Can you hear it?

Can you hear it? I can...it's the sound of my life's calling. Well, to be honest I didn't hear it at first. On January 14, 2002 I became the FACT Field Guru for the FACT Movement. FACT is Wisconsin't youth led movement empowering Wisconsin teens to use their voice and take a stand against corporate tobacco. FACT took a risk and hired a 23 year old "kid" straight out of college to "run" this statewide Movement. What they got was a loyal, hard working and sometimes quarky guy from Stevens Point named Luke. What I got was way more than the job description indicated.

I got a fresh look at a new generation. Today's teens are fearless and ready to take on corporate America. They are passionate about the things they believe and can convince any adult when they set their mind to it. As some things have changed since I was a teenager (which is now over 11 years ago) many things remain the same. Teens still quesiton athority. The very athority that rule their lives. Most teens are willing to learn and are open to new things. On the other hand, their willingness to learn is dependent on the concept of WIIFM..."What's In It For Me."

Most teens, at one time or another, make poor choices. For example, one teen that I worked with a few years back decided it would be a great idea to hold onto another teen's passport. We were half way to the airport when I got a call from that teen's chaperone asking if my teen had her passport. I asked and he said no, then a long pause..........yes he has it. So, back we went (1 hour out of our way) to return the passport. This caused a series of events that almost made us miss our flight home. See what I mean?

For all of the times where I swear I'm going prematurely grey, I get back 10 fold in an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment when I sit back and reflect on the impact I've made on the lives of these teens. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is when I hear that one of the teens I've worked with has chosen a field related to their experience they gained in FACT. The very first generation of FACT members have now graduated from college and some are still in contact with me on a regular basis.

For all of the long hours I work, the sleepless nights and even the grey hairs, I wouldn't trade my experience with FACT for any other job. There will be a time where I won't be the FACT Field Guru, but when that day comes, I'll look back and think of the positive mark I've made on the Movement and on hundreds of teen's lives. I can finally hear it...it's my calling.

Innovation

We've all heard of the saying, "think outside of the box," but how many of us actually put it into practice? What happens to the "inner 3 year old" that asks the question why 100 times a day? Why can't we be more like the guy in the photo (picture taken by LJR)? He took an idea and turned it into reality. The problem, transporting his bike on his motorcycle. The solution, well...I think you can see it. It's called innovation.

There is still hatred in 2008

As much as I'd like to believe that racism is a thing of the past, it reared it's ugly face recently when I saw a man with tattoo markings of the Third Reich. I passed this man and thought nothing of it, since I saw him from the front. When I saw him again, his back was towards me and there it was in black ink...markings of hate. He was with his wife and was holding a baby. The only thing I could think of at that time was the hatred that man has will continue on another generation with his child.

When I got home and kept thinking about that man and his tattoos and what they meant, something hit me. Maybe, those tattoos marked a stage in his life he now regrets. One that was filled with hate, a needed sense of belonging through those difficult teenage years. A stage where he found a "brotherhood" to substitute what he wasn't getting from his family. After thinking about this for a while, I realized he knew darn well, he was going to be around a lot of people of all different races. If those markings were from a transformed past, wouldn't he find a way to cover them up and not have them out on display? Instead he made a conscious descision to go shirtless so his tattoos could be seen. I not longer could give him the benefit of a doubt.

There I was...stuck with these feelings that "we" have a long way to go towards acceptance right here in our backyard. I still wonder about the motivation behind those tattoos. You can't judge a book by its cover, but in this instance it's hard not to.

Hurry up...and wait

There are some people in this world that want nothing more than to grow up as fast as they can. Teens, for example, want to be older so the life they "can't" have, as a teen, will be theirs. Some teens want to move away and be on their own, while others just want to be done with high school so they can "move on." I was one of those pimply faced kids who wanted the 20 something life I saw on TV. It was a life filled with friends, fun and no one telling you what to do or how to do it. I wanted to be my own boss and call the shots.

Something happens along the way, for me it was at the age of 23. The newness of being on your own fades and life happens. There I was one night paying bills and wondering why I wanted so desperately to grow up so quickly. Ironically, I'm now at that stage of my life where I again want my life to speed up so I can hit my retirement and really enjoy my life. Depending on how my retirement planning goes that day is at best still 29 years away. Well, at least I'm half way there.

