Today I gave the service for my local Ogden, Utah Unitarian Universalist Church. The theme for the 3rd Sunday of each month is “making meaning.” Below is what I said after my wife Arlene sang Carrie Newcomer’s song “Holy As The Day Is Spent.” Its a beautiful song by a very talented poet and musician.
I’ve been thinking.
I know, it’s a dangerous thing to do. Thinking. Feeling, observing… Worried, is Big Brother watching me? Will I be labeled a domestic terrorist if I speak out? Can I trust anyone?
A year ago this week my older brother Don died. He was a funny brother, keenly observant, and a history buff. He used his wry sense of humor to help me understand how politicians work. He was the one who introduced me to the Daily Show and Jon Stewart in 2005. I learned a lot from the Daily Show - comedians are really just educators. Don was even cracking jokes until his last day on this planet. Don and I both became public high school teachers.
At his celebration of LIFE, former students and colleagues spoke of how Don connected with them. They said how he encouraged them to be the best “YOU” you can be. Don’t worry about what others may think of you. Be true to yourself. When he passed. Students at Pt Loma High organized a Don Szalay Day. Not because he was the beloved full-time AP history teacher. No. My brother connected with so many students because he was a full-time substitute teacher. It didn’t matter if he taught math, history, or an elective. He always wore a Hawaiian Shirt, followed his heart, and told history stories in a variety of classrooms.
My teaching career happened by accident. And it started here in Ogden. I came to Utah in 1994 to be the Chief Photographer at the Standard Examiner. I loved being a photojournalist, and most of my career was in San Diego working for small community newspapers. Like professional baseball, I advanced from the minor league of small-town papers to the big league and worked for the San Diego Union-Tribune. I was (still am) a visual storyteller - before social media existed. Newspapers relied on a good photograph to lure a reader into an article. I love connecting with people with my lens and capturing the nuances of LIFE. Photography is a universal language.
What I enjoyed most in that career was doing photo essays (most of which I discovered when I was asked to find a good feature or weather photo because there was no “breaking” news. One photo essay I created in 1988 was about life in a migrant camp in Oceanside, California. I wanted to document the lives of illegal migrant workers on Sundays, their one day off. The camp was called La Choncha because the men lived hidden in a ravine shaped like a conch shell. They were only a mile or two from big houses and shopping malls in sunny SoCal suburbs.
My short film/slide show begins with the men who lived at La Concha. For the viewer, it’s a peak into the life in a camp made of cardboard shacks; lean-tos covered in plastic and old mattresses scattered about. The men often ate out of cans. They’d warm up tortillas over a small fire. They bathed in the river. Some even laid little traps to catch a jack rabbit for dinner. There were no refrigerators or stoves. There was no electricity. They worked hard and enjoyed life. They sent most of their paychecks back home to support their families.
Two days ago, I went to an Eid al-Fitr gathering at a Mosque in West Valley City. Utah Muslims gathered to pray and celebrate the end of Ramadan. I met up with Somali friends I made 15 years ago while teaching refugees at West High in Salt Lake City. I learned something new that day - I always learn something. This time it was how their Islamic faith asks them to be humble. To not judge others, because no one knows what a person may have experienced. As expected of my friends, I photographed. I pressed my shutter button many times, captured one good image worthy of publication - as if I was still a paid working photojournalist (I’m not). The image shows two men greeting and hugging each other after the prayer ended. You’ll see that photo in my film. Substack is my publisher now.
I think God/ creator gave us all talents. I use mine to document to find the spark of life in humanity. I like to believe some of my photographs are visual poems. A meditation of sorts that puts me in the moment of grace. This film contains candid moments and portraits of friends, grandkids, strangers on the street and at pride festivals. What they all have in common, for me, is love. They remind me to listen to instinct and follow the golden rule:
“Do unto others as you would like done unto you.” Treat people with an open heart and be present for them.
I encourage all of us gathered in this chapel to share your talents and interests with others. Be it cooking, decorating, writing, music making or crocheting. Maybe you’re a dog or cat lover. We all have a divine gift within us. We need not be beholden to the device in our pockets demanding our attention.
Take the time to connect with a smile and a compliment. Even if it’s for a split second like a camera’s shutter speed…. To appreciate the light of life within each of us.
God Bless
Tom
March 22, 2026. UU service in Ogden, Utah
