Roadside Memorial

If you have seen any of my photography work, you have probably seen The Boys of Booker T, the multimedia documentary piece I produced for my Plan II thesis at UT-Austin. Many of you also know that Christian Martinez, the young man most prominently featured in the piece, was killed in a car accident on US Highway 290 between Houston and Austin in the early morning of April 11, 2010. You may find photos of this continuing story here.

On August 15, Kelly and I met Christian’s family and friends at the roadside spot where Texas DPS estimates the accident occurred. (They actually gave us a pretty specific location). No one had been out there since the accident, so everyone was seeing the spot for the first time, including Joey Gutierrez, who was actually in the car with Christian when it crashed that Sunday morning.

The past few months have been difficult for Maricela with continued hardships relating to and stemming from Christian's death. But she called me last night to tell me she would be in San Antonio today to be sworn in as a U.S. citizen. She told me she is so thankful to God for this small blessing.
Joey Gutierrez, 14, who was in the car with Christian when it crashed, picks up a piece of debris from the side of the road while Christian's older brother Jorge, 21, looks on. Joey was visiting the site for the first time since the wreck occured at 3 a.m. on Sunday April 21, 2010.

Maricela's brother holds a handmade cross that the family placed in the ground at the estimated crash site while Christian's sisters and friends stand by the roadside.

Maricela Juarez, Christian's mother, adjusts some flowers on the handmade cross the family placed in the ground at the crash site.

Maricela gazes towards US Highway 290 in Chappel Hill, Texas at the site where Texas Department of Public Safety officers estimate a car carrying her two sons crashed on April 11, 2010.

Looking west towards Austin on US Highway 290 at the estimated crash site.

Backlog: August 8, 2010

Speed Scrabble

Bear

Our neighbor Avery loves animals. About three months ago, as she was working at Make A Wish Foundation (which has nothing to do with animals), a distraught woman called and told her that she had a dog in her backyard but wasn't able to take care of it. Avery, went over to the woman's house, and found Bear tied up in the backyard in August heat with no shade. He was covered with probably over 100 fully engorged ticks. Bear's owner, who was blind and couldn't take care of her dog, let Avery take him, as she promised to find him a new home. This is how Bear ended up in our backyard. And as they say, the rest is history. We are pleased to introduce the newest member of the McWhorter family.

I Got a Job

Since the middle of August, I have been working as the director of an after-school program called Kids' Involvement Network here in San Antonio. The program is affiliated with the North East Independent School District, and the site I direct is at Walzem Elementary School. It has definitely been a huge challenge and a very humbling experience. It is also one of the reasons I have been sadly absent from this blog. This photo was taken the morning of my interview.

My Wife

June 5, 2010.
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey McWhorter.
I am so thankful for her.
Photo by Bryant Haertlein.
More photos by Sara Young, Peter Franklin and Bryant can be found here.

Backlog: January 25, 2007

This picture was my very first image to run in a newspaper. It was actually much smaller than you see it on your screen. I think it was one column width over on the far left side of PI, but it was in there. And it was in COLOR! It was my first assignment of my first tryout day of my first year at The Daily Texan. The story was about student government's campaign for tax-free textbooks. They had a table set up spread with Ramen noodles and a poster set up with the question posted, "Where will you spend the money save on textbooks?" I wonder if they ever got this passed.

I also remember that guy in the photo - Mr. Zach C. Hall. He was all over the place. When you shoot for the Texan, you start seeing the same few involved people rather frequently. Democratic state rep Mark Strama was another one of these guys.

Speaking of expensive textbooks, Kelly and I were looking at an article in the Alcalde, the UT alumni magazine (since we are old alumni now), about the possibility of digital textbooks. There is actually a small school in Pennsylvania that has already purchased iPads for their entire student body. Interesting.