Richmond (8/19/2014)

After eating my lunch at my desk, I generally try to get a lunch time walk in: good for the digestion, great in clearing the mind (sometimes), and good for the total steps I try to accumulate each day.  Regular readers know I am one of those fitbit junkies that David Sedaris wrote about in the New Yorker.

Well today I decided to walk by the line of television trucks that are lined up along 7^th street here in Richmond; all trying to cover the McDonald trial.  As regular readers of my blog know, I write a bit about my travels throughout the state, although they have been less lately; regular life; my hobbies (mostly sailing); nature or things that relate to nature; and an occasional gripe on politics, or may be better the polarization of politicized issues such as the environment and global warming.  I have come to the conclusion that the Supreme Court was wrong when they decided that “companies are people too.”  I really think big money is to blame for all the political impasse, controversy, polarization and anger that I see in this country.  It’s a shame, this is such a great country, and at this time in history no one seems to be able to get along.

Oh well, getting down off my soap box, I had to take a photograph of the lineup of television trucks along the street.  I even saw the vehicle of my favorite TV station in Norfolk in the lineup.  In the plaza there are lots of empty tripods, I guess that is where a certain television station or anchor put his or her claim on a few square feet to broadcast the latest and the greatest from. 

But getting back to money and politics, for those of you who are not from Virginia, judging from the television vehicles, the entire state is glued to their television sets to hear the latest and the greatest from the “trial of the century.”  Our ex-governor is on trial for allegedly taking bribes or shall we say loans from an owner of a pharmaceutical company in the hope that he would push this somewhat unproven supplement.  From the reports it seems that the ex-governor claims that it is all his wife’s doing and that he is Mr. Clean and Mr. Trustable.  No idea what the results are going to be of this trials, but one thing seems for sure: this marriage cannot be saved.  I am putting my money on the prediction that the governor and his wife will file for divorce after the trial.  The Virginia soap opera will continue.  With this photograph I just want to document that a trial is going on and the obvious excitement it evokes, at least among the journalists.