Paul Lester Photo

Combat Chuck!
Regarding some people, I guess that you can just tell by their steely eyed glare what adjective you should put in front of their name! More of how he got that name, shortly.

I spent a fantastic Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning with Combat Chuck, or CC for short. Chuck, of Chuckography, lives in Charleston, SC, my old stomping grounds. I first met Chuck back September of 2008 when I attended his meet-up group called: 21st Century Photography (Digital & Film) Meetup Group – He admits that it’s a bit of a mouthful. Since that meeting, I’ve followed his blog and kept up with him. We’ve kept up, off an on via email, too. Later, we hooked up again in July of 2009 for the Charleston Photowalk, my first walk – a walk, incidentally, that I did with film.

He invited me down this weekend to do a group shoot of the sunset with his meet up group. We had a good time and spent lots of time talking, getting to know each other better. The shoot was pretty good. I met a number of people in his group, but it was seriously cold and windy. Most of us had hats/hoods on and were looking for a bit of shelter from the wind. It was a nice sunset with lots of contrails to photograph and add interest.

We decided to skip this restaurant, which is where we met to do the shoot, and eat somewhere else less crowded. We stopped at a little sports bar off the beaten path, had a couple of ocean burgers (hamburger with shrimp on it). We were saving the good meal for today, Hyman’s!

This morning, after we ate a light breakfast, we headed down to Hyman’s. Seems, as of late, each time that I go down there I want to eat at Hyman’s. Each time that I eat there, I have the Crispy Flounder, their special. This time, I promised myself to try something different … I usually fail, though. However, this time, I emerged triumphantly! I got the broiled haddock and it was, as expected, wonderful. Hyman’s never disappoints. Never! Add to that some spicy Buffalo shrimp and a crab cake and you have a meal fit for a king!

As for his name, Combat Chuck – Well, he was in the Marines, but that’s not where he got his name. He got it in Starbucks this morning. When the barista handed me my tea, he simply said: “Tall Chai Latte for Paul”; however, when he handed Chuck his coffee, he said: (I forget the name of the coffee) “for Combat Chuck”. Well, I suppose the name just stuck.

Thanks, Chuck for all of the great Southern Hospitality! Oh! One final word. Chuck has a great shower in his home. It has 6 shower heads!!! Only one word suffices to describe the experience: Decadent! I’m usually in and out of the shower quickly, but not this morning. No, not at all.