Paul Dudley

Healing begins

2012-01-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for caring so much and also for your comments on my tribute to sweet Anthony. The Strauss family needs all the love and support in the world right now, and will continue to as time marches slowly onward. There will always be now two missing places at their dinner table and the reality of that is just heartbreaking. The slow march towards healing though did begin I think yesterday at the funeral, which was an honest, genuine, and thoughtful celebration of Anthony's life. And it was also a very very painful and tearful goodbye. The outpouring of emotion was drenching and much needed. When Anthony's father Doug delivered his touching eulogy, he spoke very passionately and faithfully about his son, a boy in perpetual motion who only had one simple direction in life, full speed ahead, and who created joy, and chaos, wherever he went. Doug singled out each of Anthony's siblings in turn and talked about their individual relationships with their dearly departed brother. The common thread between them all was love, the unshakeable love that bound, and will continue to bind these kids together forever. Knowing how much love fills the Strauss house from within and seeing how much continues to flow in from the outside is a reason for hope and a recipe for eventual healing.

I hope that the immense hurt that so many people are feeling right now, whether they know the Strausses or not, will transform into a renewed compassion for others that when shared, in whatever form, will help make the world a better place. Whether it renews your faith, renews your passion for life, or renews your urge to go squeeze your kids and hang on to them so long that they start looking at you funny, that renewal is a gift that we can receive respectfully and reverently from little Anthony Strauss.

Like his sister Gloria before him, Anthony will have a permanent place in my heart. I will honor them the best way that I know how and that is to keep their memory close and kick life up a few notches. Life is a gift, plain and simple. As I have mentioned before, the great philosopher, Ferris Bueller, once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." So crank it up, and 'Amp' it up. Do it for Anthony, for Gloria, for loved ones past and present, and for yourself. Any ordinary day can become an extraordinary day if you just decide to make it that way.

We are all on this amazing, precious journey together and along with being united through the great joys of our lives we also can be united in sorrow, and that is the only way to get through it, together.

Honoring Anthony Strauss

2012-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'll be attending the funeral of an amazing young man. He was compassionate, creative, and rambunctious, had an electric personality and a megaphone for a voice. He had so much still to give to his family and to the world. His potential was unlimited. Dear Anthony was just 10 years old.

Anthony was not lost to cancer like his older sister Gloria was in 2007, but rather as a result of a freak accident in his home. Five years ago, Gloria's six siblings all had the chance to say their goodbyes to her in the hospital, but not Anthony. Last week he was there at home one second, in ICU the next, and now his family will be laying him to rest tomorrow. Their grief is overwhelming and how can anyone come up with words that can comfort such a tragic, sudden loss, or even comprehend it? I certainly can't.

I love the Strauss family and I loved Anthony. His nickname was "Amps" because he was so darn, wonderfully LOUD. He completely cracked me up. You never knew if he'd show up in army fatigues with a mohawk, or wearing a suit and tie. This young man had style.

Energy? You bet, and Amps was only on his way to breakfast.

My son Miles took these photographs of Anthony's unforgettable entrance to the final camp dance last July.

My daughter Alex is 11 and called Anthony, "my little dancing buddy", from the numerous Camp Goodtimes events that they saw each other at. During the whipped cream fight at the carnival last summer, Alex had the job of filling up kids hands with whipped cream from the sidelines so they could get back in the foray. Alex kept a steady supply going to Anthony and he exclaimed to her, "YOU ARE AWESOME!!" A little later in the fight I went over into the "low impact" zone where kids with physical limitations could still participate and a young blind camper needed a target. I corralled Anthony and said, "C'mon Amps, take one for the team!" He gladly got down on one knee and offered up his head so that little Julia could experience the joy of obliterating a fellow camper with whipped cream. A lot of kids would have run away, but not Anthony. He understood FUN more than most and I don't think Julia will ever forget that moment.

I won't be able to comprehend that Anthony is really gone until I see the Strauss family all together and notice that gaping hole between Joe and Sam. There is nothing in this world that will ever fill that void.

As it was five years ago with Gloria, and now with Anthony, healing can only be found with honor, remembrance and love.

Please keep Anthony and the rest of Strauss family in your thoughts and prayers...again.

Gloria in 2007

Anthony last summer

For those interested in supporting the Strauss during this time of such tremendous loss, you can visit www.gloriasangels.org

The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle!

