So, my mother has passed…
And in other news, I have not done anything with this site for years. But first comes the truly unfortunate news of my mother, Evelyn Clegg, dying of cancer. This has been very hard, but it did kick me in the rear to get to updating the site. More about that in a bit, but now as for why I have not been here.
Initially, it was because I was doing journalistic work and that took up a lot of my time. That and I could not post the stuff since it was contract work. Not to mention that the subjects probably would not appreciate me putting their faces on my website.
But then Covid hit. And I admit, I just hid under my bed for a year. Part of that is a legitimate concern due to underlying health issues that I have. But the other part is just my hypochondria, brought about by said aforementioned health issues. Only in recent months have I emerged somewhat to experience the real world again. I case you were wondering, I spent the year watching videos and playing games.
But then my mother got sick. Cancer. Not her first foray with it. But the first time, years ago, she did not even tell her children until after finishing treatment. So you can imagine how much she wanted to tell the world about the new one. But she fought that successfully, until more popped up. Just like fucking cancer does.
Anyway, after some time treating what she had it got bad enough that she chose to go into hospice. We, my father, brother and I, took care of her and did anything we could to keep her comfortable. In the end, she passed peacefully, with my dad holding her hand.
So this has been overall very distressing obviously. But it also cemented in my mind that I have been spending too much time hiding under the bed. I am not going to jump on a plane anytime soon. (I prefer trains anyway as you may well have noticed) But I do need to start interacting again. Thus it is time to maintain an effective website again. I already have a series I shot during Covid. Even while under the covers, I just had to get out occasionally to take pictures.
Because if there is anything I have learned about myself these past two years, it is that I truly love taking pictures. And while I don’t really approve of the current trend in photo equipment, more later, in the end, it is all capturing the light of a particular moment. And even if I can not make a full living off it, I am not going to stop just because profits are low.
And then there is my writing. Ehem...well, the lack thereof. Two issues about my blog. First off I noticed that my writing..is just not that good. I know; practice, practice. But I was never satisfied with the results of the few articles I wrote. But my mother did like ‘em. She kept saying that I was a good writer and had a conversational style. I can’t help but wonder how much is just standard motherly encouragement. But my mom was not in the habit of blowing smoke up anyone's ass.
The other issue was just the software. I am rather particular about design. And I liked my blog software that let me customize all the aesthetics. Unfortunately, it also made including images something of a pain. And it seemed that a photographers website should have pictures in with the writing. And that distracted me from getting writing done. But now I have new software that solved all the stability issues, but does NOT give me control over the design. This is why the title cards have cropped images. Sigh. The search for better software continues.
In these trying times, I plan to update with some frequency and attempt to work on writing more. Even if I do not have the appropriate imagery to back it up. I do not have a shortage of things to say. And for the sake of Mom, I am going to give it a try.
Also, for those of you who live on the South Shore of Massachusetts, I am calling the massive Nor'easter that hit in the end of Oct of 2021 Evie's Storm. Since it came on the heel of her death and knocked down so many trees. I feel like she would have approved.