As I stated in my brother’s obituary, freelance storm chasing was a form of therapy for him. He got paid for it and I know for a fact he helped save many lives, for which I am very proud. This passion—touching the wild edges of destruction—also gave him the professional cover to be a little crazy.
Perhaps these storms were a physical manifestation of the battle happening inside his mind. While he could not tame them, he could at least document them, and in a way, make sense of this incredible natural phenomenon.
I wish Michael had taken to conventional therapy, because maybe, just maybe, he would still be taking pictures as gripping as these below.
I initially intended to print and hang this photo I retrieved from his Instagram of one of his storm chases in Lone Grove, Oklahoma in 2013. I wanted a tangible memento of what he called a “beautiful disaster” to bring me closer to my own complicated, beautiful disaster of a brother. Instead, you got in the way. After I posted my intentions on social media, many of you asked to purchase your own copy of this photo which led me to my next inspiration.
Sunbeam Family Services is a counseling service in Oklahoma City that offers sliding scale payments. Their staff tells me there are testimonials of clients who said helping to close that financial gap saved their life. I chose a local charity because I feel confident the donations are going to a place I trust (a dear friend is on the board) and to a city that’s severely impacted by a vicious cycle of addiction, mental illness, and crime. It’s been a long-held goal to produce a documentary that attempts to offer solutions where government has come up empty. I am sure that one day that will be my form of therapy, but for now giving others the opportunity to purchase Michael’s talent as a charitable donation to Sunbeam is my humble alternative.
If you would like to join me in honoring Michael’s memory, please email celebratemichaelratliff@gmail.com with your preferred size and color listed below and your mailing address. You can send payment to me via Kash app, Venmo, or paypal.me/rikkicheri. The price covers postage and the cost to print. The balance will all be donated to Sunbeam. I’m figuring this out as I go and as I grieve, so please forgive the clumsy process. If I can figure out how to give you a tax receipt I will forward that when I can.
I cannot bring my brother back, but perhaps together we can help save someone else’s brother, where money may be one of the many obstacles to receiving the mental health support they need.
UPDATE: God bless Sunbeam for setting up a streamlined process for you to place an order and donate here. Thanks to the generosity of friends (and some strangers!), since July 11, we have been able to pay for over 41 counseling sessions. Somehow knowing this helps my heart heal, even just a little.
Available in 5x7 ($25) OUT OF STOCK IN COLOR 8X10
Available in 5x7 ($25) or 8x10 ($35).