A title of a Van Halen song I like but more importantly the message in those simple words is “finish what you started.” It’s time in my life to be a good finisher again. I keep letting myself get knocked off the path.
Ops. Photo by Mike Hartley
I’ve gotten lazy in the last few years and it’s time to turn that around. Well not lazy with all the work I do but far from as focused on the right things as I should be.
You don’t live life to wipe out. You live byriding them all the way. Photo by Mike Hartley
So here we go on a mission. I’ve made some good progress on some photo projects that I’d like to display and hope to knock out another 25 prints tonight.
I also got a start on my cooking practice tonight and made a Brie Spaghetti. And here it is time already to start work for the job that pays the bills. Well at least for a little while longer.
Random Thoughts of the Day
Last worknight of the week. Life is good.
I am starting a prediction list. I want to see if I have any foresight.
Birds aren’t colorblind. I think they have an affection for red and white cars.
I don’t know who is having more fun. My grandchildren riding on whatever toy or box they want to be pushed or pulled in or me who is doing the pushing and pulling.
When you get older each meeting with old friends is a little more special.
By the time I finished editing, I had 89 photos so instead of piling them on here, I put a gallery up on my Zenfolio site, link below. The first 15 were posted yesterday. The first 2/3 of the shoot it was pretty dark out. Got some better shots as time went on. 6:45 am to 9 am between 33rd and 45th streets.
I didn’t know you could pull waves along. Photo by Mike Hartley
Wishing I was smelling that salt air but nope, back to reality and the thought of work tonight. Sort of like doing a face plant.
But not all is lost. A refreshed spirit. A renewed sense of hope and inspiration. Time is taken to reflect and plan. A relaxed mind and attention to the body. Learning to let things run off my back. Seeing things closing in and putting some distance between them and me. Learning to turn on a dime when called for instead of a straight path. Being mentally strong, taking a shot, and still coming out upright. Not letting highs and lows affect the focus.
Surfing has a lot in common with life. Maybe I should try it when this shoulder heals or is fixed.
Actually, I shot these on the morning of July 9th. I got up early to do 2 things. I wanted to see what damage that tropical storm had done overnight and I wanted a couple of minutes of solitude on the beach. I was thinking about my Dad who passed 55 years ago this day. I told my daughter I would be back in 30 minutes when I left. The sun had risen but you couldn’t tell with the heavy cloud cover.
I like the water and I believe my Dad loved it. He was a career Navy man till his medical discharge. A veteran of WWII in the Pacific on a Destroyer. Also a Korean vet and Operation Deep Freeze Task Force 43. I wish I had a chance to know the man much better and get his experience and wisdom, I hope he is proud of me.
I also know my father-in-law loved the beach. Also former military.
I was stunned by the crowd on the beach so I hung back in the sand for a few moments because I was having trouble with my composure thinking of my father and my recently passed in-laws. But as a few guys with boards passed by I heard their excitement and chuckled to myself. So I wiped a tear from my eye and proceeded down to the water where it was thriving with people much earlier than normal.
I’ve been getting in the habit of carrying my camera with me all the time now and using it more. I had thrown it over my neck when I went out just in case of dramatic damage from the winds. But I soon discovered a unique day. The winds were blowing offshore for a change of pace. The water was alive with hundreds of surfers. A very friendly group of people. Several came up and asked if I would be posting pictures. I told them my blog name and they also suggested a Facebook group called Ocean City Maryland Surfing so added them there also.
I completely lost track of time and 2 hours later I had a ton of images. I had felt as gloomy as the skies that morning when I touched the sand. As I walked off it the sun was shining through and my spirits were positive. Just one of the many times in life I feel like someone who’s passed is looking out for me. I could have easily gone back to bed in sadness, or just sat on the balcony and missed some great action in the water and interactions with friendly surfers. Maybe someone got my backside out there for a purpose.
Have a great day all.
Random Thoughts of the Day
A cold Coke in a glass bottle always taste much better.
Only a few more years tilll every day is a vacation day.
Time to remove the beach unintentionally bright back from the shore from the SUV.
I think I’ll schedule a day off for a day trip to the beach soon in the convertible.
Went out this morning and caught a few waves. Well more accurately I caught some people on waves, I was onshore with the camera. It was so overcast early when the waves were good I didn’t get the sharpness I had hoped for. That and my slow lens and lack of skills kept things less than optimal. I’ll add more excuses later with the next batch.
Early morning waves were the best but cloudy conditions made it tough. Photos by Mike Hartley.
I’ve got dozens more to edit and will post some of the better ones later today. I asked to join the OC Facebook site today so I’ll post some there if they accept my membership.
I learned surfers are a friendly bunch of people. I learned both old and young can surf. I learned there is some good from strong storms. But I also know that with a torn shoulder muscle I’m not strong enough to swing in that mess.
