the Boardwalk

Footprints left behind,

In the ocean of my mind,

Memories captured.

—Janet
Haiku #6

I’ve shared this image before, in Pier Madness, but it was severely manipulated and I don’t like that version anymore. The girl taking the iPhone pic is an old schoolmate, and our friendship was the inspiration behind the Haiku.

It’s still raining, and they say it should continue for a couple more days. I’m actually loving it (my comfort weather), but we’re keeping an eye on the news. Some of our friends live in areas that were damaged by fires recently, so you just never know what’s coming.

Pier Madness

Some people wait so long for their ship to come in, their pier collapses. -John Goddard-

I am checking another item off of the 55 things list; took a photo underneath a pier. In all honesty, it may very well be the first time that I even stood under a pier! That I can remember, anyway. We did lots of family outings at this beach when I was a kid, so it’s pretty hard to say.

What’s funny is that I took quite a few shots, but the lighting is terrible under there! This was the best I could find, but the only thing that was a little “off” about it was that it captured my friend taking her photo, too! I thought about cropping it, but it just didn’t seem right. Plus her being there is what makes it so special! A special memory indeed! So… this image is very personal to me. 🙂

Good times and crazy friends make the best memories.

There were too many straight lines for my taste, so I did a little distortion and made the colors more vibrant. I actually like this one very much.

Anyway, I’m going to slow down on the edits now. Do you know that I was looking at my numbers and in January I did 98 posts! That’s an average of 3.16 a day! No wonder I was feeling like I was in high gear!

Off to my recovery class now.

Peace and Love!!

Tree of Love

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips it’s turn. Hal Borland

A dear friend of mine gave us this tree when my dad passed away, and we planted it in a memorial garden in the backyard. Needless to say, watching all of these little heart shaped leaves spring forth every year is extra special.

Have a beautiful day everyone! ♥♥♥

Precious Memories

I’ve been a little weepy this past week. The strangest thing triggered it, too. My very first LONG road trip was in 2002 or 2003. My two youngest sons and I drove from California to Georgia to see my oldest graduate from boot camp. I encouraged him to see the world, so he took my advice and left for Germany not long after this photo of us was taken.
georgia
It was a wonderful and memorable trip that I’ll NEVER forget. Fort Worth Texas was one of our stops and they had beautiful lights up, and a horse and carriage trotting through the street. It was magical!

I have one photo that I took of my three boys at the base, after the ceremony—just after I pinned my son’s Infantry Blue Cord onto his uniform. My boys were all smiles in the photo. Not until later did I notice another soldier standing behind them, to their right. Everywhere else in the background you see families, happy and hugging, and there was this young man—alone, and staring ahead. His cord was still in his hand. I’m not sharing it out or respect for his anonymity.

I don’t know why but I’m in tears even now when I write this! His face, for some reason, is forever etched in my mind. I have no idea what his story was, or where his family was, but I know that if I had noticed him at the time- I would have gone over to him. It’s one of those things where you wish you could go back and do a do-over.

Anyhow, I cried for him the other night when I saw that photo again. It’s likely he ended up being shipped to Afghanistan, and I just prayed that he’s alive and happy somewhere.

I know—strange story. It’s been on my mind for a week now and I needed to write about it and get it off of my chest.

All in all, the trip is another precious memory I hold on to. And this story itself is a great reminder to me: Be grateful. Love and hug your family often, and never take your life—or theirs—for granted. Always be kind and look out for others, even strangers. They may not have what you have, and may be in dire need a smile, a hug, or just an encouraging word.

Or maybe someone to pin their Infantry Blue Cord onto their uniform.

Keeping it Simple

I have a plethora of things to write about lately. My mind has been spinning in all kinds of wonderful directions! But, I’m not going to write today.

This image was taken when I was on my way to Denver (I was the passenger, so no danger there). I didn’t notice the sign until I got home. Perfect for the Holiday coming up.

Don’t be a turkey

Back at the Ranch

I took this photograph on the way to Tennessee; at Cadillac Ranch. I found the place on google when I was searching for things to do on the long ride across the country. It’s worth seeing—if you happen to be passing through Texas and haven’t been there before.

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What’s funny is that I really wanted to do a travel blog when we took that trip, but I never did it. I didn’t feel like spending time on the computer after doing all of the driving and having so little time to visit the sights.

Anyway, I had some fun with this one in both color and black and white.