Falling In Love With Sand

Sure am glad i convinced you to enjoy the beach...

That is how the conversation began; three years ago, spending and entire day at the beach was little more than a boring concept to me; which is peculiar because I have always loved the beach in different ways throughout my life.  Case and point, when I was just five years old, my family would have regular outings to the beaches in New England.  I was told my father would take us and toss us into the ocean and force us to swim.  I can't validate that story per-say, but I know each and every one of the seven of us, has a passion for being near the ocean.

I can name every beach in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire area.  You would be hard pressed for me not to know the major lakes, but I can't attest to knowing all of them.

As of this moment, I am sitting on the beach at Plumb Island, in a lesser know area, that makes summers on the beach in New England feel more like you are on an island resort.  Rarely are there more than twenty people setting up camp here, which gives it that remote feeling you only get when you have discovered a hidden pearl.  Most people who are well traveled would likely understand this description without going into details; it's the kind of experience you often can't repeat or recreate because of what you perhaps did or who you encountered during that fantasy-like visit-- and you wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it, as it gets filed away as one of the most cherished experiences in your life.  That is the kind of place that this is.  the longitude and latitude of this very moment are 42 degrees 42' 15" North and 070 degrees 46' 58" W.  That should be read forty-two degrees forty-two minutes, fifteen-seconds North and 070 degrees-forty six minutes-fifty-eight seconds West, of the equator and prime meridian.

And though it is only 71 degrees and a bit cool, today is the informant of summer arriving.  What is nice about this day is, except for the occasional passer-byer, is that there is virtually no one on the beach perhaps 10 people at this very moment- truly creating the feeling of being on a remote island.  Where on Earth could there be a better place to be than right here right now.  OK so it would have been nice to have a fleece to get that perfectly cozy feeling, but oh-uh what a feeling, as an old theme from Toyota comes to mind.

Rounding the experience off is the popular beach garb from Tommy Bahama; this supplier of furniture and other beach amenities has figured what hundreds of millions of manufactures have not.  I want to have everything I desire when I go to the beach (a cooler, beverage holder, phone pocket etc, within reach oh and by the way, I would like to be comfortable too.  Nice that someone has figured it out.

Back to the original point.  Less than three years ago, you couldn't get me to spend more than a couple of hours on a beach.  Don't get me wrong, I love going there but, honestly, what is there to do? Sit?  Nah! That's not for me.  But all that has changed, now when I go to the beach, I want to pack a cooler with a full days provisions, including: fruit, some sort of mixed greens, a bean dip, possibly a sandwich, beer or wine, chips or pretzels, plates, utensils, cups (or wine glasses- don't like plastic) and gotta have chocolate in some form.  I am planning to stay for the whole day so I try to anticipate when the people are coming and going, and how to avoid that.  Yea, I love staying at the beach all day and enjoying the sunset-- as a photographer, a good sunset alone, can make the day worth any effort you have to put into it.

After returning from Colorado, this unplanned beach run is a welcome transition.  Since I have returned I have been preparing for the construction project, doing a corporate retreat for an organization in New York, and catching up on those never-ending bills that piled up while out of town.  I am beginning to feel like it helps to keep the mental wheels spinning around up there; it feels like the cassette on the rear wheel of a bike, constantly in motion and shifting gears.  Something's definitely different, I can feel that mental shift of the tectonic plates organize themselves.

And though this is the first time I've brought my computer along for the ride, I am enjoying this new experience; it adds a nice element to the whole thing.  Perhaps even a new motivation.  Yep, I'll definitely be doing more of this, this summer.  Life if good.

Capturing the Moment... Editing and Self Evidence

I find it interesting how one story is told when you see part of the picture, yet a different experience is
captured when you understand more about the journey.

Myself, I wondered what the jumpers are thinking when they make that leap, or make that trek to their destination.  Often it is more interesting than the event itself.  I feel I have been there in sine ways.  I recall the first time I reached 210 mph on my motorcycle; the adrenaline rush was amazing-- different though when I did my my first deep sea dive.

There is a story that each of us holds inside; it tells of our motivation behind the action, a fluid that spills into our veins and gives us the purpose in our own lives.  Often this journey is inexplicable; it is that private domain that fill the void-- sometimes it makes sense not to try to explain it away, but just accept it.

