Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Faces of Phoenix

What could be cooler than a warm smile? Two smiles.


Phoenix seems to be full of smiling people. What a friendly town. Strangers look you in the eye, smile and say, "How you doin?"


I met Angie and Danielle Mahkee while out on assignment with Leona O'Neal and Chris Braun. Angie watched as her daughter played in the bubbly fountain in the park, getting wet and laughing.


The assignment was to interview someone on the street about how they cope with the summer heat. I nervously doubted that anyone would want to stop in the sun, in the middle of the day to be filmed by strangers. Angie and Danielle were a gift.


While Danielle played in the water, Angie told us how they spend their summer days trying to keep cool, both here in Phoenix and in the mountains of New Mexico, where her family has a sheep farm. She was gracious in letting us film her and her daughter. And Danielle? She was happy not only to play in the water, but to tell us about her kitty Kitty.
We chatted for about half an hour, watching Danielle play. As we parted, what went with me was two warm smiles that brought a cooling feeling in a hot Phoenix day.

Nunn Winship
Warden H. S.
Warden, Wash



3 comments:

  1. This is a very compelling photo. It brings out emotion through its portrait.

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  2. Wonderful photo. Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the cafeteria with a group of younger students and their chaperones, me eating, them watching a World Cup game on two of the three flat screen televisions. Above the constant din of thousands of game horns, their screams and ooohs rolled louder and softer as the constant drama of the game wavered. Then, the pitch changed, yells mixed with other, less exacting rumblings, then, then... a communal cheer erupted. No chants of USA, USA. This was Mexico playing. Their cheers were for them. Bloomsburg, Pa has its university and its medical center, but we are truly far removed from the international mix found in this city. But one veteran adviser will surely use his experiences when he returns to his rural high school to passionately urge his staff to discover and report on the diversity we have in our community.

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  3. We sure saw some wonderful faces of Phoenix today now didn't we? I will always remember this trip because of the wonderful people who made it happen but also the wonderful people I met and spent time with!

    Kellie Wagner
    JMA
    Hartford, Conn.

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