it wouldn't have killed him...

a few weeks ago

our little town hosted an all day play day

there were bands

face painting

dunking tanks

fire engine rides

food

horse drawn carriage rides

and

fireworks at dusk

and

I had no intentions of going or being any part of it

except

they got me with

"the giant used book sale"

advertisement

after filling a bag full of books

I couldn't help but notice that I was swimming in a pool of beautiful children

~

they were everywhere

dancing

laughing

crying

waiting patiently in line to have a stranger paint a picture on their tender cheeks

and

I felt this energy wash over me

I grabbed my camera out of the car

and

started shooting like a maniac

one mother asked what the pictures were for

and

I told her that I'd be giving them to the editor of the local newspaper

~

another dad

{the one above}

asked if he could give me his email address and could I possibly send him a copy of the photos I had taken of him and his daughter

"why yes, of course and here's my business card"

I said with a big smile on my face

while my insides jumped up and down in a happy dance

and

later after he received 6 photos from me

he called me and thanked me and told me how I had made his day

and

could I send him my prices for a future photo shoot

after I got home

I burned 84 pictures onto a cd

and

monday morning after talking with the editor of the newspaper

I dropped my cd off to him

~~

he told me he had worked the event himself

and

had over 200 pictures he needed to go through that he had taken

but

that he would take a look at mine

~~

and

when the newspaper's thursday edition came out

the two page spread for the event was filled with photos

and

none of them were mine

~~

they all belonged to him

the editor

~~

and

now I'm just wondering

would it have killed him to use EVEN one of my photos

?

~~

I think not

~~

so it begins

my first rejection

but

I'm not one to be brought down easily

because I'm just not that way

~~

granted

I'm a tender hearted girl who cries easily because life is so beautiful

but

I also have the kind of spirit

that can be put in a ring with rocky for a good knock down drag out fight

~~

so excuse me

it's

time to put the boxing gloves on

and

my dukes up

and

start again back in my corner

*