This post originally was posted in Fire Photographer Magazine but I wanted to share it here as well. Thank you for all your support as always. You are the best.
Cleveland, Ohio |9-4-2012 | 2240 hours
I just tore my best friend’s car apart looking for one of
three missing bags. Minutes ago as we dropped off a fellow blogger and friend
at her office in Downtown, she got out to discover her missing bag. Astonished,
I got out checking the back of the car, which is the hatch of a Dodge Magnum.
As I looked I notice two of my bags were missing. Not where I left them.
Missing. Gone. Taken.
How did I get here? What the heck happened?
I am reliving this day in my head over and over again. I was
up and out the door by 0615. I met with the PIO of the Cleveland Department of
Safety and we car pooled to the Justice Center where I parked and locked my
car. Over the shoulders was a blue and orange backpack filled with emergency
munchies, change of clothes including my Fire Photography T-Shirt, a Cleveland
Browns hat, and my car keys. Over my shoulder was my black shoulder camera bag.
In that bag was a Nikon D3100, 2 fully charged batteries, battery charger, two
class 10 memory cards (8GB & 16GB), 3 lenses (VR 18-55mm & VR 55-200MM
& screw tight Macro Fisheye combo lens, two standard light filters, and the
mount for my Tri-Pod.
I was prepared. We met up with the Commander of Navy week
which has just concluded in Cleveland. The last frigate, the USS DeWert, was
set to steam from Cleveland to Detroit for the next week. Erica, the PIO,
Danielle Fink from Channel 3, and me representing Fire Photography Magazine
were going to on the ship the whole way. I was tasked to take pictures and
video to document the entire day. From cast off to docking in Detroit and
everything in between; this was the chance of a lifetime and to do it in
conjunction with Cleveland’s Safety Department and Fire Photography Magazine
was something I felt very proud to be doing.
To give you a sense of what this magazine does; I
disembarked the USS DeWert in Detroit and there was an Engine sitting on the
dock waiting for the tanker to fill water barricades. Of course I snapped a few
photos of the rig and the guys on it, and introduced myself only by my name and
asked me who I wanted to ride with tonight. They told me they liked my work in
the magazine and to keep up the good work. Fire departments read my work?
People I don’t know like what we are doing? This just solidifies my mission and
my decision to do the kind of work I do. To shoot the stuff I shoot. We tell
stories that matter to the boots on the ground. To have their support was
amazing.
With my two bags over my shoulder, my best friend was there
with his car to take the three of us back to Cleveland, but first we were
hungry, in need of a beer or two, so we asked a local for a recommendation.
They recommended Slow’s BBQ, and it did not disappoint. Half-way into the
restaurant we were joking about the crime in Detroit and that we should
probably bring stuff in, but we laughed as we hate it when people say that
about Cleveland and we sat down. The decision to not go back for my camera will
haunt me forever.
We finished dinner and headed to Cleveland. As we pulled
into Channel 3’s parking lot, is when we noticed it. Danille’s bag was gone, my
camera bag with everything in it including the 800+ photos on the ship and on
the dock was with it, and my backpack was gone. Erica’s iPad and bags were left
untouched. There were no visible signs of a break in and we just stood there,
astonished. We are now just another statistic on Detroit’s crime reputation.
But I stood there, blank, numb, and with anger so red I
could feel it pulsing in my toes. Erica called the restaurant and our friends
at the Cleveland Police Department. They opened their doors to help start the
investigation and pass whatever they had to Detroit, so they can start looking
too, that is if someone hasn’t murdered someone that day. They dusted Pat’s car
for prints, got a few good ones and they took my prints and the prints of
everyone in the car to eliminate prints on the outside of the car.
Their generosity is something I truly appreciate and the
people of Cleveland need to appreciate. They help, they will help, and they
want to help. I often work with the fire department, and seeing a side of the
Police Department no one sees because they can’t unless something bad has
happened, is something I will never forget. They picked through everything for
any shred of anything we can get.
I might never see my camera again. I will never see the
photos I shot on the ship, but the memories and kind hearts of everyone I
encountered is more than enough not to give up on the human race.
To all that have helped get the word out about my camera,
thank you. I can’t thank you enough for the support. That camera was my
livelihood since losing my job in early May. My family has been nothing but
supportive, and what is life without your family? My friends who have stepped
up, watching the baby while wife was at work and I was on the ship, and then
was kind enough to drive us home from Detroit. Last but not least, everyone at
the city of Cleveland. Their support in my mission to capture and tell their
stories is nothing short of amazing.
To all who have got the story out; Thank you. Really thank
you a million times.
An anonymous donor has come forward and offered to help me
get a new camera. I am still in tears over this kindness, and I will let you
know once I am back on my feet again and shooting fires.
