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Erin Stone

writer, multimedia journalist

  • Personal Projects
  • Writing
    • Science and Environment
    • Immigration
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Community
    • Magazine
  • Multimedia
    • Photography
    • Audio
    • Video
    • #SnapshotLives
  • About

#SnapshotLives

#SnapshotLives is an Instagram-native project  that I began in 2015, while I was a reporter for the daily paper of Midland, a mid-sized city in the heart of Texas oil country. It was my first job as a professional journalist, and I began to feel frustrated by the strict formula often required by daily news writing. So, I decided to take photos of those I interviewed and upload their images to Instagram with short narratives. I chose the hashtag #SnapshotLives because my goal for capturing these moments was to get outside of hard news reporting and highlight a more personal, emotive side of the story that may not make it into the final news edit.

Midland, TX. August, 2015.  "What will it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?" Pastor LV Brown reading the psalms. He started the Appostolic Eklesia church after an accident in the oil field that he says should have killed him or at least snapped his back, but he came out of it walking. He had strayed from faith for a little while and this experience prompted him to return to God. So he became a pastor.  #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. 
Midland, TX. August, 2015.  "We will be forced to leave if we do not change because this conquered ground, it is merely sleeping, and when it awakens, it will breathe fire and kill us softly...We need to look at ourselves, with love, with doubt, with clear eyes. The last buffalo, that black stare, blood pouring from the nostrils...We are lovers or we must become so..." -Charles Bowden, Blood Orchid.  #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. September, 2015. This is "Jennifer." In 1995 she had a psychotic break after suffering through a traumatic divorce. Her bipolarism spiraled out of her control along with her alcoholism and drug abuse. Dual diagnosis, diagnosis of a mental health disorder and a substance abuse disorder, has become very common in Midland. Jennifer is now in recovery, having achieved sobriety for some years and the correct medication combination to manage her bipolarism. "I have an inner peace and an inner joy that I never dreamed possible. It's kind of like a quiet, inner center that is like being the center of a hurricane. Life keeps happening around me, ups and downs and all arounds, but at my very core, my very center I'm very peaceful. And I have a lot of joy about me. Every day. Every day in gratitude for my recovery. When alcoholism occurs, you're simply blocked from peace, you're blocked from God. So it's a very lonely experience at the end when you're just craving alcohol, craving pot or whatever, you're doing anything to alter the state of your mind so you won't feel the way you do. Because you have no inner peace. You have no inner joy. it's like operating from a dark hole inside."  #SnapshotLives   Link to article:  http://www.mrt.com/health_and_wellness/stories/article_54136702-6074-11e5-ac10-bbea863b1b64.html
Midland, TX. September 2015.  Raymond Boswell served in both Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as Kosovo) and he came home a changed man. In 2008, Boswell, an engineer, got attached to a National Guard unit out of Waco and deployed to Iraq with them. He was stationed in downtown Baghdad in the Green Zone. "I will tell you that there is not a thing I left in Iraq that I need to go back and get," Boswell said. "Those things you don't think about them changing the way you think or the way you do things. It was just so intense all the time. When I got home I was home two weeks then went back to work (in the oilfield). Just didn't think about it. Just went right back to work. What I came to realize later is that that deployment really had a huge impact on the way I thought and the way I interacted with people." Boswell came home with what his wife, Amy, described as "a quick anger." After his final deployment, this time to Afghanistan, Boswell decided to do things differently. He took his full leave rather than going right back to work. He had collected gemstones while in Afghanistan and brought that hobby home with him. Today, he is an avid member of the Midland Gem and Mineral Society. Cutting stones soothes him. Full story here: http://m.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_e589c708-5822-11e5-a0cd-07762e7842e8.html?mode=jqm #SnapshotLives   #911neverforget   #911   #veteran   #usa Link to article:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_e589c708-5822-11e5-a0cd-07762e7842e8.html
