Many of those who see these images have ties to Marblehead but no longer reside within its 4.4 square miles. As such the title of today’s post may sound odd or be assumed to be about me…it’s not. A tragic car accident took the life of a Marblehead High School senior on March 18th and the community has been rocked by the loss.
As any father would, I felt the news as a gut punch. After a long day, I felt the need to get out and made my way across that causeway and onto the Neck having no plan in place. I hadn’t checked weather or sunset predictions or webcams but just drove and tried to be in the moment. I ended up on Foster Street for a bit but then moved on to Corinthian Lane. There I was greeted by a beautiful sunset which took all of my focus and, by doing so, most of the sorrow too. I barely knew James but had the privilege of capturing him playing on the varsity football team all season.
On arriving home, I looked at the images but then put them aside and tried to find every shot I had captured of James during the past season. There was one I took at halftime of the Beverly game on the grass field where I caught him zoning out and I stared at that shot for 30 minutes before getting up for a walk.
For those who know it, the Flickr site has those images now with several that I never shared. I hope they bring you some comfort – especially the few where he is in the frame with a teammate.
I didn’t know what to write on Friday. I still don’t. Hug your family, tell them you love them.