Random-osity Cell Phone Photos

My cell phone is an old Android model and its pictures are not the best. But there are times that I don't carry my camera with me — not too many, but there are times, like on doctor's visits, on museum tours, and in restaurants (unless it's a special occasion). So today, I'm sharing a few of these pictures in the Good, Random and Fun format and also for the Our World Tuesday linkup.

The Good: Winchester Medical Center is a modern facility providing health care in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. I was attracted to the shadows and lines in this corridor.

The Random: I was pleased to see that this sculpture was on view again on the Rappahannock Studio Tour. I cannot speak for the artist, but to me it speaks of the tragedy of war, a soldier killed as he tries to surrender.

The next image shows a different type of sculpture also relating to war, but in this case it's fantasy war. I believe these were crafted as props for a movie (or possibly a game). I'm not a fan of war movies. They creep me out! They remind me that humans are basically animals, worse than predators because some of us glory in killing. We are not as civilized as we would like to think!

Today we live in frightening times! I suppose this is not unique; my parents lived through World War II; my grandparents lived through both World Wars; my great-grandparents lived through the American Civil War; and so on.

Have you noticed how fear brings out the worst in people? After years of espousing love and forgiveness, suddenly they are ready to deny help to families in need, refugees who seeking safety. Suddenly I see how an earlier generation of "decent" people allowed a holocaust to happen! They felt fear, they pulled back into primitive survival mode, they were manipulated by people who knew how to exploit their fear. And sadly, we see people who are not in our own group as "others," if not enemies, at least not as family, and instinctively it is our own families that we seek to protect.  Two thousand years of hearing we should love our neighbor are quickly forgotten. It is all too depressing!

I will change the subject and try to address the third topic without sounding cynical. Because only by denying reality are we able to thrive!

The Fun: Eating out can be fun. I like it best when the restaurant has something tasty that I can eat without getting sick, of course, and with food allergies that doesn't happen every time. I took this picture with my phone at a nice place in Rippon that serves home-cooked food. Although I took a more traditional picture too, this one appeals to me because it is different. Notice that my husband appears in the mirror behind the lamp.