Fighting Back - Dallas man shoots, kills 2nd burglar in a month
Take the Money and Run - woman hides lottery winning, divorces husband quickly
Bad Housekeeping - more than 250 cats and dogs removed from house
On this day in history: October 16, 1996 - 84 are killed and more than 180 injured in Guatemala City when 47,000 soccer fans attempt to squeeze into 36,000 seats at Mateo Flores Stadium.
Born on this day in history: October 16, 1856 - Oscar Wilde (1856 - 1900) playwright, novelist. He was noted for his flamboyant witty, sophisticated plays, e.g., "The Importance of Being Ernest," 1895.
Scripture of the Day: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)
Video of the Day: Drunks Start a Bonfire with a Jet Engine - submitted by Frank
[While I slept] I received a telephone call from a client who said that her husband had been transferred to the San Diego office of the company for which he works, and she and her son and daughter would be moving to San Diego to unite with him as soon as their house is sold. She asked me to photograph her house so that she could provide the real estate office with high-quality images of the house to help expedite the sale. I agreed. It was decided that I would meet with her at 3 PM the following day to photograph the house.
When I arrived at the house, the woman greeted me and said that all the furniture was being sold with the house and she wished the furniture to appear prominently in the photographs. The house was a large, two-story structure, and the furniture was elegant and pristine. The house was immaculate—appearing to have been very recently dusted and vacuumed. There were no signs in any of the rooms of personal effects as I followed my client through the house and photographed it. It was is if no one lived there.
When I completed photographing the interior of the house, I photographed the landscaping and exterior at the front of the house. I then walked through the house and onto the patio at the rear of the house. The patio was large and immaculate. It featured a retractable awning, a spacious dining area, and full outdoor kitchen with large stainless-steel barbecue and matching sink, counter, and refrigerator. Beyond the patio was a beautiful garden area with cobblestone paths, wrought-iron benches, ornate bird baths, and exotic flowers, plants, and trees. I took a great many photographs of the garden.
As I was photographing the garden area, I heard the sound of laughter and splashing water. I walked along one of the cobblestone paths and came upon a beautiful pool. It was made to look like a lagoon—with rock formations at the rear and sides and a lovely white-sand beach at the front. Children were at play in the pool, and other children were at play on the beach. One child—a young girl of perhaps 10 years of age—was petting a large egret. Several other egrets walked about on the sand. I took dozens of photographs of this beautiful area and the children. Interestingly, none of the children seemed to notice that I was there, photographing them.
I returned to the house and told my client that I was done and would return to my office and put the photographs onto a DVD and give it to the real estate office. I said, "Your house is beautiful, and I should think it will sell quickly." "Thank you," she said. "I hope so." "The garden and pool area are particularly beautiful," I said. "They are truly amazing." My client gave me a questioning glance and said, "You're joking, right? We don't have a pool." I looked beyond her, through the sliding glass door at the rear of the house, and saw that there was little in the rear yard other than a small barbecue, a wooden picnic table, and a few trees. The yard was small, and a fence bordered the limits of the yard. I departed.
When I arrived at my office and viewed the photographs I had taken, the photographs of the rear yard showed only the small barbecue, the picnic table, and the scattered trees. There was no garden, no cobblestone paths, no bird baths, no exotic flora, no lagoon, and no children!
