"The Saga of Our Lifetime"

I truly hope I get to see the Araneta Coliseum some time next week. Of the many things to take place there over the past 40-or-so years, it's the greatest fight of the 20th century that draws me in - enough to wanna stand right where it happened.

Fascinating isn't it - how we take something so ugly, violent and brutal and romanticize it till it becomes something of beauty? That's because on some level we can relate. None of us will ever be what either of the two men in this movie were and that's what makes it so romantic. If neither one of these guys spent years training far beyond what any of us is willing to do, there would have been a one-round knockout in Manila, not a Thrilla. Hell, maybe neither would have shown up. Not to mention, any one of us could have fought instead.

Think about how dramatic of a show it would have been had Ali or Frazier walked out and knocked out or even worse, killed, the other one in just a few rounds. It would be even more romantic. This one was ugly and Ali had to do whatever it took to win. In this case it was to lean on the ropes and score points while holding on to go nearly the distance. I hardly think Ali intended for this fight to end the way it did when he was training. He took what he got and he was damn happy w/ what he got.

You can prepare all you want for the fight you're expecting to have, and in some cases your opponent isn't much of a challenge and the surprises are at a minimum - if any at all. You can call the round or point to the outfield. Then there's the Fraziers of the world and even though they lose, they don't lose enough to be predictable. It's the Fraziers that make you happy you win - no matter if it was how you wanted it. It's the winner who did whatever it took and did it better.

There is no Frazier and no Ali in our day-to-day lives. There is no glorious match where one is victorious forever. It's a series of incredible matches and you won't be around for the winning announcement. There is a life-long battle between you and your greatest opponent - yourself. The fight isn't pretty and it's hardly entertaining enough watch, but it's brutal all the same. Not just wanting to, but actually getting in the ring and fighting w/ everything is the process of success. If you aren't willing to get pounded on, don't get in the ring.

Wetting the Tongue

My classes are registered and I am now officially beginning the ending of my undergraduate degree. I can't help but begin to reflect on my experience. Simply put, I didn't get what I wanted out of it. A lot of that is because I didn't have what I wanted to give. That's an old formula. However, I didn't expect to get what I did.

I had an interesting thought about and idea I came up w/ a few months ago.

As you probably know - I had the incredible experience of actively visiting Cambodia this summer. My primary job was to shoot photos at various assignments, many of which were at orphanages.

One of two women who ran one of these particular orphanage explained her frustration at how they put all this effort and energy into each one of these kids, only to have their parents come back and bring them to the horrible conditions they came from just a few months before.

I told her what she'd done wasn't in vain. Simply introducing the kids to a better life and allowing them to experience it could be just enough to give them the idea of wanting to achieve more. The same could be said for my education.

I will be thirsty for knowledge the rest of my life, thanks to the quality of what little I got. It was actually a ton now that I look back - using that education of course. My college experience was not what I expected, but couldn't have been more useful for the rest of my life.

Hello S95

Yeah - so I got one.

It was time to move on from my beloved G10 for a myriad of reasons. The biggest was being able to fit this camera into my pocket. It also retains all the manual functions of the G10 and an SLR. Needless to say I'm a happy camper - but I said it anyway.

This recent upgrade definitely marks the re-invigoration of my interest/passion in photography. Thanks in no small part to Bill Stevenson. I can't even begin to describe how fortunate I feel to be studying under his guidance for this last semester of my undergraduate degree.

Another Promise

I should have stuck this landing and there's one simple reason I didn't. I'm not strong enough. And that doesn't necessarily mean muscle strength, although that is a major part of the equation.



"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." - Muhammad Ali

Mike and Bill

Today was was exceptionally interesting on many fronts. First was being able to time a day w/ Lance, who I don't get to see much when the snow isn't flying. He recently completed rehab after surgery on his torn left rotator cuff in time to have his right rotator cuff operated on Tuesday. These surgeries are about four or five years in the making. It's about time. No less, it was great to sit around and geek out on camera stuff all day w/ a good buddy and someone at the same relative skill level as me.

Aside from spending time w/ a good friend, it was the people I met today and their stories that astounded me.

