Blink of an Eye

Here we are in March 2019. I find myself at a crossroads once again in my life.

I was scrolling FB last night, only to find out another friend's spouse suddenly passed away at 52 years of age. It rattled me. They were waiting for retirement until they moved back to the coast. Retirement was going to be later this year. In the blink of an eye, my friend's life has been turned upside down, and at such a young age.

It was just a few months ago I was scrolling FB and saw that a dear old friend of mine had passed away. That hit me like a ton of bricks. Yet, here I sit, so many months later still not making the big change in life that I need. I have made several smaller moves to go forward, but that big move back to the east coast still eludes me. Life here along the gulf coast of Panhandle is an easy life, full of fun events, a tourist destination area, and I get to live here year round. Mostly a fun time: Mardi Gras celebrations, minor league baseball games, all kinds of beach activities, fun abounds... until it doesn't.

Those tornadoes that ripped though Alabama last week—23 killed and many more still missing—life changed in the blink of an eye.

Hurricane season will be upon us in three months. Panama City, Florida and Mexico Beach, Florida are still in disarray from Hurricane Michael. So much damage still lingers. Those thoughts play in the back of my mind. The devastation. The damage. The lives unsettled are still present in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. The wildfires in California. Blink of an eye.

The thoughts of another hurricane season while being an RVer on the coast is unsettling. I am going on year five as a full-timer, full-time living in an RV. The first few years were fun, then it started getting old. Now it is officially old—as am I. My back hurts, my knees hurt. The weather is brutal, either too cold in a drafty, insulated three season RV or the humidity and heat will knock the breath out of you at 2 AM.

So what to do?

Where to turn?

What is important?

What is important to me at this stage of life?

Ironically and sadly, it's the same issues I was fighting for, marching for, and protesting for oh so many years ago.

So here we go, won't you come along on the journey?

• Womxn's Rights
• Womxn Athletes
• LGBTQ Equality
• Environmental Issues and Conservation

As a teenager, I wanted to be a forest ranger, but I couldn't hack the science courses needed to accomplish this... ah I thought, I can still change the world through my photography. My vision will save the whales, save the dolphins, save the Earth, save the oceans, and the mountain tops.

I pursued a life as a photojournalist. I lived that great life for nearly 12 years as a staffer on a daily newspaper. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but the industry has changed so much. Those jobs don't really exist much anymore. I also promised myself when I was a staffer that when I retired, I would go back to my first love: Film, analog photography. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with digital photography. It's great for fast turn around on deadline, but oh how I love working with those beautiful, vintage cameras from the 1950s!

They are beautiful, solid, shiny, chromed out classics. I love working with them!

So while I'm not really retired yet, I am finally in a place in my life where I can pursue this analog dream of mine!

Life changes in the blink of an eye.

Today is the day I make those changes!

All kinds of changes!

Peace out!

F8 & Be There