On the attack with Zak...

It had been almost a decade since I had seen her last, but she was back.

Jill Herink had last been our way in 2003 when daughter, Ashley was in as part of our biggest MHS class in Stewart Photography history.  No less than 120 Bobcat seniors came our way that year, and evidently I did something right... because nine years later, Jill brought her son, Zakary, in for more.

There was lots of catching up to do on both ends... Jill is now the Principal of Meskwaki Settlement High School... and Ashley has a family of her own down in McCalla, Alabama (undoubtedly licking her wounds after her Crimson Tide went DOWN this weekend to Texas A&M).   And while our system has remained virtually the same since Ash was in... it was time to show little brother Zak how things roll in Montour.

Like most guys, Zak came in with one main idea or inspiration... and the rest was kinda "mom's deal."   So... we knew we had to bang out some killer tae kwon do images at some point, but other than that... it was just time to do our thing.

It was a Friday, which always leads to good moods all around... we talked about Zak playing bass drum in the Bobcat Marching Band... we debated on the merit of Purple Cherry moving their location... we discussed local socioeconomic issues among area school districts... you know... just the run-of-the-mill session around here.  ;)

But, like I'm wont to do, I decided to push Zak's primary want to the END of our agenda that Friday.   Why?   To keep his attention, of course.   Doing the ONE reason he's here at the very beginning of the session wouldn't be smart on my end.   Best to save the best for last!

So, after getting the black shirt, red shirt and plaid shirt cranked out... it was finally time to bust out some kicks, some chops and some boards with blocks.

I was impressed with Zak's precision and body control on some of these spin moves.  The extent of my knowledge here kinda begins and ends with recollections of Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja... so, naturally... I was leaning on Zak to show me the ropes and then let me tweak it from there.  So while he was launching himself in the air and spinning and kicking... I thought for SURE he was gonna wreck me... or his mom... or himself... or SOMETHING in the camera room... But surprisingly... that was far from the case.   Everything was precise... compact and very accurate.   That made my job easy... and the result is the killer collage that leads of our blog.   Good job outta you, Zak!

So, I sent the Herinks out the door that Friday, telling them that our insane wait time would probably get worse before it got better, and they assured me it was no big deal.

That two week delay turned into three... and finally.. here we are.   Hope the wait is worth the payoff.   A lot has changed in a decade's time... but one thing that hasn't, is that corners don't get cut around here.   I would hope that Ashley felt that way in 2003... and it's my hope that brother Zak feels the same in 2012.

Thanks for your patience Team Herink!