We’re nearly finished with the first decade of the 21st century. And what a troubled eight years it has been. 2008 will be remembered as the year of contrasts: Americans elected their first African-American president; meanwhile, the economic slide threatens to bury us in a scree of debt. North Carolinians chose their first woman governor, whose first task in office will be to deal with the state’s 8 percent unemployment rate. Yet between the wild mood swings, there were plenty of plaintive moments that, while they speak less loudly, make up the variegated fabric of our lives. As you’ll see on the next few pages, Indy staff photographers D.L. Anderson and Jeremy M. Lange bore witness to many of those moments. To quote from the movie One Hour Photo: “No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget.” Lisa Sorg
