Why is it that when people travel, even for short trips, they often take along a framed photo...or two, to remind them of home? Even when the travel is not for pleasure, let's say going away to college, or a stint in the military, a framed photo of the family helps make that temporary place more homey. Somehow, that photo reminds us that we are loved and that we always have a place to go back to when our mission is accomplished.
When I began this post I thought I remembered a frame of someone or something sitting on the 2x4 frame of my hooch in Vietnam. When I went back and looked there were no photos!
They would have been so comforting to me, even if they reminded me that I wasn't having a bad dream, that all the damp, muggy, dirty, chaos around me was real! A short retrospective look at anyone or any place might have held homesickness at bay. Photos are important to us, they remind us of who we are and what we are to others.
My home is filled with framed photos that I've taken of my family, and the wonderful places in and around where I live than make it my hometown. I have been taking photos since my first camera at Keesler AFB, in Biloxi, Mississippi about 1965.
Before that I had fooled around with mom and dad's Hawkeye Brownie, but nothing was like the colorful and sharp 35mm slide results from a "rangefinder" camera of that day. Mine was a Yasica Electro 35 SLR Rangefinder Film Camera*. I took that camera with me to 'Nam, and through it tried to show folks back home what I was experiencing.
One time I got into trouble over a slide I sent home where I pretended I was wounded! Yes, I know, not a very nice thing to do to your mother. My dad even got in touch with someone, who got in touch with my Da Nang commander. He chewed me a good one, and I never tried that again.
I suppose I was having a Brian Williams moment! But, let's not get into that.
The truth is I did get shot at a lot...it was Rocket City after all! However, other than a couple skinned knees I got sliding under my bunk during those attacks, I was never hit with enemy fire.
*I just remembered that the Yasica was given to me by Frank Boyce. He had bought a new camera at the BX and he just gave it to me. I took it everywhere I went...much like today! Boyce was my best friend. We had gone through Security Police training together, were station at Keesler together, and went to Da Nang; where we parted after a year there, and I haven't seen him since.
Back on my intended purpose for this impromptu blog post, I just wanted to point out that my wife is my biggest fan and supporter. It's always been that way, and I love her for it. She has always been in my corner; urging me onward. It's her applause that filled the need I have inside to be appreciate and to succeed. She's the one I get the most feedback from regardless of what I'm doing or have done. No one else tells me what I want to hear...whether it be good or bad. She makes me focus on what I'm doing.
So, it's no surprise that she has filled the walls of our home with the fruits of my hobby...photography. She's always finding a new one she likes and finding it a place somewhere. Here are a few more of the ones she and I find special.
Most importantly, to me anyway, is that my wife thinks I'm the world's greatest photographer! Don't tell her otherwise...'cause I like to hear it, even if she is a little bias.
Now, if you're in need of some framed photos on your walls, just check out my "photo art" website! You should have known there would be a plug in here somewhere...but at least I waited until the end!
You will find something you like, especially if you are from the Roane County, Tennessee area...if not a picture, maybe a cellphone case, or some throw-pillows! Thanks for checking it out in advance.
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