“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!” – Sun Tzu, the Art of War
The National Gallery in Washington, DC, is celebrating 50 years of Robert Frank’s book The Americans with a retrospective of his work. The exhibit is well done.
While there I couldn’t help but make a few photographs. This scene of a soldier looking at a painting of a boy in uniform was powerful in the moment.

Goody’s closed their doors on the familiar strip-mall street in Athens. Everything was for sale, including the mannequins.
I’ve often wondered what it would feel like on a day to day basis just before a depression. My brother, Paul, and I had a brief discussion about how this economic situation differs from that of the Great Depression. Stability of banks during that time were not backed by government programs such as the FDIC, started in 1933, which was to help prevent “bank runs.”
What I’ve been seeing on a local level is a very slow but drastic decline. Comparing the two economic situations seems almost like comparing two viruses. Both are potentially fatal, but the way they attack the body is different. One is more acute and spreads to vital organs quickly. The other starts with subtle symptoms. These symptoms go undiagnosed for years. Finally, by the time the doctor finds the problem, the virus has gone too far.