2011-11-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

In honor of this gorgeous day I thought I'd share this colorful shot from one of the jumbo mark II class ferries in Elliot Bay. I hope the November rains hold off just a tad bit longer!

Captain Campbell turned 100!

2011-10-26T22:06:00.000-07:00


Lynn aboard the newly launched Shearwater in 1950

Captain Lynn Campbell, the founder of Seattle Harbor Tours (now Argosy Cruises) turned 100 years old on October 9^th celebrating with family and friends at his waterfront home on Bainbridge Island. Lynn greatly enjoyed the proceedings as he was seated comfortably in a chair in his living room surrounded by not only his beloved family, which included many great grandchildren, but also friends from all over whose lives he had touched throughout the decades. Everyone had gathered to help celebrate his life WITH him and that is a remarkable moment in itself. At his 95^thbirthday, many in attendance probably thought that the next time that they would be seeing each other would be at his memorial service. Instead there he was managing smile after smile, handshake after handshake and whenever possible, giving kisses to all the "pretty girls". He may not have been as clear on everyone’s names as he would have liked but he knew he was in the presence of people who loved him.

There was one moment in particular that I've been thinking about ever since. As he sat in his chair next to the living room doors that were open out onto the veranda his guests, on cue, suddenly parted, clearing a path for his line of sight to reveal the 115 foot Spirit of Seattle (that Lynn built in 1987). The Spirit had made the trip out from Seattle just to honor him. Because of a very high tide and excellent boat handling from the captain the Spirit was able to approach very close to shore. Lynn then noticed longtime captains Don, Kenny, Ralph and Mike along with other old friends from Seattle Harbor Tours days holding a special happy birthday banner which included photographs of him on it and signatures of many well-wishers. People sang "Happy Birthday" with a true sense of awe in their voices after which the Spirit sounded its horn numerous times. Lynn's eyes welled up with tears as he clasped his hands together.

He then raised a toast of champagne to salute the Spirit of Seattle and to everyone else. He didn't say a word but we all heard him loud and clear. The eyes of the Old Salt said it all.

Thanking and toasting wonderful family and friends

His eyes spoke a thousand words that day

A few months ago I visited and took him a slideshow of the glory days of Seattle Harbor Tours in the 1980's and 90's. Afterwords Lynn grabbed my hand and said, "If I live to be 100 I'll never forget those days." I responded, "Well you're gonna be 100 in a couple of months so I sure hope you remember them until then". When I was saying goodbye to him on his 100th birthday it was my turn to grab his hand and I said, "Do you remember those fun days at Seattle Harbor Tours cruising all over Puget Sound?" He replied, "Nope." I said, "Really?" Knowing that he was kidding. He looked at me with a sly little smile and said, "I do remember this one guy who would jump off the boats all the time." (referring to me) He then smiled broadly. I said, "I knew you were a man of your word. You said a while back that if you lived to be 100 you'd never forget those days, and now here you are 100 years old today and you DO still remember. You are amazing." He then squeezed my hand tight, pulling me closer, and said softly but with more conviction that I have ever heard in his voice, "If I live to be 10,000 I'll never forget those days." I said, "Well you got the first 100 out of the way so you've only got 9,900 to go." He said very frankly, "Well I probably have a few more months at least." I then told him that I was so thankful for the experience of knowing him and that he had made a huge impact on my life and on so many other people.

I told him that he was deeply loved. And on this day especially, that fact was obvious.

Lynn with guests and famous barker and personality Rudy Becker

Lynn narrated more harbor tours than anyone in history

(passing Todd Shipyards back in the day...) "There's nothing more disorganized looking than a shipyard, but everything has it's place and it's purpose."

Giving Governor Ronald Reagan a turn at the wheel in 1974

Lynn and Alyce in 1987 with freshly welded together Spirit of Seattle in the background

Camp Sealth trip 1989

Lynn last year on his 99th birthday

Holding his daughter Charlotte's hand on his 100th birthday

Charlotte with her daddy

A kiss from granddaughter Chieko

When I first met these two, Lynn was 64 and Chieko was 6

Great granddaughter Whitney was also there (guess who her mom is?) :)

Lynn with long time Seattle Harbor Tours co-worker, office mate and all around amazing person Susie Starrfield

John Blackman stopped by to say hi.