Midland, TX.  Gail #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX.  Midland County Jail, Christmas Day 2015. There was no visitation that day.  #Christmas   #jail   #MidlandTX   #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX.  Corporal Rebecca Patterson escorts inmates from medical in Midland County Jail. I followed a jailer on Christmas Day, story here: http://m.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_58a93c7e-b664-11e5-afea-5fb046d905e2.html?mode=jqm   #MidlandTX   #jail   #Christmas   #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. September, 2015. John Schoon of the local Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapter in Midland stands in front of a plane the club is building. EAA was originally founded in 1953 by Paul H. Poberezny to bring aviation and the "spirit of adventure" that comes with flying to the common man. "There's nothing like the freedom of flight," said Schoon. "You can get from point A to point B however you wanna get there. It's just an awesome feeling," he said, using the word in its true sense - inspiring awe, great admiration, and even fear. To experience true awesomeness is a humbling experience. "To leave the ground instead of run around with all these cars crawling along. Just go above that. To see the clouds. To see a rain cloud dumping rain out and you're flying right beside it. Dip your wing in or fly over it. Fly around mountains, fly over Fort Davis. It's just a whole new freedom."  #Midland   #texas   #eaa   #aviation   #freedom   #SnapshotLives  Link to article:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_43601078-6636-11e5-9365-238c278e6b24.html
Midland, TX. September, 2015. A lone cowboy walking into the sunset...  #Midland   #texas   #tallcity #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. October, 2015. Culver juvenile detention center. Most of the kids in here are in for nonviolent drug offenses. Every single one of them has experienced major trauma in their childhoods, from abuse to an incarcerated parent to witnessing domestic violence to...there are too many to name.  #SnapshotLives   #midland   #tx
Midland, TX. October, 2015. This is Gary and Carol and their dog Marley. Marley is a therapy dog at Midland's Rape Crisis and Children's Advocacy Center and at the hospital. "There was a young girl that came in one time, she was hugging herself, wearing a big sweatshirt with her hood on, just completely still," said Carol. "Marley came over to her and just sat with her, leaning against her legs. After a little while, she reached out and put her hand on his head, and smiled a little bit. We never know what the kids have been through, we don't ask them. But somehow Marley knows. Dogs can connect when no one else can." #SnapshotLives Link to article:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_5d222f52-751b-11e5-b384-1ba335d9529a.html
Midland, TX. August, 2015. It’s 5:30 p.m., and it’s hot out at the Horseshoe fairgrounds. Everybody’s sweatin’ and sucking down their grande sodas or cups of Bud. The kids don’t ever notice the 100-degree heat though, and you can hear them laughing and yelling from the spinning rides. The adults are holding back their nausea or feeling like they’re 5 again, screaming just as loud as the kids as they whirl around at speeds and in directions reserved only for the slightly sketchy fair ride. Still, most are avoiding the heat and milling about inside the new Horseshoe Pavilion and Arena where dogs bark hoping to be adopted, the bucking Broncos and bulls kick their hooves and snort, and the goats at the petting zoo serenely observe giggling kids pulling at their ears and petting their snouts. By 8 p.m. the air has cooled and those who stayed hidden from the sun most of the day have come out to play. The sunset serves as a perfect backdrop to the silhouettes of the Ferris wheels and corndog stands. The blinking carnival lights stand out gaily like a Las Vegas skyline. By this time the teenagers have arrived with their posses, walking with the confidence and cockiness that comes with their age. The old-timers hold hands and share funnel cake, peaceful in the whirling color that surrounds them. The kiddos shriek and laugh with their faces painted, clutching balloons and oversized toys, mouths sticky with melted ice cream from the hot afternoon. Welcome to the Midland County fair, a place where memories are made, first kisses had, and good times remembered as the sun sets on the Technicolor lights blinking into the blackening sky. Though school has started for some, it still feels like summer right here.