Note: the picture I posted was taken at night with the shutter open for 30 seconds to capture the lights from passing cars (yellow, red and white lights), a plane flying across the sky (white line in the middle of the picture) and the steady glow of distant stars and not so distant homes in the newly developed subdivision across the street from my apartment complex.

From "triathlete" to "roadie"

What happens when the sport that has given you so much, stops giving you what you need? I've been asking myself this question over and over this past year. It all started when I injured my foot back in the fall of 2007. I successfully trained and finished the Whistle Stop Marathon in October. Two weeks later, when I was out for a three mile run, my foot "didn't feel right." A month earlier I had signed up for the 2008 Ironman Wisconsin triathlon. Knowing the preparation needed to complete a race like the Ironman, I quickly sought out medical help to help me diagnosis the foot injury. Everything looked like it would be healed up and ready to go just in time for my training to kick into high gear.

Fast forward 9 months and I'm still at a place where my foot hurts on a daily basis and the treatments I received haven't given me the relief needed to fully commit to the training needed to finish an Ironman. I was at a crossroad where in one direction would lead me to my second Ironman finish, but at what price? The other road would take away this possibility and force me to really figure out the root of this injury, get the proper treatment and "lick" this once and for all. By now I'm sure you can guess what road I took. Well, I should say that I sort of paved my own road. I'm not doing Ironman. I'm also not really doing that much to figure out this foot problem. What I've done is found a new sport that I've been thinking about trying for a while.

I've become a "roadie." No, not the kind that supports a band while on tour, but a road biker. It all started when I had this bright idea to build a new bike. Well, that idea is tabled for now. Instead I'm working on improving my "engine" or also known as my cardiovascular system this season and reward myself with a new bike for 2009. My first mission, sign up and complete my very first bike race. I picked the Blue Mounds Classic as my first race. One look at the elevation and some would think I've completely lost it. It's a valid argument but most of my family would say I lost it a long time ago. So, with a screw loose, I completed my first bike race and finished near the middle of the field. Not bad for a guy riding a bike built the same year I graduated from high school (if you do the math the bike is 12 years old).


I'm hooked and my next race is coming up on September 6th in Fort Atkinson. This one is more flat than the Blue Mounds Classic, so I'll be interested to see how I fair when "hammering on the flats." Until then, I'll be logging plenty of miles on my "old school" bike gearing up for September 6th. Oh yea...I couldn't do my first race without bringing my camera to document everything. Enjoy!

I'm with the band

Yea, I'm with the band. I'm beginning to think I should start saying that. Maybe it's because I'm going to small town festivals and fairs, but a lot of people that I talk with think I'm either a newspaper photographer or I'm with the band. Is it because of my camera or something else? I've had a handful of times where if I would have been dishonest I could have "weaseled" my way back stage to meet the band. Darn Catholic school upbringing and their whole "honesty" teachings.


Enough about my dishonest thoughts and more about photography. Here are some pictures of Hootie and the Blowfish (mainly Darius Rucker - the lead singer) and some of the things Laura and I saw at the Waukesha County Fair. They were performing at the Fair and we made the hour trip to eat some Fair food, see some farm animals and sing our hearts out to some catchy tunes. To see all of the photos I took check out this website. Enjoy!

To the Point

Recently, I made the 110 mile trek back to my home town of Stevens Point. The city of wonderful water. Hey, I'm not making that up, it's true. Anyways, I was in town to see some family and friends all during different parts of the day. I started off the day with a bike ride with the Heartland Bike Club. My friend John has been a long time member and biking with him is a great time to catch up on each other's lives. This photo was taken by my Mom (MAP).

After our ride, lunch and a smoothie from Emy J's, I visited with my Mom. Nothing planned...just sitting out in the backyard talking. Here's a shot from the "Lens of MAP" of some flowers in her backyard .

I waited and waited to get this shot...check out the drop of water just about to hit the ground.

I also took some time to explore Point this time seeing it through my camera lens. This is my favorite photo I took of a mural down on the "square."

Here's one from a famous Stevens Point landmark, the Stevens Point Brewery.

Here's one of my old high school...