Waiting in line for the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, I was hoping to use my 90-minute wait time to screw around w/ time lapses on the G10 - which I finally got back from Canon and fully refurbished. Instead, a man wearing a "US Navy Retired" hat stepped out of the van parked in line ahead of me and walked toward me - clearly looking at the base stickers on my windshield. I unintentionally made eye contact w/ him and he came over to talk. First thing I noticed, aside from his hat, was the revolver on his hip.

My first thought was a question about why he felt he wanted it to be so obviously visible. Afterall, he was clearly on some kind of vacation camping trip. I was thrown for a loop by his British Columbia license plates - even more so after he boldly identified himself as a good "Rush-loving" conservative. Why the gun in the holster? Why be so outward w/ constant references to Ronald Reagan and wear your active duty US Navy rank (lieutenant commander gold leaf) on your hat if you're not even living in the US anymore?

It got only more odd as I conversed.

"I've got my 16-year-old daughter with me and we're on a camping trip to Port Angeles," he casually said - although it was clear that was just a segway to something else. I figured he just wanted to talk about his kids and that's just what he did.

"It's been a hell of a week. My 14-year-old-son just took his own life last week," he said.

Imagine sitting in your hippied-out 1980 VW Westfalia van, hoping it won't catch on fire in the hot weather and completely consumed w/ something so benign as making time lapses and then you have this guy standing at your window. As different as we were, we had that one thing in common. His hat said it all.

He went on to tell me how he adopted his son from Russia. The boy was a multiple amputee who seemed to have trouble fitting in. Internet bullying came into play and from what Mike says, it came from the girls his age. Yep, it was via Facebook.

He never mentioned the kid's name, but talked about how the kids who may have harassed his son rallied around him after death - to the tune of more than 400. It was really something to see how social media contributed to this kid's death and than helped make his death easier to deal w/ for his friends and family.

The kid had a recent surgery and was prescribed Oxycodone (Oxycotton) during the recovery. He says the boy stashed the pills and didn't take them as prescribed, but took many of them at the same time, causing an overdose. He also shot himself.

Mike bought him a 22-caliber gun and took him to the range some weeks before the suicide. He talked about how he tried to count the brass (shells) on the range, but never found them all. It's tough to account for them all as they're bouncing all over the place. But according to Mike, his son stashed one round for his new gun they used at the range that day. It was the same bullet he used to take his own life later.

Mike wanted to talk about two things today - being a conservative and his son's death. I don't know why he wanted to talk to me about either of them. In both cases, and any other instance, sometimes people just want to talk to someone. And those base stickers on my van told Mike I was someone who could listen and help him out.

I don't know what to think of it really. It's just something to think about I guess. The military really is a fraternity. For the better or worse, it will always be there for us.

The next person I met was Bill. I was setting up my time lapse off the fantail of the ferry when he became obviously curious what I was doing w/ a laptop and a small camera on a tripod. We started chatting.

He too was on his way to Port Angeles. He and his wife recently moved there from Key West after selling his fly fishing guide service. I don't know why, but he wanted to talk to me. He wanted me to listen. He told me about life in Key West using a fly rod for game fish. It was remarkable. As we talked he told me he too used to work in the ski industry - as the head of marketing for the Aspen Ski Company. What a small world.

Bill was very pleased w/ his professional accomplishments. In addition to his accomplishments in the ski world, he owned a fly fishing shop near Aspen that seemingly did well. He sold his company to Aspen for a lot of money and used that to pursue his dream in Key West. After he and his wife got sick of it there, they found their way to Port Angeles - from a direction sign in Key West no less.

Just as they settled into life in Port Angeles over this past year things got complicated. Bill and his wife were returning from a trip this week to Harborview. She's got cancer. I don't know why but Bill wanted to tell me about it. All I wanted to do was shoot time lapses. We just had something in common - skiing and fly fishing. Maybe it was being men. I don't know.

Bill and Mike are two VERY different people. They likely wouldn't get along. I can't even pin down why except they are much too different. They saw some kind of commonality in me. Why?

I'm in the gray of a very black-and-white world. I don't identify with any group. The people who know me in the action sports world think I'm great at being in the military and the military folks think I'm Mr. Action Sports. Truth is that I'm neither. Let's not forget about the people who don't know anything about either of those two very endemic worlds - they seem to think I'm the best at both or more. For as painful as that really is for me it's a good place to be.

I don't suppose there's any great point to get out of a day like today. Today was just another day and Bill and Mike are just everyday people - and so are all of you.