Midland, TX. August, 2015. It’s 5:30 p.m., and it’s hot out at the Horseshoe fairgrounds. Everybody’s sweatin’ and sucking down their grande sodas or cups of Bud. The kids don’t ever notice the 100-degree heat though, and you can hear them laughing and yelling from the spinning rides. The adults are holding back their nausea or feeling like they’re 5 again, screaming just as loud as the kids as they whirl around at speeds and in directions reserved only for the slightly sketchy fair ride. Still, most are avoiding the heat and milling about inside the new Horseshoe Pavilion and Arena where dogs bark hoping to be adopted, the bucking Broncos and bulls kick their hooves and snort, and the goats at the petting zoo serenely observe giggling kids pulling at their ears and petting their snouts. By 8 p.m. the air has cooled and those who stayed hidden from the sun most of the day have come out to play. The sunset serves as a perfect backdrop to the silhouettes of the Ferris wheels and corndog stands. The blinking carnival lights stand out gaily like a Las Vegas skyline. By this time the teenagers have arrived with their posses, walking with the confidence and cockiness that comes with their age. The old-timers hold hands and share funnel cake, peaceful in the whirling color that surrounds them. The kiddos shriek and laugh with their faces painted, clutching balloons and oversized toys, mouths sticky with melted ice cream from the hot afternoon. Welcome to the Midland County fair, a place where memories are made, first kisses had, and good times remembered as the sun sets on the Technicolor lights blinking into the blackening sky. Though school has started for some, it still feels like summer right here.
Midland, TX. August, 2015. This is Patsy Childress. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, was "cancer-free" for 9 years and then re diagnosed. She currently gets chemo about every week. "I can't change what is. The doctors and nurses can prescribe and try to make a difference. But if it doesn't, that's what is. You're scared just because you don't know what to expect. I can usually deal with just about anything as long as I know what to expect. I think the scary part is just realizing you're not in control of the situation. Whatever choice you make has no bearing on anything. It just will be what it is." Childress died in December of 2015.  #breastcancer   #cancer   #hope   #faith #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. September, 2015.  Today I did a ride-along with Sergeant Carrasco of Midland's Crisis Response Team. It was an unusually calm day, but a little after 4 pm we got a call about a 46-year-old man apparently lifeless. He'd been found by his mother and the maintenance guy. When we got there, it was quite clear he was dead. His body was stiff and waxy, He was an alcoholic and had been having seizures. He was supposed to go to rehab this week. He'd fallen face first on top of the toilet, so his body was unnaturally contorted. The blood hadn't yet pooled in his feet so they said he must have died within the past couple hours. Here, Sarge checks the man's ID. Outside, one of the investigators joked, "I guess we could commit him, but I don't think he'd be compliant with his meds." You've got to keep a sense of humor if you see these things every day. Then we left and passed other residents coming home from work or school, going about their business unaware a man had died just then. Me and Sarge got soda and red bull at the gas station and joked with the cashier. When we got back in the car, Sarge said, "That's the thing, everyone around here lives in oblivion." #SnapshotLives   Link to article:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_b9a30e4a-63d7-11e5-8253-2bc249bfd3fc.html
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September, 2015. Odessa, TX. Her dad had long blonde hair, just like Kurt Cobain. She knew her dad could do anything. She'd say, he could fly if he wanted to. That's my dad: "We were really poor and we lived in a little trailer on Tom Green St and I remember it used to rain," KaitLynn Burns, 16, said. "He drove a Camaro so on those days he couldn't really get in or out. We'd stick our feet in the water and he'd tell me well, this is why it rains, this is how flowers grow. That's why I'm good at minor biology and a little bit of algebra. I got a lot of that from him. But my absolute favorite is when I was almost four my daddy brought me a new Barbie doll, she was called the Irish queen. She had red curly hair, a gold crown, green eyes. He said, look it's you but she has curly hair and actually has a dress on! I grabbed it all mad and said thanks but you know you should've bought the dogs dog