Back in Black

The decision to wear a black shirt was a rookie mistake. It was the kind of thing I would have relentlessly ridiculed someone else for doing a few years ago.

Yet there I was.

It was August. It was hot. I was standing on a football field, lugging around camera equipment and, yes, wearing a black shirt.

Stupid. Bush league. Sweaty.

And that's when it hit me: I'm off my game.

About nine months ago, I penned the post below, dropped the mic and - for lack of a better cliche - exited stage left. I was staring down the end of my 40th year on this rock. I'd just made a life-changing decision to leave the world of newspapers (sort of) after more than 16 years. I wanted a fresh start. And, to be honest, I wanted a break from all that I had been doing. I was a quitter. A cold turkey rebel, cutting all ties with the past.

Then I realized something: I suck at quitting.

Sure, it took the better part of nine months to come to that decision, but there I was standing on a football practice field, sweat pouring from every pore on my body and wearing a stupid black shirt when my epiphany struck: I needed to get back on top of my game. More photography. More writing. More blogging.

So I'm back.

Back in black apparently.

(FYI, the above photo is from the aforementioned Bishop Dunne Catholic School football practice. A hat tip to Don J. for some editing assistance. Ironically, the art is to accompany a piece on heat-related measures being taken by schools during practices.)

It would probably be more apropos to link to an aptly named AC/DC video, but a little mea culpa...I'm not a big fan of that song. Blame it on countless years of hearing it ad nauseum via sub-par stadium speakers. Therefore, let's just go with this...

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