What may be true is that we learn a little more about ourselves when we take such a leap, knowing that we have accomplished something that goes beyond human rationale-- it's a rare place filled with beauty, it is a new frontier from within that says I will not be defined.  Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about will to power, I have always believed that he implied this was how we choose to influence our life journey we and the in which we have dominion over that journey.  Such a journey and its choosing is captured in BASE jumps.

I have completed the editing of the BASE jump and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed working on it, and share it with friends.


Kind regards,
Scotland

B.A.S.E. Link

Woke Up This Morning...Never Saw This Coming

Mike's Jump Photo Scotland Willis RemarkableEye.com

Life is full of extraordinary experiences; the more you seek them the more they will  become part of your life.  And each experience is dictated by the amount of energy you apply to be vulnerable to that experience so that you can embrace it.  Be ready because here it comes!

I woke up this morning, continuing my pursuit of building my own home.  By many standards this could be considered a major accomplishment-- I would generally be inclined to agree; today however was embedded with a bit of a twist.

As I was headed into town to pick up some additional supplies to begin the plumbing work, I saw a small group of people assembled, only two vehicles, looking skyward.  As it does with most onlookers, it caught my attention and I began to look skyward.  Initially I thought perhaps someone was repelling or rock climbing; to my surprise, it was a couple of men base jumping! (check out the video here)

JP's Jump in an undisclosed location

Now one must understand, base jumping is an event that is not common among the majority of the population; I would guess that less than 1/10 of 1% or less would even consider base jumping.  It is a cocktail of a leap of faith, insanity, adrenaline junkie and liberation from all the things in life that bind us and oppress the human spirit that makes you feel alive.  Moreover, base jumping occurs so quickly and is over in less than an instant.  So seeing this event was rare.  So rare in fact that I missed the first jump and missed half of the second jump.

But a natural born opportunist I drove off; then realized that I would be missing an opportunity of a lifetime if I did not go back and at least talk to the two people who had just embraced life in a way most can only dream of or fear all together.

So I turned my vehicle around and stopped to chat.  Mike and JP were the two base jumpers.  I initially was only able to talk to Mike, but that was enough.  He picked up on my enthusiasms and allowed me to prod a little bit.  After a 5-7 minute conversation, Mike informed me that they would  be jumping again today, after  I told him I would love to shoot the jump.  I had both my HD video camera and my second still camera with me-- never leave home without them.  JP then jumped into the conversation and asked the pertinent question after I asked if I could hike up with them for the shoot, "how good are you at climbing?", I replied "good".

So I headed off to town to eat, run a few errands etc.  Before I knew it Mike was texting me saying that they were about to do another jump if I wanted to go with them.  Darn!  I was not quite ready yet, and still had a few things to do, but I think I could make it work.

After Mike asked if I could be there by 9:30, I told him probably more like 9:45.  I began to pick up the pace with my list of todo's and began to wonder if I even needed to really do this things.

What is peculiar is that I almost did not go into town; I was prepared to head up to the work site and continue my project Antlers Edge; plus I had visitors coming to town-- my mother, my son, my granddaughter and his girlfriend, I wanted to prepare,  I turned around less than half way there and decided I would burn some time as it was before 7 a.m.-- something I did not realize.

So I rush back to the jump site and luckily Mike and JP were patient enough to wait 20 minutes for me to catch up to them.  I threw my video camera bag over my back and we began the trek up to the cliff they would jump off.  Their preparation was meticulous but routine, as have had hundreds of jumps.

Life is full of chance moments and we never truly know what to expect so two things come to mind: 1) enjoy the human experience, it is full of gifts and even the negative experience can and in many cases do, lead to the extraordinary-- backtrack and you may be surprised by the events that lead you to where you are; 2) allow fate to intervene and chance to play a role in making you life outstanding. I live each day open to being vulnerable and never regret it; it puts a new face on vulnerability, one I find very appealing.

I got to meet two great people, who allowed me to enter their lives for a brief moment in time, capturing a priceless experience up close and personal.  Never miss the opportunity to seize the day.