Miles enjoyed his brief visit with Lynn

One of Lynn's longtime caregivers even jumped out of a cake and sand "Happy Birthday" with a Marilyn Monroe-esque tone

Lynn listening to grandson Hanz sing along with fellow performer Kathryn

Hanz is amazing (www.hanzaraki.com)

A kiss from his grandson

Hands of the Old Salt

Lynn's hands were once strong enough to bring me to my knees during a handshake. His voice once powerful enough to command attention in any room or boat. His laugh once loud enough to envelope anyone within ear shot. And still to this day his heart is big enough to reflect upon, remember, appreciate and love the multitude of people and experiences that have woven themselves into this incredible life of his. He is comforted by the wonderful memories of a life well lived and the affection of family and friends whose lives he has become a special part of. He is fully aware that he soon will be sailing off into the sunset and all he has asked for is to be remembered in the prayers of those have come to know and love him..

Happy Birthday you "Old Knucklehead" and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything. Forgetting you will be impossible. Remembering you will be easy and will bring great joy to me for the rest of my life. Why, if I live to be 100 years old, I'll never forget all the good times!

Counting our blessings

2011-10-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

At 2am yesterday morning Alex called from her friends house saying that she had gotten sick. Heidi and I quickly got ourselves out of bed and hopped in the car to go pick her up. It was definitely a two person job for reasons that I will spare you. :) We got her home and comfortably into her own bed and proceeded to wake up hourly to see to her needs. All day yesterday she was feeling absolutely terrible. It was the first time she had been this sick since she was about 2 years old.

Seeing her laying on the couch yesterday I instantly thought of the parents that I have known over the years that have had to struggle with chronic devastating health issues with their children. Even in just one day I felt helpless to comfort Alex. She couldn't get comfortable, was in constant pain and we could do little to ease that suffering. But today...a new girl. The sickness worked its way through her body and luckily she has bounced back remarkebly. She already batted her eye lashes at me enough to get me to order her a new case for her iPod Touch and who knows what she'll have up her sleeve next. We had to run back to her friends house to pick up some of her stuff but before we did we paused for a couple of minutes to take these photos. It's hard to believe that this is the same girl who was so completely miserable yesterday.

I am very thankful that she is feeling so much better now and by looking at the photographs, yesterday's sickness seems like forever ago. Every day of good health is a true blessing and is something to be enjoyed, celebrated and memorized, NOT taken for granted.

My heart goes out more than ever to families where good health is not a reality but instead something that they are simply hoping and praying for.

Feelin' stronger today!!

Tyler

2011-10-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

I had the Today Show on this morning and in between the news of the day there was a big segment on the rumors surrounding the marriage of actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. They had "experts" and commentators on discussing this "breaking news". I have no idea what they were saying because the volume was turned off thankfully. I am continually stunned that there is an audience for this type of thing. I don't know any value that is gained from learning random details about Ashton and Demi's marriage (yeah, we're on a first name basis because I know them so well). Until they hire me to go photograph their next wedding, divorce or birthday party and I have the chance to get to know them, I have no interest whatsocompletelytotallyincrediblyyeahgimmeabreak-ever in details that may or may not be true about their personal lives.

There are stories out there screaming for our attention. There are people out there that are yelling for help. There are people that if you had the chance to get to know they would change your life for the better. They would inspire you and just by meeting them even once they would make you want to live each day with more purpose. Demi? Ashton? Maybe. I'll probably never know. There IS someone though that I do know would have this affect on you.

His name is Tyler.

I first met Tyler years ago when he started attending Camp Goodtimes. It seems like I've known him forever. He's been such a fixture at camp and entertained kids and staff alike with his unique sense of humor and inquisitive nature. This year he did not attend because his camper days are behind him now that he has turned 18. Despite setbacks that are mind boggling and recoveries that are almost as astounding, Tyler graduated with his high school class ON TIME.

Quite simply, Tyler is one of the strongest people that I know, AND patient. He's actually been a very patient patient. He's endured 38 surgeries. Whenever he has his head shaved for surgery and before it grows back in again his noggin looks like a topographic map of Nevada. To treat his condition and relieve his severe headaches he has had numerous shunts installed, then repaired, removed or replaced. Right now he's back in the hospital recovering from surgery #38 and anticipating yet another later this week. I had a wonderful visit with him last week and he was alert and smiling and recovering nicely from #38. He had a laser level pointed at the side of his head so that his excess fluid could drain from his head. Precise placement of the drain was vital because as he told me, "If I'm not perfectly level, excess fluid can drain out and I could die." That statement shocked me. What do you say to that besides, "Well then for Pete's sake, STAY LEVEL!" I should actually say, "...for Pete, Vera and Niki's sake", his parents and sister.