food! We were so poor. We had those icies that would freeze, I would share those with my dogs. I'd sit there and take a bite then they'd take a bite. That was one of the things we always did. As soon as he got home he was either reading to me, telling me a story, teaching me how to play baseball, or helping him work on his car. There was always something we were doing because he knew that every second mattered. I kinda think that he knew, like, this isn't always gonna work. I think he felt he wasn't gonna be here as long as he wanted to be." KaitLynn's father died when she was 4 of a blood infection due to intravenous drug use. She was primarily raised by her grandmother, who she describes as her "rock." Her mother was also an addict and suffers from bipolar disorder. KaitLynn has been diagnosed with a mood disorder. But her future is bright and she looks forward to going to college and aspires to become a humanitarian photographer. Read the article on this brave, brilliant and beautiful girl here: http://m.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_00ecc98c-6fc0-11e5-a537-f798183ca19d.html?mode=jqm   #SnapshotLives   #mentalhealth
October, 2015. Midland, TX. The red hat club arrives at Laura Bush's lecture on the power of early literacy in #Midland   #tx   #SnapshotLives
October, 2015. Big Spring, TX. A man repaints the letters at the entrance of the VA Medical Center in Big Spring. This hospital serves 33 counties across the rural landscapes of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.  #SnapshotLives   #veterans   #health
November, 2015. Midland, TX. Janci Bridges, with daughter Anna, was deployed to Qatar in 2006. There she filled a position in mortuary affairs, preparing fallen soldiers for their final journeys home. Bridges says bodies she saw remain in her nightmares, awaken her with her heart racing. She was also sexually assaulted during her deployment. When she returned home to her then-husband and children, something came with her. She was later diagnosed with PTSD and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). "I went into such a dark depression where I couldn't handle it," Bridges said. "I couldn't connect with my children, I couldn't spend time with them...when we come home we're required to jump right back into being mom...society-wise it's not ok for us to have a mental breakdown. It's not ok for my kids to not have clean clothes because I can't gather the emotional strength I wash clothes, because even that is an overwhelming and daunting task." 1 in 4 of the more than 2 million female vets report they have MST. Read full story here: http://m.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_c2b2828c-90db-11e5-b4bb-9b06ecce0fcc.html?mode=jqm #SnapshotLives   #femaleveteran   #veterans   #OEF   #OIF   #MidlandTX
November, 2015. Midland, TX. Stephanie Harper, USAF veteran. She joined at 17, needing to escape a mother who suffered from untreated bipolar disorder and alcoholism, and a father who wanted her out of the house by the time he married his 6th wife. "The one thing I loved most about being in the Air Force is that at first glance you were judged based on what you had on your sleeve (how many stripes) and I liked that," she said. "That was something I controlled. Being female or being blonde, you can't really control that. That was an equalizer for me and that was a first." Harper's father and grandfather had been in the Air Force, but when she joined she started a new legacy in her family: a line of females in service. Full story here: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_b0d89ea8-9bf2-11e5-90c2-13fbc23826fb.html   #veterans   #femaleveteran   #midland   #tx   #SnapshotLives
 December, 2015. Midland, TX.  #midlandtx   #SnapshotLives   #tuesday
December, 2015. Midland, TX. Don Edwards, 80, and pecan-cracking machine. I saw a sign on the side of Highway 349 that said "Edwards Pecan Cracking." It stood beside a little house with the blinds drawn and there was a warehouse and a couple trailers in the lot behind it. I decided to stop by and knocked on the door but no one answered. I was walking back to my car when I ran into a small and energetic woman named Shirley Edwards. She said her husband Don could visit with me, he was just then cracking pecans in the warehouse. The whir of the cracking machine grew louder as we approached...  #SnapshotLives   #midlandtx   #pecans
