Bob Wikman, 1924-2008

Photo 33_edited.jpg, originally uploaded by whitesharkphoto.

I'll miss you, Dad.

OOF!!!

IMG_9535.jpg, originally uploaded by whitesharkphoto.

This, friends and neighbors, is why spearing is a 5-minute major penalty in the game of hockey!! :-)

Was in the box as usual last Friday night. Check comes over the boards and into the box with me, and I look down to see the blade of a hockey stick jamming me in the side. I had a split-second to think 'Oh man, that's going to bruise' and then the guys were pulling themselves back out of the box and were on their way.

This photo was taken three days later.

A Noted Absence

It's a strange thing, how fluid time can be. Strange how it can slip through your fingers without your even really realizing it. Strange that your kids grow up so fast. Strange that your parents get old. Strange watching parents and friends die.

 
 

It's been a very weird few weeks, which at least partially explains my absenses from the blogging world. My father has been very ill for several months, and everyone in my family is coming to grips with the fact that his journey is nearly at an end. (Strange also that no matter how close someone is to death, we still grasp at euphemisms and metaphors for the actual final act to avoid actually talking about or saying the word 'death'.) We've all come to make our peace with the situation in different ways. My mom wants to see him no longer suffering through the constant surgeries, the growing weakness and mental instabilities. I want to remember him the way he was, independent and strong and seemingly all-knowing. My four-year-old daughter, Molly, wants to know that he'll be in heaven taking care of the baby we lost last year.

 
 

And just as we were preparing ourselves for this loss, and taking solace and comfort in our friends, we lost one of those friends. Mike Schupay, the president of the Indiana Ice and a good friend, passed away quite unexpectedly the day after Thanksgiving from a heart attack. He had handed Molly a hockey puck at the game on her birthday not even a week before.

 
 

So as you can certainly imagine, lately it's been a struggle just to get out of bed in the mornings and get moving for work. By the time I make it home it's even more of a struggle to take care of the usual household chores, much less anything extracurricular like blogging or getting the Christmas cards ready to send. I hope to improve on my productivity a bit in coming weeks…get caught up over the holiday break.

 
 

We'll see. In the meantime, keep my Dad in your thoughts, if you would. I'm going to miss him terribly.

Another of Wayne's kid

2008-11-29_0058.jpg, originally uploaded by whitesharkphoto.

I think this is my favorite shot of the night.

Wayne's kiddo

2008-11-29_0048.jpg, originally uploaded by whitesharkphoto.

Just had the opportunity to photograph my buddy Wayne's little girl. She's about 15 months old and cute as can be.

Thoughts and Ramblings

Well as usual I make all the promises to myself to keep up on both of my blogs, and of course it goes longer and longer between posts. I whine about how busy things are, and truly they are. On average I have about a half hour a day to do everything that needs to be done, after paying the bills and doing the laundry and processing the photos and finishing up stuff for the day job and... Well you get the idea; I'm sure nearly everyone out there is about in the same boat.

I'm still doing photography as much as I can, which isn't nearly as much as I'd like lately. Hockey games and the odd family portrait here and there are about it. I'm still loving being back in IT full time though, so it's just a trade off. I just wish there were about 37 hours in the day.

Anyway, as usual I hope to post more, if not commentary then at least photos piped through from Flickr. :-)

Peace out for now, all you good people!