Here's an 18 year old kid who has to be stuck in the hospital and he knows that if he doesn't remain level in his hospital bed or his chair, that he could die. Nurses clamp the drain whenever he has to move, even if he is just repositioning himself in his chair. After he gets settled, they turn on the laser level and get him situated just right and then reopen the valve. This goes on 24-7.

His attitude is so matter of fact. I don't hear him complain. I just hear him talk bluntly about his treatment and then excitedly about other things, like attending the Starlight Prom in the spring, or about fun memories from camp. He told me that when he gets older he wants to get a tattoo on both arms that will say, "Cancer Sucks!". Yes it does, big time.

I'm just so sorry that Tyler has to go through all of this. He's gentle and kind hearted and he's always interested in what other people are doing. His is just such a genuine young man and I'm hoping and praying that his condition is stabilized soon so he can get on to enjoying his life. I wish for him that his worries can be the regular ones that an average 18 year old worries about and NOT about the crappy ones that confront him every single day at the moment.

He's strong, NINJA strong, and he has grown up and learned how to fight. His instructor has been Cancer itself. Soon I am confident that this student will defeat his teacher.

Striking our favorite NINJA pose at the Camp Goodtimes reunion party last spring.

An amazing young man!

A Weekend of Hope

2011-10-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been busy and fun but it's last weekend that I just can't get out of my head. It was the last weekend in September and September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month which went by way too fast. An official month? That's all it gets? I think it should just be changed to Childhood Cancer Awareness Century and then we'll reassess the state of things in the year 2100. Hopefully by then the world will be celebrating the 88th anniversary of the year they found a cure for cancer.

My hopeful weekend started on Saturday the 24th when I was the emcee and auctioneer for the Childhood Cancer Care Line's annual auction. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many people that cared enough to join in the celebration by parting with their money to support kids and families struggling with a cancer diagnosis. The highlight of the evening for me was just prior to the paddle raise when Misti Bell and her 14 year old daughter Caity got up and addressed all the guests with remarks straight from the heart. Misti came up first and shared what Caity's cancer journey, and her entire family's cancer journey, has been like for them. The fear, the anxiousness, the trepidation, the triumphs, the setbacks and the constant shadow of the unknown has been relentless for them. But still, Misti was able to express herself wonderfully as she thanked an organization whose only reason for existence is to help families like hers. Misti struggled at times to get through her speech but she persevered and the result was a standing ovation from the crowd.

If that wasn't amazing enough, then up walks Caity (aka: Supergirl). I hadn't seen Caity since she shaved her head to raise money for cancer research last spring. Her hair is growing back in beautifully and at 14 years of age, this young lady has been through a lot. The last part of that sentence bears repeating...she has been through a lot. Oh my God, a cancer diagnosis at age 7, treatments, relapse, treatments, billions of doctor's appointments, more treatments, uncertainty, fear, remission, relapse, treatments. Seriously? How could you ever be happy again if you lived your life as a kid with a 16 ton weight on you that you just couldn't get rid of. It's an enormous struggle for anyone but somehow Caity manages that famous smile. She waltzed right up to the podium that night and read three poems that she had written about her life over the last few years. Her poise in that moment is what struck me most. Most 14 year old's would have been quaking in their boots. Not Caity. I think she just realized how important it was to get her message across and I guarantee you that she was heard loud and clear.

The event was a huge success and I had a great time extracting as much money as I could from the guests as the evening's auctioneer. I left that night feeling hopeful and comforted knowing that a substantial amount of money was raised to directly help families in need.