December, 2015. Midland, TX. Don Edwards, 80. Mr. Edwards is completely blind. He lost his eyesight at age 19 when he was working maintenance in the oil field, setting a cattle guard, and a defective stick of dynamite blew up in his face. He could have lost his life. After gis accident he contacted the Texas Commission for the Blind and the only job they offered him was that of a mop maker. "I guess they thought that's all a blind man could do, make mops," he said with a chuckle. So he did that for ten years, then went into the real state business and now is retired and in his spare time cracks pecans for the loyal customers he has. He and his wife Shirley have been married 40 years. He has never seen her or his four children. #SnapshotLives   #midlandtx Like    
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January, 2016. Odessa, TX.  The rodeo's a family affair #texas   #odessa   #rodeo   #cowboy   #cowgirl   #SnapshotLives
January, 2016. Odessa, TX. Minister R.L. Taylor and The Sons of the Father sing at the gospel celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday. They've received four nominations by the Rhythm of Gospel Awards and they're amazing. You can vote for them until March 1 at www.therhythmofgospelawards.com/VOTING.html #gospel   #mlkday   #mlk   #martinlutherkingjr   #odessa   #Texas   #SnapshotLives
January, 2016. Midland, TX.  Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter talks to the press about the new mental health task force, in which two police officers will join the 4 specially trained mental health deputies of MCSO's Crisis Response Team. "My job and my desire is to keep people out of jail," Painter said. "People that have a mental health crisis do not belong in jail. They require treatment and that's what we're trying to do." Calls involving mental health crises have been on the rise every year in Midland. Another trend has been younger and younger children with suicide outcries. Over only the past four months the CRT has responded to 377 calls. Last fiscal year, the CRT responded to a totally of 265 over a period of six months.  #mentalhealth   #decriminalizementalillness   #MidlandTX   #recovery   #SnapshotLives #suicideprevention   http://m.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_c05c3b6e-b8da-11e5-bea1-8feb710c0fdb.html?mode=jqm
January, 2016. Midland, TX.  Sawitree "Kai" Sathiensap stands with her victims advocate, Tracy Black, outside of SafePlace, a shelter for those needing refuge from abusive situations. Kai moved to Midland from Thailand after meeting her husband on a dating website. But when she got here, things turned for the worse. Her husband wouldn't allow her to leave the house or get a job. He later threatened to get her deported if she disobeyed. It took her a long time to realize her relationship was abusive since there was no physical violence. When she escaped, and got to SafePlace, her advocate Tracy helped her understand the cycle of abuse and that abuse is not only physical but can be emotional and economic as well. She hopes sharing her story can help others in similar situations. Full story here: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_1f18225c-c1e7-11e5-a1c9-fb3b25e04bfd.html?TNNoMobile #domesticabuse   #abuse   #emotionalabuse   #breakingthecycle   #empower   #Midland #TX   #SnapshotLives
January, 2016. Midland, TX.  Former NFL quarterback Eric Hipple spoke at the first Permian Basin Mental Health Conference this past weekend about his attempted suicide and the death of his son by suicide: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d8d4f44a-c7e6-11e5-92f9-77d10dfbfb42.html? TNNoMobile #mentalhealth   #suicideprevention   #SnapshotLives   #MidlandTX
January, 2016. Midland, TX.   #westtexas   #westtexaswaltz   #westtexasdream   #westtexasnights   #SnapshotLives  🌙🐍
January, 2016. Midland, TX.  David Gutierrez grew up in the greater Los Angeles area in a gang neighborhood. His mother was an alcoholic, his father absent. He started drinking and doing drugs at age 12, was addicted to meth and marijuana by 14, and arrested by 15 for stabbing someone for the gang he'd just been jumped into. At 16 he was shot in the back of the head by a police officer and lost the use of his legs. He remains in a wheelchair today. Here, he holds a card that was given to him when he was in the midst of alcohol and meth addiction and gang activity back in California. Written on the back is "Forgiveness" and Corinthians 5:17. He carries it in his wallet to this day. "I really did feel that belonging after they jumped me in, then picked me up, dusted me off and said 'you're gonna be with us forever, man.' My dad wasn't there and that male connection was there at a time I was looking for it. But it was the wrong kind of love....I used drugs to cope like a lot of kids do. People think drugs are the problem. Drugs are rarely the problem for kids anyway. A lot of times they're using that drug to block out whatever the real problem is. The danger is they're teaching their brain at an early age to self-medicate. It becomes their coping mechanism." Gutierrez has been sober for three years now and is now a substance abuse counselor for troubled Midland teens.  #MidlandTX   #forgiveness   #SnapshotLives   #resilience   #addiction   #substanceabuse   #teens   #coping   #sobriety   #recovery  Story here: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_7003be70-d75d-11e5-bc0b-2faf34e85140.html?TNNoMobile
