next days are critical to see if she can pull through.

The room across the hall had lots of activity and I saw the doctor meeting with part of the family and the news appeared to be bad. Doc L left his meeting and picked up ma's chart and headed our way asking for the nurse of patient in room 53. He asked several times before she came out of another room and came up to him and filled him in on the latest with her. I remember him from 10 years ago as he was the one that recommended me wearing a heart monitor that discovered I needed a pacemaker. A busy man with not much of a bedside manner and I told him ma's name was Cheryl.

He said her oxygen level is better and told the nurse to turn it down a little and give her something for pain and was said her was going to look at her chart and come back later.

Ma has been taking her brother Charlie back and forth twice a week to get chemo and radiation for the lung cancer that he was diagnosed with a few months ago. She kept trying to say something and me and several others could not figure out what is was. She would point at the P on the alphabet chart my daughter made up but that was all we could get. After everyone else left she pointed at my pocket and the P on the chart. I pulled out my phone and she nodded her head yes and I could make out " Charlie."

"Call Charlie?" Nodded yes and how he's doing was what I deciphered next.

In the shape she is in and wanted me to call her brother and see how he was doing.

I also had a doctor appointment yesterday to get another shot in the foot that maybe will help me with this heel spur that has returned. Bonnie says I look like a 100 year old man walking first thing in the morning trying to walk. Foot doc located the spot and reminded me it was going to hurt (I remembered it well) as he pulled the syringe and needled out of his pocket and buried it straight through the side of my foot and found the spot. Yes I remembered the pain and the burn as he injected it into the spot. This morning I can walk like a 45 year old again. Hope it lasts this time.

wayne

http://www.waynemorganphotography.com/

(912)288-0810

Zur-clay

10-15-2009

My pictures are on display for the month of October at the AW J0nes Heritage Center on St. Simons Island which is at the base of the Lighthouse. A reception was held for me on the 13th and had a great turn out with lots of people that I didn't even know showing up to check out my work. I think I spoke with everyone and one of the first ladies I met said she was an artist that painted and had sort of a French accent. As she was looking at the names underneath the pictures she stopped at one of my Zirkle shots and asked if it was pronounced "Zur-clay."

Never even thought about it being seen this way as I told her "no, like circle with a Z."

I just bought a new lens a couple of weeks ago and was out trying it in the fog when I took this shot of the trees and the other is at "Zur-clay!"

My work will be on display until the 27th of October so if you are on the island swing in and check it out.

wayne

http://www.waynemorganphotography.com/

Getting Lucky

10-01-2009

A friend of mine called the other day while I was being picked for the grand jury. I had left my phone in the car and saw the message on my phone when I got back to it. I returned his call and I could tell he was under stress when he said "I need your help."

"Sure Kevin, what do you need?"

"I'm in California at Yosemite Park on vacation and my camera will not work! Man its beautiful out here, what can I do to fix it?"

Good thing there was no pressure. I told him the first thing that popped into my head about what it could be and he said hold on let me try it. The next thing I heard was "it's working! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Man it's beautiful out here. I'll bring some pictures home and let you see them." I had just got lucky on that one.

I've taken close to 30 framed photos over to the AW Jones Heritage Center on St. Simons for a month long show. The reception will be Oct. 13 from 6-8pm. If you are in the area look for the lighthouse ( the Heritage Center is at the base of it) and check it out.

I finally got lucky again yesterday and caught a fox, something that I do not have very many photos of.

Will find out tonight how my pictures do in the Okefenokee Heritage Center contest.

wayne

http://www.waynemorganphotography.com/

Busy Times

09-09-09

The past month has been a blur and I've not done much in the writing department. Bonnie had a duplicate esophageal cyst removed from her esophagus and the doctors went in through the side, ribcage and deflated lung to get it. She is healing well and a couple of weeks ago her dad passed away in his sleep at 70 years of age. He was in the recycling business for the past 25 years and there is lots that has not been recycled yet! I am helping mom-in-law with the cleaning up process and it has been quite a job so far.

I had been planning for a while to do the Brunswick Hospital bottom floor for a show for the month of October but a mistake was made by double booking and that has changed. I have been moved back to March of 2010 and the lady was able to arrange me to do the Heritage Center on St. Simons for the month of October. I'm doing the Taste of Brantley this coming weekend at Schlatterville and the month of October is the photo contest at the Okefenokee Heritage Center. I've got to pick two for that show and have them ready by next week and I'm also doing a show at the OHC for the month of May 2010. With working at least 40 hours a week and usually more I stay pretty busy most of the time.

These are some of the ones I'm thinking about entering for the photo contest and I can only use two of them. Now to decide which two.

wayne

http://www.waynemorganphotography.com/

(912)288-0810

Satilla RiverKeeper

I just found out last week that the Satilla Riverkeeper is moving to a new job and will be the Flint Riverkeeper. Gordon with the hair of white that matches the snow white sands of the Satilla is someone that I consider a friend of mine and the Satilla.

He has sweet talked me into donating river pictures for fundraiser events and using my photos on the Riverkeeper brochures and has been instrumental in getting some of my river photos in the hands of Governor Perdue and former President Jimmy Carter with a thank you note from both men to prove it.

I've been on several picture taking boat rides on the Satilla with him and he knows and understands my love for this river.

Many of my contacts have come from being associated with the Satilla Riverkeeper organization and the many functions such as clean-ups, removal of the flathead catfish and just talking about the Little and Big Satilla.

Good luck Gordon to you and your family on your new adventure and don't forget I am always looking for places to take pictures and the Flint River is a place I've never been!

Georgia Backroads & Zirkle

07-26-2009

The last couple of weeks I've done the least amount of photography than in several years. Bonnie had her major surgery and I've been back and forth to the hospital and working at the same time. She is still real weak so I've been hanging around close to home while she is going through this time and probably driving her crazy. I did send in a few photos and a short bit of history about Zirkle to Georgia Backroads magazine and they sent a reply that they are interested in maybe doing a story on it. I've found out a little more history on it and am going to see what other information I can find before I send in what I have on one of my all time favorite places to make pictures.

These two photos are:

Baptist Hospital at 3am looking out across the water. I decided to see if I could get a decent shot of the lights and buildings across the other side.

I took my daughter and son-in-law to their first trip to Zirkle a couple of evenings ago and the water is really, really low. Someone has been in the water digging up small logs and boards that I suppose came from the sawmill that was there in the early 1900's and laying them up on the bank. The water is barely coming over the dam now.

http://www.waynemorganphotography.com/

(912)288-0810

Twenty five years

07-07-2009

Twenty five years ago today I was still a teenager, had hair (with some sexy sideburns), no kids, never had any type of surgeries and about to be married to my highschool sweetheart. I had just bought my one bedroom house on a south Georgia dirt road and acre of land for $1,500 and started my job at the sawmill making a whopping $5.38 per hour. The original house is still here but has expanded all the way around and we still live on the same dirt road even though the name has changed.

Fast forward to now and all of the other things have changed somewhat but I am still married to my highschool sweetheart. Bonnie has put up with me through a lot over the years with different projects (I can't stand to be bored) and I keep telling her that I am the best thing that has ever happened to her. Truthfully, it is the other way around but it still does not stop me from saying it.

Both of our kids are out of highschool now with Kristen being married and operating her own business and Kyle still looking for work before starting to college in the fall. I moved on from the sawmill job, started taking lots of photos and work on trains now. Bonnie has never been on a plane before and hopefully that will change very soon and we can start to travel, see more of the world and start on the next twenty five years.

These are a couple of photos I made in the fog a few days ago that I like.

wayne

www.waynemorganphotography.com