Sunset - Promise of a New Day

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Last March, on a trip back to Texas from Atlanta, we had just crossed the Chattahoochee River and came into the little hamlet of Columbia, Alabama. The combination of church and sunset, made us stop, it just looked magical.

Finally coming around, editing the picture - I did some research on that church building and found out that the Columbia United Methodist Church had quite a little history in its walls.  According to a website that seems to not have been updated in over 15 years, the town of Columbia was founded in 1821.

So called circuit riders (clergymen on horseback who rode from congregation to congregation to give their sermons) were the first to teach, until 1845 when a full-time pastor was appointed. After being housed in a single room building, where the High School is now, the church saw a need for a new building as their congregation was growing. In 1889 the pictured church was completed on Church Street (also named Alabama State Route 52) and Davis Street. After World War II, in 1949 the church was bricked and in 1956 and 1978 tow annex buildings for sunday school and a fellowship hall were added.

But not everything is new, the website says that the church still houses the original bell of the first church, which was carried over to the United Methodist Church in the picture.

Sources: Columbia United Methodist Church

Flush It Out

In rural areas, public services have to come and flush culverts. Their job is to clean them with high pressure washers from debris and trash to reduce flooding, when it storms, so the rain water can drain away. One of the public sector jobs, where your tax money is at work to guarantee a safer community.

This shot and others are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images.

On The Way

You never know when you're gonna need them. This Emergency Medical Technicians (or EMTs for short) have probably one of the most demanding jobs there is. Not only do they have to respond quickly, they also have to decide quickly how they can help with medical issues, traumatic injuries and accident scenes.

As a survivor a bad motorcycle accident I will always be in debt to the EMTs who were able to "ship" me as fast as possible to the next hospital, where I spent the next 13 weeks.

So pay attention, get off your freaking cell phone, while you drive and get out of the way, so they can tend to the person who needs most. The next time it might be you, waiting for an ambulance to show up. And sometimes it may only be minutes deciding if you live or not.

This and other images are mine, are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images, a photo agency.