At 8:30am the next morning I was already at Seward Park in Seattle to MC for the 3rd time the 3rd annual Run of Hope to benefit pediatric brain tumor research at Children's Hospital. The event has grown every year. This year there were 30 more teams than there were in 2010. One of those was Team NINJA!! which I formed with some friends only 5 days prior. I was lame and didn't start the team sooner but we did assemble ourselves and in those 5 days raised almost $1500. Not bad for a fledgling team on short notice. Next year my goal is to have the Ninjas out in force. You are ALL invited to join Team NINJA!! for next year's Run of Hope (a 5K run or a 3K walk). The event was started by the president of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Guild at Children's Hospital, Erin Cordry. Erin's started the guild in honor of her son Max's struggle with a brain tumor. Max, thankfully and joyfully for the world, is a survivor. He is doing great and just lights up a room when he walks in. Or in this case, lit up a park filled with almost 2,000 people. Erin's dedication blows my mind and you can see her sincerity in her eyes so obviously and completely. When she speaks, she means every single word. She knows this journey so well and she carries the hopes of many with her as she continues to strive to make a difference in the world and help fund research that will one day find a cure for cancer.

Over 60 teams joined Erin on a blustery Sunday morning. Many teams were walking or running in honor of a loved one who has since passed away. This year I hugged three mom's who have all lost a child within the last couple of years. These women are incredible human beings. They have all been through and are still going through hell but here they were, fighting back. I am in awe of their strength. One was standing at the finish line, high fiving the runners completing the race. All together that morning, over $240,000 was raised. Incredible! Even though Erin is already a member of Team Max, to me, she is a NINJA. In it's purest modern form (in my world anyway!) a NINJA is drawn to action and fights for what he or she believes in with every socially acceptable weapon at their disposal (plus they are a little goofy). My goal is to grow more ninja-esque every year of my life. Erin is a passionate, driven, give it your all, lay your heart on the line and give 200% Ninja. I don't just want her on my team. I want her to be on everyone's team and really, she is.

As I drove away that day I just kept thinking about all the faces. These faces belonged to people that were dedicated to making a difference in the tragic world that is childhood cancer. To me, these were the Faces of Hope. Here are some of them;

Erin addressing the media

Erin talking to 2,000 people

Dr. Jim Olson, genius. The Run of Hope supports his team's research.

Erin and her nutbar son Max!

Ann Marie and Laura, Team NINJA!! members

Michael Hirschler, co-event chair representing Four Seasons Hotels. He did an amazing job also.

Erin's husband Eric jumping for joy when hearing the fundraising total.

Team NINJA!! on the course.


Erin Cordry, honorary Ninja.

What a great weekend!

A sad anniversary

2011-09-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today marks four years since I said goodbye to my dear sweet friend Gloria Strauss. My heart is heavy for her family but my heart is also full of so many wonderful memories of the experience of getting to know Gloria through camp and then being invited into to Doug and Kristen Strauss' wacky, amazing, loving and forever chaotic family during the most difficult of all possible times. A 10 minute visit to their house would quickly turn into 3 hours and I'd leave with my arms filled with food and my camera being filled with hundreds of photographs...a few of which I actually took myself. Usually, Gloria's little sister Maria would steal my camera and just fire at will at anything that flew past her during the daily kid tornado in their home.

In 2007, Gloria was too sick to come to camp but was able to come along on cruise day. I held the boat at Pier 55 waiting for Doug and Kristen to bring Gloria and Maria and a few of their other kids down to the pier before cruising to Vashon to pick up the campers. The Strauss clan was late (for a change), I waited and waited, saw their jumbo van make the power turn onto Alaskan Way, the kids piled out, I tossed the car keys to an Argosy friend to move the car, Gloria stepped into her wheel chair and I pushed her at full speed to the boat. Some of Gloria's counselor friends, who hadn't seen her in a while and who were coming along for the ride, gathered on the boat rail and watched as I wheeled Gloria down the pier. They looked very concerned because they hadn't seen Glow in quite a while and didn't know that she needed a wheelchair. I then stopped, Gloria jumped up out of the chair and yelled, "A MIRACLE HAPPENED...I'M WELL!" Everyone erupted in laughter. Only Gloria could pull that stunt so perfectly.

She really was very very sick though and I made her take a nap in the wheelhouse on the way over to Vashon. Kristen then told me that there was absolutely NOTHING that would have stopped Gloria from going on the cruise that day.

Once we got to Vashon to pick up the kids Gloria was everywhere and was having the time of her life. She even managed to get to the very front of the boat for the group picture. OK, I encouraged her, but she was planning on it anyway!

We stopped at Blake Island that day and I took a photograph of Gloria and a few of her dear friends, Amber and Sarah, my daughter Alex, and her sister Maria hanging out on the beach. That moment came and went so fast but I think of the photograph often and I'm so happy I was able to share it and the many others I took on that wonderful day...that wonderful cancer free day, with Gloria's family, friends, and others who never knew her but who have been so touched by her story. I'll never forget that day out on Puget Sound with Glow and her family. Gloria passed away less than three months later.

