Thanksgiving with Washington County Family Practice: Patients, Friends, and Family

This year we changed things up a bit for Thanksgiving.  Instead of just chilling at home and eating (mom, dad, and myself), we decided to serve dinner and eat with the patients and staff of Washington County Family Practice where my mom works.  It ended up being one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember.  I missed being with the rest of the Ward family, but it was worth it.  I can't thank the Doctors and staff enough for putting it all together (esp. the Eaton Family).  The whole day reminded me of the importance of not only family, but community.  I am sensing the beginning of a new Thanksgiving day tradition.  I can't wait for next year. Here are a few of the images snatched from that day.....

see you next year.......

cheers

   john-robert ward II

Medical Images

As I have been going through my photo archives I decided to put together a series of Medical related images.  I have never really set out to shoot these types of images, but somehow I have been naturally attracted to the subject matter and have managed to snatch these images throughout the years.  I am sure a big part of this attraction is due to the fact that i pretty much grew up following my father around the hospital while he made rounds, or spending my days in his office while he was seeing patients.  My father even once set up the operating room for me to perform surgery on one of my Cabbage Patch Kids (yes I had Cabbage Patch Kids).  I had nurses assisting me and everything.  My attraction to the images in this series may seem strange, but the colors, textures, and subject matter seem to invoke in me the feeling of being a kid and how much I adored my father. I felt so important just trailing behind him.  To me, and many others in our community, he was "the man"..... he saved lives... Not many kids can say that about their father.  Dad, you are still "The Man"and you saved lives...........
                                           j.r. ward II

The above image is a newspaper clipping I found of Kindergarten students visiting my father's office.
Each of those kids wrote my father a thank you note and he kept each of those notes hung on the wall in his office for as long as I can remember.

 I wrote the above poem to my father one Christmas eve when I realized I forgot to get him a present.  I think I was in 4th or 5th grade.