Category Archives: photos

Photos by mark justice hinton.

photos

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

From Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2011

This week, the morning sky over Albuquerque is alive with color from over 500 hot air (propane-fueled) balloons. Four weekend morning feature “mass ascensions” as most of these balloons lift off in waves from Balloon Fiesta Park at the north end of town. At night, balloons remain grounded but light up like giant lanterns for balloon glows, followed by fireworks. This is an spectacular event almost beyond imagining.

We took our friends, Robert Coontz and Jolene Jesse, to the first mass ascension last Saturday. We all had a grand time despite the massive crowds and noise.

This was the fortieth Balloon Fiesta. Coincidentally, I’ve known Robert for 40 years. Thirty years ago this month, he introduced Merri and me. And, not quite a year ago, we attended Robert and Jolene’s wedding.

NADA - New American Dark Ages, photos

Photo of Paintball Wound

6 Comments

Air and paintball gun injuries caused more than 20,000 ER visits in 2008

ScienceDaily (Sep. 3, 2011) — Hospital emergency departments saw over 20,000 injuries due to air and paintball guns in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This represents a 20 percent decrease in emergency room visits for injuries caused by air and paintball guns from 2006.

There are two things that bring more people to this blog through Google. They are this photo of a wound from paintball and the words “clever trever.”

photo of paintball wound

I have to wonder, is it just morbid curiosity? Do paintballers want to see a wicked wound? Does it please them?

Let me tell you the story that goes with the picture, if you don’t know it already. In 2003, my wife and I were walking our dog Lucky around our neighborhood after dark as we did every night. On this occasion, a car sped up behind us. We heard two small explosions and each instantly felt searing pain in our backs. As awful as that pain was — and it was intense — it was nothing compared to seeing the expression on Merri’s face when she cried “I’ve been shot!” while grappling with my own overwhelming fear and pain. It was horrible and I wish a comparable misery on the shooter and his gang. The shooter who cackled wickedly as the car sped by.

Remember, guns don’t shoot people, idiots shoot people. And brutal, cowardly idiots shoot strangers in the back. mjh

PS- Since many of the “clever trever” searchers come from the UK, I trust they are not looking for my take on the Albuquerque Journal’s not-so-clever editorial cartoonist, John Trever (Clever Trever Two, What An Ass We Have In Trever).

First published 6 years ago.