The Story about the Cheese Head hat.
I've had a few inquiries, so here it is:
I was living in Cozumel, Mexico, in 2005-06. One of the photography projects that I was working on during that time involved glamour and artistic nude images of very fit, toned, athletic female models, shot underwater. I worked with a couple of amateurs from around the area that fit my criteria, but most of the models I used I had to fly down from the States. I worked all kinds of deals to get the right models there, but most of them were happy to get a free trip to the Caribbean in the middle of winter, in exchange for their modeling services, and one free day to do whatever they wanted. I also allowed them to bring a companion. I didn’t pay the airfare for the companion but I had two extra bedrooms in my house so lodging for an extra person didn’t cost me anything but it added value to the package that I offered the models.
Surprisingly, only one model took me up on the companion offer. The others came down by themselves. This model’s name was Cat, and she brought her husband, Kenny. They lived not too far from Chicago, just across the Wisconsin border. Over time, I’ve learned that models from the Chicago area will do just about anything to go someplace warm in the middle of winter. I’ve had some pay for their own plane ticket and chip in for food, but those were different shoots and different circumstances.
Cat is a WNBF Pro Figure competitor. I don’t know what that stands for but those letter combinations are great for making up a bunch of funny crap. She was 29 at the time and Kenny is about the same age. So they arrived one day, and we did our photographs the next two days. Then they headed out early on their free day to explore the island.
Later that afternoon I was sitting by the pool, sampling some Mexican beers and somebody rang the bell on the front gate. I walked across the courtyard and opened the gate. Cat was standing there crying. She had blood on her shirt and both of her arms were scratched up. Through her tears she said, “Kenny’s in the hospital.”
I said, “You rented a moped. Didn’t you?” She nodded. I told her that I would have advised them not to if I would have known they were thinking about it. Tourists ending up in the hospital from a moped accident is a common occurrence in Cozumel. When we got to the hospital we found out that Kenny had a broken collarbone, two cracked ribs, and a punctured lung. The Dr. wanted to keep him overnight and also ordered no airplane travel for four days.
So over the next four days I got to know Kenny and Cat better. Cat celebrated her 30th Birthday there, instead of being at home with her two daughters like she had planned. I ordered a surprise Birthday cake for her and we spent a lot of time sitting by the pool. I also spent a lot of time on the phone with Cat’s mom. Cat’s phone wouldn’t always work there and I had a plan that included long distance between Mexico and the US. I had to relay messages from Cat’s mom, Jackie, to the hospital, and then let them use my phone to call her back. Jackie would also call pretty often During the days that Kenny was recovering next to my pool.
After “the k**s” were back home and safe I got another call from Jacki. The panicked sounding voice had been replaced by a sweet voice as she went on and on thanking me for taking care them like a mother would, and that she felt bad that she couldn’t be there to do that. Jackie and I developed a unique bond and kept in touch, sharing stories and a lot of sharp sarcasm.
I finally got to meet Jackie about 2 years later. I went to Illinois to photograph a competition that Cat was in, and Jackie was there in the cheering section. I really don’t remember how we got on the subject, but Jackie is a big Green Bay Packers fan and I told her that I wanted one of those cheeseheads that the Packers fans wear (Remember? This is a story about the cheesehead). She said that she would send me one with the understanding that I had to send her a picture of me wearing it.
And now you know the rest of the story.
I was living in Cozumel, Mexico, in 2005-06. One of the photography projects that I was working on during that time involved glamour and artistic nude images of very fit, toned, athletic female models, shot underwater. I worked with a couple of amateurs from around the area that fit my criteria, but most of the models I used I had to fly down from the States. I worked all kinds of deals to get the right models there, but most of them were happy to get a free trip to the Caribbean in the middle of winter, in exchange for their modeling services, and one free day to do whatever they wanted. I also allowed them to bring a companion. I didn’t pay the airfare for the companion but I had two extra bedrooms in my house so lodging for an extra person didn’t cost me anything but it added value to the package that I offered the models.
Surprisingly, only one model took me up on the companion offer. The others came down by themselves. This model’s name was Cat, and she brought her husband, Kenny. They lived not too far from Chicago, just across the Wisconsin border. Over time, I’ve learned that models from the Chicago area will do just about anything to go someplace warm in the middle of winter. I’ve had some pay for their own plane ticket and chip in for food, but those were different shoots and different circumstances.
Cat is a WNBF Pro Figure competitor. I don’t know what that stands for but those letter combinations are great for making up a bunch of funny crap. She was 29 at the time and Kenny is about the same age. So they arrived one day, and we did our photographs the next two days. Then they headed out early on their free day to explore the island.
Later that afternoon I was sitting by the pool, sampling some Mexican beers and somebody rang the bell on the front gate. I walked across the courtyard and opened the gate. Cat was standing there crying. She had blood on her shirt and both of her arms were scratched up. Through her tears she said, “Kenny’s in the hospital.”
I said, “You rented a moped. Didn’t you?” She nodded. I told her that I would have advised them not to if I would have known they were thinking about it. Tourists ending up in the hospital from a moped accident is a common occurrence in Cozumel. When we got to the hospital we found out that Kenny had a broken collarbone, two cracked ribs, and a punctured lung. The Dr. wanted to keep him overnight and also ordered no airplane travel for four days.
So over the next four days I got to know Kenny and Cat better. Cat celebrated her 30th Birthday there, instead of being at home with her two daughters like she had planned. I ordered a surprise Birthday cake for her and we spent a lot of time sitting by the pool. I also spent a lot of time on the phone with Cat’s mom. Cat’s phone wouldn’t always work there and I had a plan that included long distance between Mexico and the US. I had to relay messages from Cat’s mom, Jackie, to the hospital, and then let them use my phone to call her back. Jackie would also call pretty often During the days that Kenny was recovering next to my pool.
After “the k**s” were back home and safe I got another call from Jacki. The panicked sounding voice had been replaced by a sweet voice as she went on and on thanking me for taking care them like a mother would, and that she felt bad that she couldn’t be there to do that. Jackie and I developed a unique bond and kept in touch, sharing stories and a lot of sharp sarcasm.
I finally got to meet Jackie about 2 years later. I went to Illinois to photograph a competition that Cat was in, and Jackie was there in the cheering section. I really don’t remember how we got on the subject, but Jackie is a big Green Bay Packers fan and I told her that I wanted one of those cheeseheads that the Packers fans wear (Remember? This is a story about the cheesehead). She said that she would send me one with the understanding that I had to send her a picture of me wearing it.
And now you know the rest of the story.
4年前
