Fox the Poet: Sarrah Wile

Showing posts with label Sarrah Wile. Show all posts

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sarrah Countdown #8

Sarrah t the Opheim High School reunion barbecue in the town's park.

The night before we left, we sat with aunt Laurie and uncle Alan, my twin cousins Katie and Jody and the ranch's resident pets.

In the back of pickup truck after the Redneck Fourth of July (the trap shoot), Sarrah looked great in the sunlight and wind.

My grandmother's farm includes a scrapyard of old, leftover farming equipment. A lot of it made for great photos.

I taught Sarrah how to drive stick.

The second day at my aunt Laurie and uncle Alan's ranch in Paradise Valley, Sarrah and I wandered the ranch shooting photos of everything. Alan gave us a tutorial of the local fauna too, which I found fascinating.

The first day at my aunt Laurie and uncle Alan's ranch in Paradise Valley, Sarrah went to meet my aunt's colts.

There's a character that an artist I follow on deviantART does called Pepper, who reminds me of the photo of Sarrah.

Sarrah Countdown #7

Sarrah meets my uncle Myron Redfield at the Opheim High School reunion barbecue in the town's park.

Sarrah square-dancing with my uncle Myron Redfield at the Opheim High School reunion street party.

My cousin Logan Redfield and Sarrah Wile giving me the redneck salute on mountain outside Helena, Mont.

Sarrah and Logan at a barn dance in Livingston, Mont., on the Fourth of July. Maybe it's genetic pride in my bloodline, but we Redfields are damn good looking. If this was just a random photo of two strangers, you'd likely say, "that's a beautiful-looking couple.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sarrah Countdown #6

We wanted wandered into an abandoned elementary school in a defunct U.S. Air Force base that is now a ghost town. This way the gym.

On our first day at my uncle's ranch in Paradise Valley, we played in the hay shed.

Driving long hauls is a must in Montana, the fourth-largest state in the United States. Sarrah passed the time by making money.

Sarrah was trying to find a way to shoot an open window in my grandmother's barn south of Opheim, Montana.

This is my favorite photograph of Sarrah. She is the same height and build as my grandmother was at this age. It's almost like looking back through time to see my grandmother in 20s, with five (not yet seven) kids in tow. Danielle Gervasio considers this photo to be reminiscent of a Johannes Vermeer painting.

Sarrah's Shotgun Haiku

A girl with a gun
is a danger to no one
if she stays happy

Sarrah Countdown #5

This is the last rifle my grandfather made before he died. He assembled the parts and carved the wood. And Sarrah looks great holding it.

Sarrah shot a .45-caliber pistol with help from my cousin Logan Redfield.

The best part of our "Redneck Fourth of July" was the trap shoot. Sarrah shot my uncle Alan's 24-gauge shotgun. They're both left-handed, so she found the perfect gun. She also nailed five of eight targets. Not bad for her first time.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sarrah Countdown #4

Sarrah and Danielle "Deeds" Gervasio on the front steps of Hotel 17, Lower East Side, New York City.

Sarrah realizes she just made fun of my while on top of the Empire State Building, New York City.

Sarrah at the foot of the Sears Tower, Chicago.

Sarrah impersonates a lion at the Chicago Museum of Art.

Sarrah and her brother Alun, in Times Square, New York City.

Sarrah countdown #3

Hiking up the mountain my aunt Laurie and uncle Alan own in Paradise Valley, Montana

We wandered down the other side of the mountain and hiking along a bubbling crick.

We liked going into town to Mark's In & Out a lot.

Standing on a sculpture at the Montana State University campus in Bozeman.

Chilling in the grass at Montana State University in Bozeman.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Sarrah Countdown #2

Sarrah eating oysters in New Jersey.

On the steps of a park entrance near where Danielle Gervasio grew up in New Jersey.

Standing in the rain outside our cabana along the Jersey Shore.

A photo of Sarrah's feet. Perhaps the rarest photo in the universe.

Sarrah is leaving Sedona

Sarrah Wile, my two-time daughter (I was her legal guardian twice) is leaving Sedona to go to school in Asheville, North Carolina. Sarrah was just a girl when I met her, but she's become one of my closest friends in Sedona.
We've gone on vacations every summer for the last four years: to the National Poetry Slam in Albuquerque, N.M., in 2005; to San Francisco with Dylan Jung and Lou Moretti in 2006; to Montana in 2007; and to New York City, the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia, and Chicago with Danielle "Deeds" Gervasio and Alun Wile in 2008.
Until she leaves, I'll be posting my favorite photographs of her over the years.