Didn't See That Coming

Lunch time for me and a bird

2009-05-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Imagine walking along the sidewalk and suddenly this hunk of dirt falls out of the sky and drops at your feet, totally unexpected. Well, I was headed for the pool after lunch under the coconut trees with my hubby when--plop!-- a hunk of dirt flew across my path and dropped to the sidewalk as if it were raining dirt bombs.

Again. Another flying—plop! Now I saw some rustling in the plant in an urn next to the sidewalk. I stared into the plant and saw a bird scratching for his lunch. He could only spare a moment to glance my way but when our eyes met, I smiled and snapped his photo. It was delightful sharing a moment in space with that bird and his petrified lunch who was hanging onto a twig for his dear life.

Surely the caterpillar was holding his breath, hoping Mr. Bird hadn't spotted him camouflaged on the twig, but I am sure that with a little more tugging and pulling, Mr. Bird had lunch before I got to the pool.

2009-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Dinner Party

First, invitations for 12 to an upper room
A guest of honor, ceremony, singing
Communion, a remembrance of His promise to come again
"I will not eat of this bread or drink of this cup until...you and I become one."

His farewell shook the earth, blackened the sky.
Friends mourned His leaving not knowing
The Father above was planning the first Easter surprise
The Lord's Day--a resurrection--a coming again!

The guest of honor has gone to prepare a dwelling place
With streets of gold in heavenly places.
We're invited too, but He led the way.
Because He lives, we too shall live evermore.
If these things were not so, surely He would have told us.
Peace be unto you. -Patricia Wiskur

Sunshine Smiles

2009-04-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Photography! What a blast! You meet the greatest people and you see beyond the obvious. There is something about sticking a camera in someone’s face that peels off their outer façade. Sometimes you run into a brick wall. The subject draws a line in the sand: “OK, take your stickin’ photo, but I won’t like it.” On other, joyous times, the subject responds, “Oh, you want to take MY picture!” and the magic begins.
“MC” was one of those magic times. She was a model hired for a photography class. She had more than 20 photography students and professional photographers clicking away, giving her directions and asking somewhat silly questions. Like, why the name “MC”? Turns out it is short for “Marie Claire.”
For three hours MC climbed rocks in the desert sun as we propped our cameras on tripods and snapped away, her porcelain character magnified by the sun. She espoused a joyous nature, and reminded me that great models are beautiful on the outside and the inside and that the camera reveals inner beauty as well.
Being a true amateur, however, I drove my instructor crazy. He wanted to grab my camera and smash it on the rocks. As I turned to take his photo, he saw instantly that I grip my camera improperly. He had already touched on the basics of photography before we even took our cameras out of our bags. No doubt when he saw me gripping my camera like a chimpanzee, he nearly lost it. I continued to snap his photo as he reached down inside himself and kept from exploding into a rant. How can you not be entranced by someone who feels so passionately about his craft that he gets fired up over camera grip. Had I not pointed the camera his direction, I would not have glimpsed his idealism. Thus the rollercoaster ride of photography.

Two for Brunch

2009-03-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

We were having brunch on a terrace restaurant overlooking the Sea of Cortez. All things were good. I was having one of those postcard, "Wish you were here" moments.

Sparrows fluttered nearby, like in Cinderella, hoovering over bread crumbs on leftover trays of food, cleared from guests' tables.

I felt as free as a bird myself, being on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, where we spent at least 18 hours a day out of doors and mostly on the beach.

Lunching next to us was this couple, living the good life, relaxing, eating, reading the day's news, and no doubt planning their long day in the sun as we were. They didn't speak but signed their conversations.They were relaxed and comfortable with each other: a testament to a life shared. They intrigued me so, I clicked off their photo in secret. Rarely would I ever take a photo of someone unbeknown to them, but I was smitten by this couple who reminded me that it is the simple things we share with the ones we love that are the most dear.

Blogosphere

2008-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Why the attempt to Blog?

I've always seen the grass as greener on the other side. Since others blog, therefore I blog.

Also, I was blindsided by life in the real world; hence the title for my Blog, "Didn't See THAT Coming!"

Sadly, I've visualized myself becoming famous ever since a child. It's problematic that my brain travels a winding path.

An early fantasy was to become a world-famous figure skater like Sonja Henning (those born during the ice age are familiar with her career). The dream to become a champion skater diminished sometime during eighth grade when I saw myself as an atomic scientist.

Both aspirations had little foundation. I lived in Wisconsin and loved to ice skate. I progressed as far as the swan dive, skating across the ice with my arms flapping and one leg stuck in the air. And as far as being a scientist, I just really loved drawing photos of the atom and the vocabulary that went with it...fusion, fission, neutron, proton...

Then there was the time I saw myself as a cartoonist and carried a 64-crayon box on top of my stack of books. Need I say more. Admittedly, I'm self absorbed.