Scenes Seen/Singing/Public Service/A Good Friend/ w/ A Side Of Photography…
Subtitle: There are things beyond our understanding.
Going through some family things currently. Specifically, one family member. Very close to me. Despite our best efforts, they have chosen a path that I hope to one day understand. Doing my best to grow myself enough to be there for them. I find myself using a phrase I have said to my children often.
Assess and adjust.
I will say no more for now in this space… or possibly ever.
Back to the task at hand.
The singing and public service part.
Our chorus (website/IG) ministered in song for an event that I wrote about when we did the same last year.
The event.
Sure, I planned to go. But more than that, I felt compelled to go. There is a difference.
As these things go, I did not know why. I just trusted that I would know once I arrived. I am not a hookity spooky person, but there are times in my life where I cannot deny that there are things at work beyond my understanding. This was one of those times.
We arrived.
Sang our first selection.
Then, as the speakers of the hour, a federal prosecutor and a victim’s family member/survivor//advocate, were being introduced I saw him.
Bob?
I will share this in two parts. Who he was this day, and who he is to me.
Who he was this day.
A Father.
A Survivor.
A quote from the linked article above.
“One of the most emotional moments came from Robert “Bob” McBride, a member of the Heroin Education Action Team, or HEAT, who shared the story of losing his son Josh to a heroin overdose in 2016.
McBride told attendees that while he stood before them Tuesday as an advocate, first and foremost he was speaking as a father.”
Here is a link to another article.
Up to this point, I knew the high-level details of the tragedy. But this day I learned the full story.
And based on my experience, I was not the least bit surprised.
Who he is to me.
A friend.
Formally, he was the one who offered me my first, and only, job in NC over 20 years ago, and was then my first manager.
But Bob and I hit it off immediately.
A breath of fresh air, honestly. My previous two managers at my last post in NYC…
…were… awful honestly. Thankfully, my co-workers who worked beside me, who worked above my manager, and everyone else across departments were great and made it tolerable there. But to have a manager you actually get along with? Priceless.
Many laughs were shared. Many a meaningful conversation was had. Many kind words were shared back and forth.
While I understood perfectly why he was changing jobs and locations, I was sad to see him go.
We stayed in touch via social media, and he even gave me a recommendation when I switched from my first position at UNC Hospitals to my second and current position there.
He has since retired, and thankfully, I am closing in on my own retirement now, sooner rather than later.
To recap, he was instrumental in my family’s biggest move and was one of my first friends here.
A great man.
In the midst of what I am going through, what he has been through, and such a solemn occasion as this, there was a point of light in the middle of it all.
We spoke, reminisced, hugged afterwards, and I left with a raft of emotions coursing through me.
A tough ask for a self-diagnosed stoic such as myself. Which is why an immediate fit of analog therapy afterward was exactly what the doctor ordered.
I could go on for paragraphs more about the event, but I will move on.
The singing.
We were welcomed with open arms by the audience. We sang for them, and the love they showed us in return was a blessing.
The photos.
Some quick captures once the event was over, on the way to lunch nearby.
Thoughts.
That is it for the photos this day. Well, these and the film pics linked above.
I will left unpacking all that transpired on this day for quite some time.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 