TechIntersect

My young cousin Jonny was visiting home recently after finishing his recruit training. His dad, my uncle, is a retired Army colonel. Jonny’s sister Sandra is building a photography business and she made these photographs of Uncle Curt and Cousin Jonny. I find the contrasts between the retiree and the new recruit fascinating.

The colonel inspects the private, but the private has a hard time staying serious about the whole thing.

The uniforms might have changed, but the family pride in our service has not.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of the one and only time that Uncle Curt & I were also photographed together in our uniforms.

There are several stories behind these photographs that deserve comment here. One is the fact that my cousin Sandra is able to start a business with a digital media technology (photography) with a minimum investment in a small town of 6,000 people. Another is that three young men from the same family, (my uncle, myself, and my cousin) coming from rural Kansas decided to find a better opportunity through joining the armed forces. The armed services of the United States are full of people faced with limited economic opportunities where they were raised. The military career path provides a great opportunity for “disadvantaged” populations of all sorts, including kids from rural areas and kids from inner cities. This choice worked well for my uncle, and while I didn’t make a career of the service, it certainly helped me in building a career. We are proud that Jonny is serving his country too, hoping that it brings good things for him as well.

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