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Lunch time! Alyssa Murphy, Hannah Wiley, Tara Waterman, Josiah "No pictures!" O'Neal, Michael Hannon. My wife summed it up; "They look like a bunch of refugees!" I guess they're just all up agains the wall. Hamburgers by Dairy Queen, |
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Amy gets Mercy a drink, but Ariella has to get her own. Sharon holds the container to make sure Ariella doesn't steal it while Tabitha watches to make sure nobody gets out of hand. Wouldn't they make great prison guards? |
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Mmmmm, cookies! I'm not sure what everyone is staring at; maybe it's Jordan. He was very helpful; he kept trying to unwrap all the hamburgers for us. |
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We washed, dried, squeegeed and Windexed the windows. Pickups are always fun. We don't usually wash the bed unless they ask. |
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Here comes Fearless Leader! Why is he running? Is all the water making him need to hit the bathroom? Is he going to see where the next car is? Is he just hungry? No. Right after this photo was taken, Jeff ripped the camera out of my hands, got me in a headlock, and made me give back the cookies I'd cleverly hidden in the camera bag. |
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Here's a typical customer, a jaded, bored cowgirl. You can tell by her weathered face and her stoic, non-commital expression that she's seen it all, and wasn't impressed. Here to get the prairie poop off her ranch truck, she hasn't got time for fun and games. She's tired of the line, and just wants to get the truck washed so she can mosey on back yonder. Her name is Shaunda, and she bunks with two very large, protective Great Danes, a cat, a parrot, and a computer that routinely eats CD-ROMs. Your typical cowgirl. |
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It may look like the back side of Nowhere, but it's really the back side of a Shell station on I35 in Round Rock. They get a lot of big rigs, but fortunately we didn't have to wash any of them this year (we have in the past). I think the clothes line for drying towels adds a touch of class. Or a touch of the trailer park. Whatever. (Before anyone gets offended, I have lived in a trailer park, and so have some of my best friends. They're great! Really! I'm thinking of selling my home and moving into one, again, if only to attract more tornados!) That's Susan Wiley, our resident spy, on the left. She thinks she's safely disguised in those shades, but this crack journalist pierced the veil. |
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Things are slowing down, and we're almost done. I believe these were cars 96 and 97. |
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Tara practices her marksmanship, rinsing the roll bar while TJ watches, ready to jump in at a moment's notice and point out any spots she missed. Ariella and Katie carefully dry the car; it's all about the details. In the background, Janelle and Hannah are either washing mitts and rags, or maybe washing their hair. With junior high girls, it could be either or both. |
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It would appear that Josh is marking his territory. The girls are so tired by this time they either don't notice or don;t care. Shelby's washing her feet off. Presumablu after that she dried them and Windexed her toenails. |
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TJ and Tara finish off the truck. It's a cool truck. They'd probably have hijacked it if either of them were old enough to drive. Tara may not have gotten a truck, but she did manage to get a subnurn. |
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A van full of Andersons. They were chosen at random to have their pictures taken as representative of the many brave souls who valiantly drove their cars in for a free (no hidden fees, no please for donations) car wash. Plus, their kids are almost terminally cute and love to climb on me. Even a hard-bitten, jaded, journalistic type can't resist that. |
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The guys (Gabe, Greg and Nathan) wait patiently to see if the van gets clean before the annoying photographer quits making them pose. |
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For symmetry's sake, I left this photo on its side. You can always turn your head 90 degrees. (If you can't, I'm sure there's federal aid to turn the planet 90 degrees for you.) Sierra, Aimee, and Adrianna don't mind posing. In fact, they posed about a dozen more times after I quit shooting. |
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Tired soldiers in the suds army at the end of the day. Almost everyone here worked the whole day. Others had helped but already left. A notable exception is Wilson-- the guy on the left who isn't dressed appropriately for the occasion. He came by to get his truck washed, but decided to pitch in and help wash the last half dozen vehicles. "I just want to bless you!" Somehow, he came out spotless! Besides Wilson, we have :
(Back row) Jeff Kyle (Youth pastor), Alyssa Murphy, Lauren Holcomb, Josh Campbell, Judy Holcomb, Katie Holcomb, Jeff O'Neal.
(Front row) Tara Waterman, Janelle Murphy, Hanna Wiley, Shelby Holcomb, Mercy Kyle, Ariella Hannon.
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I'd planned to take more photos, but after the first few, got put to work washing cars as we had several waiting in line. I didn't manage to get back to the camera until near the end when things slowed down a bit. The crew that was left also helped clean up and pack up, which was much appreciated. Some times in the past, that's fallen to just three or four of the adults. We don't really mind doing it, but obviously it's great when there's more help!