A Thousand Words
By Jock Lauterer
Every picture tells a story. Case in point: For more than 20 years, this black-and-white photo of Paul McCartney has hung in the office of Winston Cavin, a 22-year veteran of the N&O now serving as a much-beloved lecturer at the J-school. Up until recently, Cavin, a lifelong Beatles fan (12-year-old Winston actually saw the Beatles at their iconic American concert in Shea Stadium, August 1965), attributed the photo to “some kid from N.C. State.†Cavin recalls that after McCartney’s July 1990 Carter-Finley Stadium concert (which Cavin and his wife, Pam, also attended), the student-photographer begged his way into the N&O darkroom to develop the film and print the photos. Subsequently, this 8-by-10 glossy ended up with Cavin. Fast-forward to the present: Via an email from an old N&O associate, Cavin recently learned the identity of the photographer. It was the work of the late Chris Hondros, 41, a much-decorated combat photojournalist who was killed on April 20 during a rocket attack by government forces in Misrata, Libya, while covering the Libyan civil war. Hondros grew up in Fayetteville, took photo classes at the UNC J-School and graduated from N.C. State. As Cavin concludes, “It’s a small world, small world, man.†And getting smaller. This summer Cavin travels to China to teach journalism to staffers at China.org.cn.
A THOUSAND WORDS
Do you have an important old photo that you value? Email your photo to jock@email.unc.edu and include the story behind the picture. Because every picture tells a story. And its worth? A thousand words.
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