Rat Mass

The first Mass of the school year at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lexington welcomes the first year students from Virginia Military Institute, known as "Rats" until Breakout, usually in February.

Just Looking

Local children enjoy the show as the Lexington Fire Department "rescues" a dummy that had been hung on the local hotel balcony for an April Fools gag.

A pair of mothers capture the moment as their children pass during the opening of graduation ceremonies at Washington and Lee University.

A Break in the Battle

As a forest fire burned near Goshen -- it eventually consumed over 3,000 acres -- the firefighters took a break after setting up a containment line.

We object!

After the King parade, the Virginia Flaggers gathered in the cemetery around the grave site of "Stonewall" Jackson for speeches, music, and tributes.

The Flaggers object to the campaign against the Confederate Battle flag, targeting Lexington in particular after the city refused to hang Confederate flags from lightposts for the annual Lee-Jackson Day parade.

I Protest!

 

 The backlash against the election of Donald trump was felt even in tiny Lexington, Virginia, where we saw a march in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., carefully scheduled to displace a parade by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in honor of Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson.

 Later, protestors gathered outside the office of the conservative Republican member of the House of Delegates, Ben Cline, mostly to protest his opposition to abortion and Planned Parenthood.

 

First Communion

The priest enjoys a moment of respite (and a piece of cake) during the reception after First Communion Mass for 18 children.

The President Arrives

President Trump spoke at the commencement for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

I was assigned to cover the airport arrival.

And the travel pool was covering him as well.

Song of the Mountains

For a while, I worked through a production company on the PBS show "Song of the Mountains." Before then, while I had a general appreciation of bluegrass and oldtime music, I was no great fan, but hearing these top notch bands and being around the people increased my appreciation of it.

A fiddler practices in the stairwell backstage before the show. The musicians often warmed up here or in the dressing rooms along the stairs, and the sound was remarkable as it echoed through.

Host Tim White, who introduces the acts and also acts as the host of the TV show, recording separate introductions for that at a time after the actual performance. Here he looks out from the wings before the show began.

Unfortunately for me, the producers decided to go with another production company about a year after I started working on the show. It's not just the income I miss; the fraternity of oldtime music is quite remarkable.

Robert E. Lee's Coffin

So it turns out that, when Robert E. Lee died in October 1870 in Lexington, Virginia, there was rain, serious rain. Rain enough to wash out the dock on the river, on which was stored the most recent delivery of coffins, resulting in a problem: The late, great general had no box to be buried in.

A pair of local youths set out downstream to search for the coffins, finally finding one washed up on a small island that divided the river. This was brought back and, though it was a bit small and required Lee's boots be removed to make him fit in, was used for the burial of Robert E. Lee.

Nearly 150 years later, local artist and entrepreneur Mark Cline rediscovered the story and decided to reenact it October 2016.

Here we see Mark's styrofoam reproduction coffin resting on the island's shore, not far from where the original probably landed, after floating downstream from Jordan's Point, where the original was washed away. A fun adventure for a warm autumn day.

What It Was, Was Football

Carrying my Leica with me as I work has become a bit of an affectation, although it often triggers good conversations with my story subjects that help break the ice. Often, that conversation turns to what I do with the Leica, as I'm obviously putting most of my efforts into shooting video, and the answer is that there are those occasional moments when I can put down the big camera and try to capture something artful with the little one.

Football -- a game laced with long pauses and surrounded with secondary, sometimes surreal scenes -- provides many opportunities for that, and our extensive coverage of high school and college football gave me many opportunities to make pictures with the Leica.

Every so often, when you shoot a picture you know, just know, that it's good. What you see in the viewfinder is exactly what you think a good picture should be. It doesn't happen often (I can think of maybe one other time for me), but when it does, it's magic.

This image, from an Alleghany High School game, was one of those moments.

These two are nice moments from Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista. I like the differing attitudes of the refs as they wait, and the exhaustion on the high school mascot, though I wish I had been able to get in closer on him. He moved before I could get a second frame.

VMI, where the entire Rat class is required to attend home games and do push ups every time VMI scores (one for every point, plus one). It's all part of the exhausting regimen of one's first year at the military school, and in between cheering and push ups, the Rats take a moment to rest.

As with the refs at Parry McCluer, I'm fascinated by the attitudes of people at rest and in interaction with one another.

Apparently, as the next several pictures show, I'm also fascinated by Sousaphones ...

In the 21st Century, even football is not immune from people being more interested in their smart phones than in real life.

 At halftime, the Rockbridge High School band marches off ...

By the way, for those who don't recognize the headline, it's the name of Andy Griffith's first big comedy routine.