DEBORAH COPAKEN KOGAN

Eighteen years ago, I clipped the front page of a USA Today from August of 1991, which I've been storing in a file drawer ever since. Not because I shot the lead photo but because I am the lead photo, the lone woman in the crowd who dared to jump up on a tank, argue with its driver, and take a stand against communist hardliners. Except as any of you who've read Shutterbabe might remember, the caption is completely false. I was no Russian hero. I was just short, and American, and a coup was taking place, and I couldn't see a damned thing. In honor of the anniversary of the Soviet coup (which is really next week, but I'll be on vacation) and of misinformation everywhere, I finally made a scan of that newspaper clipping this morning before it and I crumble into dust. Check out the image on the left.