More Birds

I like them. I kinda wish I was a bird. I can't help but shoot them. It reminds me that nature does exist.

All I have to do is earn some wings and I can fly as well. Earn? Yeah. Maybe after I die I will just get a pair of wings. I just have to prove I want them.

Does the desire to travel count as proof that I want to fly? Probably not. Wings are awarded to those creatures that necessitate the means to move from one land to another far away land just to survive changes in their habitat. Desire is not enough.

I should probably find a reason better than desire. It's in there somewhere.

I lIkes v.3

SEMI Retirement

February was a great month.

I had the opportunity to work on a great story for AARP. You know...American Association for Retired Persons. Well actually, they don't really go by that now. Its just AARP.

I got to shoot an new video.

They did a story on people who decide to change careers in their 50s. I spent a week traveling with the perfect all-American family from Bel Air, Maryland to Dallas, Texas. Jack and Eloise Murtaugh spent most of their lives working in sales. They met each other after previous marriages. After a few years they realized the benefits of joining a trucking company. They could work together, travel, see family spread all over the country. In the bigger picture, they saw trucking as a real opportunity to transition into retirement. They are done raising their children..but they don't want to move away yet. They get to travel...but they still earn needed money.

The Murtaugh's were incredibly kind and generous people. They were open and responded with genuine answers. They invited me into their house and offered me a place to stay. I had to constantly turn their offers down and remind them about my ethical limits.

It was really quite interesting to see their home within the truck. It was home. Eloise was living it up. She sparred no expense in making the truck comfortable. To Jack, trucking was still a job...to Eloise, trucking was a lifestyle.

It was certainly an assignment I will remember for a while.

Hillary

I got to cover Hillary Clinton as she passed through Ft. Worth en route to Dallas.

Unlike the small cold rally in Dallas, this was large and really makes me anxious to see who wins on Tuesday. There were estimates of 10,000, 12,000 and then 13,000 people. Really, I think there were around 8,000. But numbers are hard to tell. The point is, there were numbers. And large numbers there were.

Obama clearly has the edge on young people, but I think Hillary takes the votes from the country side as well as the older population. She is just conservative enough to attract those who want change but are too scared to veer away from what they feel comfortable with. It is strange that it is so difficult to match change with comfort. Maybe it is that people want to change as long as they don't have to give up their comforts.

Hillary made some jokes. Her voice a little raspy from the long campaign. I think she still has the drive though. She clearly hasn't given up, despite what I agree is a strong media bias toward the "Barakstar" that is Obama.

The one thing I know is that I want whoever loses on Tuesday to give it up. I'm afraid that too much delay will only help McCain, and further delay the possibility of change.