Then to top off my evening I had a nice dinner and visit with my friend Luke. He was speaking at the National Wellness Conference. He and I rapped about his latest video project and photography.

I'm glad I got to the Point!

Time flies when you are having fun...

While this isn't necessarily about the quality of the photo but more of the two people in it. One of my good friends Toby made a special trip to see me in Madison. He was making his way to the airport to fly back to CA where he's a teacher. Toby has been a good friend of mine since high school. Toby went out of state for college and then relocated in California to teach science in Pasadena. About twice a year Toby makes the 3000 mile trek back home to Stevens Point where we always make time to see each other and catch up. This time was no different as we spent about an hour and a half shooting the breeze, mostly about what we've been up to since we last saw each other. Toby will always be a dear friend to me. Although we are different we have a bond that is special and rooted in history. This picture marks our 30th year on this planet. I know we'll both look back in 30 years and wonder what the heck were we wearing and look at all of our hair, we have so much and it's our natural color. Thanks for the visit Toby, I look forward to our next one.

The waiting game...a lesson in patience

Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson in photography, you can't force a shot. In my limited experience I had thought it was as easy as going up to a *thing* and taking a picture. This way heavily relies on the camera to do the work with very little responsibility on the shoulders of the photographer. A big storm rolled through Madison yesterday. With my exersize plans foiled by the weather I decided to take advantage of the developing conditions to get some, what I thought would be great, photos. Well, Mother Nature had a plan of her own and before I had a chance to take one photo the sky turned an ugly shade of grey, the wind picked up and it began to downpour. I missed my window of opportunity, until right before I went to bed. Another system rolled into the area, this time about 30 miles north. From the safety of my 2nd floor deck I witnessed lightning illuminating the sky what seemed like every 10 seconds. I quickly grabbed my camera and cursed my lack of knowledge and the fact I hadn't read the entire manual yet. It was night time, extremely dark and I had no clue how to keep the shutter open long enough to caputre nature's fireworks in the sky. Finally after 10 minutes of messing around with the settings I found the option I was looking for. Here's the end result...

Like my Mom would say...patience is a virtue. Thanks Mom, I finally get it.

Celebrating our independence in Illinois?

Why would this Wisconsin boy drive through three automobile tolls and head into the "Land of Lincoln?" The answer is Josh Kelley. He's a singer/songwriter from Georgia with hits such as Amazing and Almost Honest. He's one of those musicains that keeps putting out great album after great album dispite a lack of radio stations playing his music. The closest his tour came to Wisconsin was Crystal Lake, IL. On July 4th I gathered up $7.40 in change (for tolls) and drove to the Crystal Lake Gala Festival. For $5 I got to witness another community's way to celebrate the 4th and see Josh Kelley perform. I got there early to take pictures of the festival-goers. When Josh started playing my full attention was on enjoying the concert and, of course, taking photos.

I kept the photo above in it's highest resolution so you can click on it and check out the expression on the rider's faces. They are priceless.

A stroll downtown with family

There's nothing like family. So when my Mom and my Aunt Patty decided to Thelma and Louise themselves down to Madison for the day I grabbed my camera and played tour guide.

I can't take credit the photo above...it was my Mom's vision that captured this photo.

Xmas in July?

For the last couple of days I've been noticing this "tree" in the driveway of my apartment complex. It looks like a Chirstmas Tree. The first few times I saw it, I thought it was one of those plastic Christmas Trees people buy to put on countertops. But why is it in the driveway and why in July? Today, I put all of the speculation to rest as I approached it and realized it was an enormous weed that just so happens to be shaped like a Christmas Tree. Weird. While I had my camera out, I took some shots of the contrast between the green of the side of the road foliage and the brown of the crops growing in the field across the street. Enjoy.

Fore

My friend Matthew and I grabbed our golf clubs and met up at a local driving range. It's been over a year since I've swung a golf club. I was a bit rusty and Matthew...well, he's just learning. Thank god there were protective dividers between us, otherwise I'd be bruised and welted up by errant shots. Here are FORE pictures from our golf adventures.

Storm Warning

Within an hour the skies in Madison went from sunshine to darkness. A short lasting thunderstorm rolled through Madison today and I took the chance to take some photos of the approaching storm and the rain that accompanied it.