A good picture

Reading Shelley's latest entry on her blog: http://whatifitdid.com/ made me think of a photo I had taken a few years ago.

If you know anything about Indiana and basketball then you will know the name Damon Bailey. Before Class basketball Crothersville would travel 12 miles north to Seymour and play the Jackson County Schools during the sectional. The experts had a brain storm of an idea to move Bedford North Lawerence into the Seymour sectional during Damon's career with BNL. I believe it was Damon's senior year Bob Knight was in the Barney Scott gymnasium to watch his new recruit play. I remember BNL Stars winning the sectional Damon's senior year. Cable TV provided coverage of the regional, semi-state and state. The Stars brought home the state trophy that year and Damon went on to play with the Indiana Hoosiers.

After Damon's senior year, 1994, the seniors from IU traveled through Indiana playing basketball and putting on a show for the fans. In the winter of '94-'95, Damon and Pat Graham were featured at Home Federal Bank in Seymour. I had taken pictures when they were playing and had Damon autograph his picture. I still have the pictures . . . somewhere in a suitcase.

Damon tried to make it a career as a professional basketball player, but things didn't work out. He married his high school sweetheart, started a family, started his own business and wrote two books (I've got both of them!)

When his second book went on sale, he did a promotion for it at a club in Seymour. Patrick had no idea who he was, even though I mentioned him quite often. We went to see Damon with my trusty disposable camera. The camera had 24+ pictures on it. I took several pictures of Patrick and Damon together and several of him autographing the book I purchased. Before we left I asked Damon if I could get a picture with him. Patrick took the picture and couldn't have been happier. I had met Damon Bailey, and I had another autograpy!

I remember a few months later finishing all the picture on the camera, taking it to Wal*Mart for them to development. When I got the printed pics back I had totally forgotten about the Damon photos until I came upon one of him and Patrick. I remember getting really excited looking through the photos knowing there was one of me AND Damon. As I quickly shuffled through the pictures I didn't find it! I thought I had went too fast and past it or it had stuck together with another one. So, I go through the photos again, still nothing. After a third time I decide to look at my negatives to see if it's been printed. I find the negative with Patrick and Damon, next one is another Patrick and Damon and so is the third. The fourth one I look at is just a blank negative, followed by a picture of our recently purchased boat. Ok?? What happened? I carefully study the negatives again, thinking Wally World has messed up somehow. I compare the negatives with the pictures and finally see what happened.

As Patrick was taking the picture of me and Damon, he had his finger over the lens! I have a picture of Patrick's finger print! His finger totally blocked out me and Damon posing for the picture! UGH!!! A chance of a life time and all I see is Patrick's finger!

I know what the picture is of behind the finger, and I charish it just as I would if you could see one of my heros . . . well, almost as much ;-)

I do have a gazillion photos I've paid for from 3D, Kmart, CVS and Wal*Mart. Thank God for the inventor of the digital camera! I wish I had all the money I've saved on developing photos!