You've Got to Be Careful When Shooting Photos Around Drunk People

I knew someday I would do this. That's why I have systems and don't deviate. Because the minute I make an exception to a system and change a process, that's when something horrible will happen. It just never fails.

I've often wondered when I would download photos and accidentally delete the originals without saving. For that reason, before I empty my trash folder, I always open the folder where I have copied the photos to verify they exist in that folder. Always. But not last night. Last night I dragged my photo folder to the trash, emptied the trash and ejected the card. Sure enough, there were no photos in the folder I had created. I did not copy the originals to the folder.

It probably serves me right for not following protocol. I set up that system so this would never happen. It has served me well over the years. At least these were vacation photos and not photos of a client's home. Because that would be the worst. I would hate to shoot a virtual tour and lose everything. That's never happened to me.

I am confident the guy from the bar last night is happy, though. We went to the Pioneer Inn, a bar I used to frequent 35 years ago in Nederland, a little mountain town in Colorado. I snapped a few photos while my husband was putting tunes into the jukebox. It's kinda weird that the jukebox now downloads songs from the Internet and you can pay by credit card and not with quarters. It's also peculiar to see gas meters in town and no propane tanks, not to mention entire shopping centers where trees once stood, and paved roads and sidewalks, so civilized.

This guy came over to my booth and threatened me. He accused me of "stealing his spirit" by taking photos. He was pretty vocal about it. You never know what a drunk person will do. I should have apologized but I laughed instead. I could have been pulverized right then and there, but I'm a pretty tough cookie. I sell Sacramento short sales. Nobody can threaten me. I told him I was too old and cranky to mess with and smiled broadly at him. He said he was older than me but he wasn't, by a long shot.

Finally, he yelled that he didn't care if I was 85. He stumbled off. It's a good thing he didn't demand that we settle this out back. I can generally tell when somebody is bluffing or maybe I'm just lucky. However, this guy would happy to know that his spirit is safe since all my photos are gone. I don't even think he was in any of them since I didn't get people in the shots. Kids these days.