February, 2016. Midland, TX.  Some walked for two hours; some walked for ten. Some shivered in the cold winds in Mexico City; others sweated under a blazing sun in Juarez. All made the pilgrimage for one reason: to see Pope Francis. More than 100 Midlanders made the trip. Rosario Gonzalez of San Miguel Arcangel Catholic Church was one of them. "My experience was just overwhelming joy within myself," Gonzalez said, who saw the pope in Mexico City. She and her husband were mere feet from him. "As soon as he extended his hand to give us that blessing, you could literally feel God's presence. I felt the blessing around my face and it was just warmth and this sense of love and peace and tranquility. There are no words to describe the feeling that was there. And it was not only me; it was all those that were there. Full article: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_09deba8c-d861-11e5-9f9d-dbd61a996fb0.html #catholic   #popefrancis   #mexico   #mexicocity   #juarez   #faith   #SnapshotLives   #MidlandTX   #Texas   #love #peace
February, 2016. Penwell, TX. Friday night at the drag race. I loved this girl's long red hair...  #SnapshotLives #dragrace   #odessa   #penwellraceway #Texas
February 2016. Midland, TX.  Midland High School students pose for a picture with Rosa Blum, 88, a Holocaust survivor who came to speak to the tenth grade English II students. They are reading Elie Wiesel's "Night". Blum lost her entire family in Auschwitz. She was just 15 when her family was deported from Romania to the concentration camp. "Somehow you get strength even when there is no strength available," Blum said in response to a student's question about how she coped and survived. "I remember they used to say at home, 'metal breaks, a human holds out.' That's how the strength had to come...it changed me a lot. I look at life different. I value everything. I don't want too much, as long as I can live and go on and do whatever I'm doin'. I'm happy with what I am." Students lined up to take photos with Blum after her talk. One student was particularly touched. "This impacted me a lot," said Melynna Morgan, her eyes wet. "What happened in the Holocaust back then, it is possible for it to happen again...people, they deserve respect...people are equal, and people shouldn't be separated from their families." She was alluding to the current climate she and her peers are growing up in-one full of hatred, xenophobia and anti-immigrant and refugee sentiments--much like the States were in 1938. Full story here: http://www.mrt.com/news/education/article_811f49c8-db6c-11e5-9c53-93ccdd90c8e1.html? TNNoMobile #SnapshotLives   #Holocaust   #refugees   #hate   #fear   #fearkills   #silence   #silencekills #love   #peace   #MidlandTX   #usa   #syria #immigration   #survivor   #survival
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX. Brian Taylor and his family recently moved to Midland from Michigan for a job. This is their first rattlesnake roundup. Though they were scared at first, the kids think the snakes are pretty cool.  #rattlesnakeroundup   #SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup   #sweetwater2016   #mrt   #midland   #texas   #SnapshotLives  Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX.  Alyssa Soles ( @later.aly.gator ) is this year's Miss Snake Charmer at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. She's a senior at Sweetwater High and her father is a Jaycee and one of the head snake handlers. "This event means everything to me, it's a big family thing for us, it's a great outlet for my mom and dad and everyone in Sweetwater, it's such a great community thing it brings so much to the town of Sweetwater and surrounding communities." #rattlesnakes   #rattlesnakeroundup   #sweetwater2016   #mrt   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX.  James Smith needed a job and five years ago his buddy with Randall's Wildlife Creations said he could work in sales. The #SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup    is their biggest event.  #sweetwater2016   #texas   #sweetwater2016   #rattlesnakeroundup   #SnapshotLives   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX.  Snake heads and snake skins sold by Old Man Higginbottom Rattlesnakes and Things. Leroy Higginbottom has been buying from and selling at this roundup since 1958 when it began. The roundup provides about 90% of their total revenue.  #SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup  is their biggest event.  #sweetwater2016   #texas #sweetwater2016   #rattlesnakeroundup   #SnapshotLives   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX.  Riley Sawyers has been hunting and milking rattlesnakes for 25 years and has never been bit. Here he holds a snake he just milked while spectators look on #SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup   #texas   #westerndiamondbackrattlesnake   #rattlesnakeroundup   #sweetwater2016   #SnapshotLives   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX.  Minnie Cortez has lived in #Sweetwater  her whole life and has fond memories of attending the #SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup . To her, the event means family coming into town and fun activities for all, such as going to the carnival and visiting the vendors outside the coliseum. Today she's having a garage sale outside her house down the street from the coliseum. She doesn't go to the snake pit anymore, but to her the #rattlesnakeroundup  is part of the fabric of Sweetwater life. "Snakes are amazing creatures. They are one of God's creatures," she said.  #SnapshotLives   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
March, 2016. Sweetwater, TX. Del Riley, a volunteer at the #‎SweetwaterRattlesnakeRoundup‬ skins a diamondback. From Sweetwater, he sees firsthand how the Roundup benefits his community. "Last year we raised more than $8 million just over this weekend. We give that money back to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, sports complexes, we do a Thanksgiving meal, we give money to veterans." ‪#‎sweetwater2016‬ ‪#‎westerndiamondbackrattlesnake‬ ‪#‎mrt‬ ‪#‎rattlesnakeroundup‬  #SnapshotLives   Full story:  http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_d529f200-ed57-11e5-b3db-7f3527555ee4.html
February, 2016. Penwell, TX.  Saturday night at the drag race #Texas   #penwellraceway   #odessa   #dragrace   #SnapshotLives
February, 2016. Penwell, TX.  Saturday night at the drag race #Texas   #penwellraceway   #odessa   #dragrace   #SnapshotLives
January, 2016. Midland, TX.  For adults and children who have suffered or are suffering from any type of mistreatment i.e. Those who have been harmed intentionally be it by bullying, neglect or abuse of any kind, obesity tends to be the No. 1 consequence besides psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety that these individuals face. Read about "Lisa," a Midland woman who overcame her binge eating through Overeaters Anonymous: http://www.mrt.com/health_and_wellness/stories/article_6500a8c4-e015-11e5-beca-1f68fc78456f.html?TNNoMobile #MidlandTx   #SnapshotLives   #eatingdisorders   #trauma   #mentalillness   #overcoming   #strength
Odessa, TX. Guardians of the Children is a non-profit group of bikers who advocate for child victims of all kinds of abuse in the Permian Basin. Compared to more highly populated areas of Texas, the Permian Basin has high rates of child abuse and neglect. In 2014 there were more than 2030 confirmed cases of child abuse ( and these are just the reported cases). All the GoC members and kids go by road names. When she was 12, "Bugg" was brutally beaten by her father's girlfriend. Worse yet, her father didn't believe her when she told him. She receded into her shell, isolating from friends and family. After joining GoC, things changed. "It made me feel like I had a sense of family again, like I wasn't so alone after all," she said. She is now almost 18 and plans to become a Guardian herself once she comes of age. Full story here: http://www.mrt.com/news/local/article_dd9799ae-fea2-11e5-aad7-53fe10f238e3.html?TNNoMobile   #SnapshotLives    #odessa   #midland    #texas   #childabuse   #guardiansofthechildren   #stopchildabusenow
Midland, TX. Texas tech game #SnapshotLives
Garden City, TX. The wreckage of Delia Pierson's mobile home after an EF4 tornado blew through Howard and Glasscock Counties on Sunday night. "My mom lost everything I guess," said Justin Pierson, Delia's son. "This is her whole house with everything in it. But we found the important stuff, the family photos and everything like that. The rest, it's all stuff. It'll come back. Thank God nobody was hurt." Full story: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_f01b1d26-2157-11e6-a3b1-cbb13e4d2bf2.html   #gardencity    #glasscock   #howard    #bigspring   #texas    #tornado   #SnapshotLives
Lt BJ Land, Midland Police Department's #first   #female    #Lieutenant , retirement party.   #MPD   #midlandpolicedepartment   #texas   #SnapshotLives
San Antonio, TX. 
