Virginia Is For Families

I found the bug that caused this post to go away. And this seems like the perfect time to also bring it back. So here it is.

, originally uploaded by Davidlind.

I was looking around at the crowd yesterday at the Richmond Folk Festival.

I have trouble being in crowds. It’s a lot better than it used to be and since I have started taking photos I feel practically normal in the midst of my fellow human beings.

It has reached a point where I can enjoy them and yesterday it went a step beyond that.

I was looking around and it suddenly hit me that I owe a debt to all these people. Because they form the society that protects us in many different ways from many different things including powerful entities that can get out of control.

Many of them are involved in some way or another in every thing that I have as well. And at the top of this list is freedom. I wouldn’t do well living in a fascist state and am unhappy when someone suggests I do.  Communism would not be much fun either.  In the real world.

It is my belief that (although they often do not realize it) the soldier and the protester are actually fighting for the same thing.  Freedom from oppression.  One looks outward and the other more inward.  Together they find a most difficult balance in a society like ours.

Some I do not see as I look around today. They cannot enjoy the beautiful weather and the entertainment. I cannot take their photo.

But their names are engraved on glass at the top of the hill. And when the sun sets it casts a beautiful light across them.
Perhaps I have not done that light justice in these photo. But it was there and I wanted to try and share it with you.

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, originally uploaded by Davidlind.

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Why do I think my blog more interesting than this? Am I deluded?

One of the highlights from yesterday at the Richmond Folk Festival was the performance of the Mexican Sky Dancers, Tezcatlipoca Voladores.  This activity is a Mayan tradition going back thousands of years.  And it really gets your heart pounding in 2008 as they do this thing without safety ropes or a net.

Here’s a NextGen collection that pretty much goes through the performance from top to bottom.  They start out with a dance and prayers and then proceed to the top of the poll.  I have tried to capture some of their graceful and colorful flight to the ground.  They do look like they are enjoying themselves.

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Click on photos to enlarge

Also here is a video taken by the local paper and an article about this event.