This one's for Barb ...

I rarely post the "work" side of my job on this blog as well, it is just work. But tonight, my colleague Michelle and I covered the ribbon cutting event at the new Avenues at Webb Gin. This is a beautiful new shopping and retail center at the corner of Webb Gin House Road and Highway 124 in Snellville. Michelle's ex-in-laws used to own the corner and sold it to the Cousins Development Company a year or more ago and made out like bandits! Very Cool.

Anyway, the grand opening is going on all week and the ribbon cutting was a VIP event with limited media access so we felt very honored to receive the passes. It was raining and lightening when we got there, but with these big-buck folks, the event was brought under a large, air-conditioned tent with lots of great food and music. We're talking lamb chops and saffron rice here, folks ... very hoity toity.

Honestly, we knew most of the dignitaries there and count many of them among our friends. But still, there was a break in the weather and they decided to cut the ribbon with only a few obligatory statements from local politicians. The Cousins rep thanked EVERYBODY who ever worked for Cousins properties, and then the county folks had their turn. Our friend Mike Beaudreau who is the District 3 Commissioner had to talk fast 'cause the rain really started pouring in.

Anyway ... back to me.

Although I know most of the folks and can always get them to stand still for a photo, I do NOT have an impressive camera like Barb or Carolyn. Mine is a "mom's" camera - digital, for sure, but only 3.4 mp Olympus ... like every other mom around town. And for those of you who don't know, Carolyn Still has done an excellent job of stepping up and helping me cover many of these types of events (but she had Mom duties tonight). Even with the impressive Press Passes we received, it was hard to be taken seriously around the local, regional and state media sources and their big, bad photographers with many large cameras (and the same press passes). So I stood in the pouring rain in a very expensive suit and heels because I'm not really a photographer, sort of the press, but mostly a friend to many of these folks so I can't dress like the other photographers in jeans, camera vests and comfy shoes. Got a new hairdo this afternoon so thanks to the miracle of many, many hair products, my hair looked great ... but I was quite wilted by the time the ribbon cutting made the opening official.

Back in the tent, dripping wet, I caught some of our favorite, and not so favorite, politicians in a soiree ... and asked them to pose for me (which politicans love) and took a photo ... In this photo, I asked them all to shout out "we miss BARB!" and they did. Well, all except Robert Jenkins, but Barb will understand why THAT happened! My moment of vindication came when the photographers with the big cameras, who apparently did know who was who, began following me around for photo ops. (By the way, Barb, that's Mike Royal with the rain drops over his body from the lens - A GOOD photographer would have cleaned her lens or made sure Robert was blurred).

So to Miss Barb, our photographer extraordinaire, from your friends and partners in crime in Snellville, Grayson, Loganville, Gwinnett County and even beyond ... It seems that I just can't fill those shoes. Not that I would try, but we really missed you tonight! There were opportunities galore for catching those undesirable political alliances on disk and those who would NEVER vote for LBTD toddling over with another glass of wine, but, well, you know, these are photos that are not to be taken ... or perhaps taken and only shared with close friends! And giggled over back in the office with a big bar of chocolate and a diet pepsi.

Come back ... we miss you!