This summer all four of girls went on the Camp Goodtimes cruise again. They stopped on the same log and Alex moved over from her original spot and they all honored Gloria by posing for a photograph with Gloria's seat empty, but that moment was filled with so much love for her. I know it meant a lot to the girls, especially to Gloria's sister Maria to take a moment out of the chaos and simply remember.

OK...we had the quiet moment, but life is about living, celebrating and trying to enjoy every blessed minute of it. A few moments later we took another photo and the girls never sat still for the rest of the day.

What would Gloria want for her friends and family to do on this day? On any day for that matter? For a party to happen. For the ordinary to turn into the extraordinary just because you want it to be that way. For Gloria, a simple walk down the beach could turn into performance art. How lucky many of us were to know her.

I know I probably speak for a lot of people when I say that the pain of feeling her loss is completely worth the joy that came from knowing her.

There's a million things to say!

2011-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Another summer has come and gone and another 3 1/2 months of blog silence. What could the reason possibly be? That I have been rendered totally speechless? Unlikely. That I've been sitting around doing next to nothing? Impossible. That I've been busier than snot on a two year old and time has whizzed by so fast because just when one incredible moment happened it was piggybacked on by another and then some other dramatic turn of events happened taking me from here to there and back again, from exhilaration to a complete sense of loss and then luckily bouyed back up by other random events, people and situations with my underlying feeling being one of constantly be amazed about how beautiful life is and that getting older and older is completely worth it and regardless of gray hairs is still high on my list of priorities?

Bingo.

So in the interest of letting you - whoever you might me :) - know that I'm still out here doing my thing and loving every minute of it that on this blustering day today I was inspired to post some photographs from a blustery day on the first full day of summer this year. I had the honor of capturing Mario and Jenn's incredibly unique wedding on the schooner Zodiac while cruising through the San Juan Islands. It was a day filled with laughter, joy, animated lip syncing of a familiar song called "I'm on a boat!", and meatballs flying through the air randomly as some guests didn't head the warning to eat dinner below decks because of the wind topside. What a waste of food! At least the Zodiac's stowaway kitty didn't go hungry that day.

Hope you enjoy the photos and more summer stories coming soon.

Proud father!

2011-05-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Poulsbo's Viking Fest Parade 2011 was a blast. It's so cool to live in a small community where such a tradition as Viking Fest is nurtured and celebrated. My daughter Alex is a part of group at her school known as the B.R.A.T.S (Breidablik's Rising Athletically Talented Students). They do such an interesting array of activities that include ball walking, juggling, jump roping, unicycling and in Alex's case riding the dreaded 6 foot tall "Triple Stack". Watching her do this through the Viking Fest parade with thousands of onlookers was awesome. I was very proud. Mostly, I was amazed at her ability to ride the darn thing, especially amidst such a distracting atmosphere (and a bumpy road!).

Hours earlier I decided to buy a little GoPro Hero, which is an HD video camera that can be mounted almost anywhere. I mounted it to the top of Alex's helmet and her video from the parade is pretty spectacular. I edited it down to a 5 minute clip here. The local paper, The North Kitsap Herald, also did a story on Alex that you can check out here. We've had a lot of fun with that little video camera already including taking it along on multiple barf-inducing rides at the Viking Fest Carnival.

Time goes by so quickly. Seems like yesterday that Alex was 'graduating' from Kindergarten and singing a song about Panda Bears with her classmates that made every single one of the parents burst into tears. Meanwhile, Miles was finishing 5th grade. Now Miles is heading off to college to take high school AND college classes over the next few years. These milestones seem to get closer and closer together. Next is Alex's 5th grade graduation in a few weeks.

Heading to Costco for the Kleenex.

There's just something classic about Black & White

2011-05-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

I just felt inspired today to share some thoroughly random photographs. A black & white image has a depth and texture to it that encourages a closer look and a longer pause. Since life is in color, black & white makes me reflect just a little bit longer on a moment and notice things a bit differently. In any photograph of course time stands still, but in black & white, that stillness echos in a way that can be so beautiful.

Anna, 1992

Ashley with dad, last summer

Party bus, August 2010

Christa & Michael

The Avila's

Peter & Julia in 2009, expecting their first child any day now.