San Antonio, TX. 
Dallas, TX. This little boy held a police badge sticker and brought it over to his mother. He pulled the sticker off and said, "look mama I'm strong!" I thought about the world this little boy is growing up in, how his young life has already been impacted, and how, particularly as a black child, his life will be shaped by the events occurring in our country. What world he will be left with. How his words "I'm strong" were probably shaped by the anthem that has now rung across this city--"Dallas Strong." Across the plaza, an officer was glued to his phone. News of the Baton Rouge shooting today had just come in. "Three officers down" he said to no one in particular. Then louder to the other officers watching over the memorial--"three officers down in Baton Rouge," shaking his head vigorously, his brow furrowed and the lines deep. I left the memorial with sadness and anger in my heart...these past weeks have been so depressing...we are grieving as a country. Fathers have been lost, families changed irrevocably. I hope we come out the other end better but I don't know if we will. What will come of us?   #dallasstrong   #blacklivesmatter    #bluelivesmatter   #alllivesmatter   #SnapshotLives
Dallas, TX.  #dallasstrong   #dallaspolice    #dallaspoliceshooting   #dpd   #SnapshotLives
Dallas, TX. JFK Memorial. A day that changed everything..  #SnapshotLives
Midland, TX. Love this brave girl and her mama. Sharing words of wisdom in one of my last articles for the Midland Reporter-Telegram: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_96f4bd28-55d3-11e6-aab5-0f6f2db694a5.html   #midlandtx   #youth   #growingup    #SnapshotLives   @_aspen_wallace_
Odessa, TX.  Jon Nielsen stands in his home in Odessa, TX, holding a photo of his daughter Monica Deming, 32. Deming was murdered last November by her ex-boyfriend Brandon Leyva, who stalked and harassed her daily after they broke up, (the most deadly time for women who leave abusers) before breaking into her home in Odessa and shooting her execution-style, then shooting himself. Deming's father and sister, Jenny Dorsey, said her murder was the fault of a system that does not take stalking, harassment and the fear of the complainant seriously unless there is an expressed direct threat of harm or physical abuse. I found there were several instances under current law where protective action by the police could arguably have been taken, possibly preventing Deming's murder. Sadly, many stalking victims' stories are similar to Deming's. Fear is not taken seriously, particularly if threats are online or via text message, and the results can become deadly quickly. Read Part 1 here: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_a4d07afe-55e2-11e6-8a9e-e7c7e5685d8c.html . And Part 2 here: http://www.mrt.com/news/top_stories/article_402debf2-5904-11e6-83cc-7fc4070885cf.html .  #stalking   #harassment   #domesticviolence   #abuse   #murder   #odessa   #texas   #thatsmileMo   #SnapshotLives
Dallas, TX.  The trial of Daeveion Mangum came to an end on Friday... http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/verdict-is-in-for-murderer-of-richardson-pornographer-8565123 .  #SnapshotLives   #dallas   #murder   #pornography   #crime
Dallas, TX.  A veteran committed suicide at my apartment complex today. There were three shots but apparently they were all his. When SWAT blew his door open they found him on the couch having shot himself. Sometimes I hate my job, having to ask people when something horrible's happened how they feel. Another one of our veterans lost.  #SnapshotLives
Dallas, TX.  http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/inside-the-dallas-homeless-shelter-where-patrick-ward-died-8672712
Dallas, TX. Chief Brown speaks to the media about his retirement after 33 years of service with the Dallas Police Department.  #dpd    #dallaspd    #dallasstrong   #SnapshotLives
Odessa, TX. Ratliff Stadium.  Friday night lights #SnapshotLives
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives  (featuring my dad lol)  #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #thefuture   #californiakids   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA.  Protestors march in solidarity against Trump in downtown SB.  #SnapshotLives   #California   #fujixt1
Santa Barbara, CA. Rally organizers speak to a Trump supporter (right) during a march against Trump in downtown Santa Barbara on Saturday.  #SnapshotLives    #California   #fujixt1

All images and writing copyright of Erin Stone unless otherwise specified.