[Leica] Falling Apart & smoking. :-(

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca)]

Tina Manley OFFERED:
Subject: Re: [Leica] Falling Apart


> That's me alright!  But I didn't quit smoking because I never started.  At
> least that's one thing I don't have to worry about.
>
> Tuesday is a better day ;-) <<<<<

Hi Tina,
Well I was going to comment about the aches and pains of supposedly growing, 
I was going to say  "OLD!" But that's a word for "OLD PEOPLE!" Usually those 
who have no young thoughts, nor young of heart! Hell many of them were old 
at age 14 and never got over it! :-(

However we, as you and I and yes many of the crew, are young of heart and 
thought. Still get the aches and pains, WHY? Well in many cases derived from 
our youthful travelling through time capturing magical moments of the folks 
of the world. Or some other youthful, but crazy things we did because we 
were young enjoying every moment... sometimes in a bit of a, shall we say? 
Reckless dare devil fashion led not by brain power. But "Why not lets do it! 
:-)  What the hell?" :-) A wonderful attitude! Although it can.... get you 
killed! :-)

And there's nothing these days worse than a Monday when you wake up and you 
think it's Saturday and the weekend to do nothing like the old days of 
supposedly "working!" :-) As for photographers "working?" That word isn't in 
our vocabulary! Work is moving concrete blocks, what we did and do, although 
in a somewhat slow motion kind of way these days was/is "making happy snaps" 
people were only to pleased to pay for our youthful efforts!!" :-)

But when I'm in a state of aches, pains, Tylenol and pain killers of sorts I 
don't think bad and say... "Damn you were stupid and not careful and you 
shouldn't have done:

Driven Stock cars and had those crashes!
Driven Sprint cars and had those crashes!
Had those two icy road crashes and roll over's in the winter!
The helicopter ride dropping like a fast falling brick to the arctic ice 
cabin filled with smoke!
Thrown out of the speed boat as the last image of the assignment finished.
Being hit by three football defensemen on the sideline at the same time with 
the ball carrier!
The two ski equipped airplane crash landings on the arctic ice in two days.
Hit by a flying wheel off a stock car while shooting from the infield.
The not perfect landing on my first and only solo parachute jump.

And there's probably a couple more things in there all in the name of being 
a photojournalist! :-)

But you know what? I wouldn't change any of it for one second! Other than 
trying to be home when my children had birthdays or special school events or 
"other them growing-up when I should have been there."

And Tina apart from us both being photographers we have one other thing in 
common. I never smoked! My tiny mother gave me an option I never 
challenged.... "If you smoke like your father I will kill you!" Seemed a 
reasonable reason not to smoke. :-) So I never did. :-)

Some days it... "the body" some place or other hurts and aches like the 
devil. Then I think about my incredible life and say to myself about the 
aches and pains! "GET OVER IT!" They're just the trophies of a great life! 
:-)

cheers,
Dr. ted