Jordan

Jordan & Lisa

Kelsie & Lauren waiting out a wind gust

Nate in studio

Keslie in the garden

Keslie and Lauren on my roof!

The Tobey siblings, I've known them all for over 25 years

Caity continues to amaze!!

2011-03-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

Caity a few weeks ago...

Caity last night...

Caity raised well over $3,000 to benefit pediatric cancer research last night by shaving her head! The St. Baldrick's fundraiser was held at Fado's Pub in downtown Seattle. Not only did she raised money but she also donated her hair to "Locks of Love".

I really am having a hard time grasping how incredible Caity's journey has been. To consider all that she's gone through, the uncertain road ahead, AND the fact that she just turned 14 which of course ushers in all sorts chaos into a kid's life, her decision to help others in this way is remarkable. Cancer dealt her such a tough hand in life but she has elected to fight back in every way that she possible can.

What occupied your thought process when you were 14? Probably the typical drama that has been going on ever since that incredibly awkward vehicle called "junior high" was invented. Caity is going through all of the same things but in addition, as her mom Misti refers to it, she is still dealing with "The Monster". Her monster is not a make believe one that hides under the bed either. Her monster is one that the best minds in the world are joining together to try to eliminate. In the meantime, Caity and her doctors are doing their best to keep it at bay and under control and for now, it's working.

What's also so touching to witness is how kids who are struggling with cancer connect with each other. Last night Caity bumped into a few other kids that are on the same wacky roller coaster that she is. They connected instantly like magnets that belonged together. Their bond is like something that only those who have walked the walk can really understand. The comfort they give each other is absolutely beautiful. Earlier in the day I visited one of Caity's good friends at Children's. When I told Caity that her friend wanted me to congratulate her on her accomplishment Caity just beamed.

Amidst the turmoil of Caity's day to day life, she still manages to generate that great smile which proves that she first and foremost wants to enjoy life to the fullest. I told her once last night that I wanted to take just one shot of her not smiling from ear to ear. She said enthusiastically, "I can't NOT smile!" (wouldn't that be a great bumper sticker for everyone's life?!) I did manage to capture just a fleeting reflective moment though in which I felt like she was looking to the future, with hope.

Karen speaks

2011-03-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

My wife and I just spent a wonderful couple of days with our dear friend Karen Gerstenberger. We're working together on a video project focusing on family-centered care based on Karen's family's cancer journey, which began in the fall of 2006 with their daughter Katie's diagnosis. Karen's ability to revisit such difficult times and still be able to pick the perfect words to express her feelings is an absolute gift. Having a couple of video cameras pointed at her had to make it more difficult but that didn't even seem to phase her one bit.

Heidi and I witnessed something incredible these past two days; a mother's undying love for her daughter. It's been almost four years since Katie's life was cut short by cancer but she is remembered and honored every day and in every step that Karen takes. Through sharing her family's most difficult and most emotional moments and chronically the tragic loss of dear Katie, Karen hopes to help improve the way hospitals treat the critically ill as well as to help families that might unexpectedly find themselves in a similar life and death struggle. There is a fellowship amongst those whose lives have been turned upside down and changed forever by cancer or other life threatening illness. Those looking in from the outside can never know what it really is like unless they join the club at some point in their lives. The by product of listening however, is a truly wonderful thing...compassion. And compassion is something that can affect positive change anywhere it is directed. That is the goal of the project that Karen and I are working on.

I am truly blessed and honored that Karen is willing to share her story with me in hopes of helping others.

March 4, 2011 at Karen's home

Karen & Katie, just two weeks before Katie passed away in August, 2007

XENA GOT MARRIED!

2011-02-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last shared an update on my cousin-in-law Xena, formerly known as Megan. Well, I guess officially known as Megan, but ever since she miraculously survived a shipyard accident in which she lost her right leg below the knee she quickly morphed into "Xena". She's not really a "Warrior Princess"...I would definitely say "warrior" but "princess" isn't a fitting description for a woman who can cuss like a longshoreman and probably drink that same fellow under the table...on a weekday. OK, I'm exaggerating (but not by much). When they airlifted Megan to Harborview in November 2009 and because she wasn't able to speak they automatically gave her the identifier of "Doe, Xena". When I found that out, I could not have imagined a more perfect nickname for her.

Ever since the accident, Xena has put herself on the fast track to recovery, pushing herself probably way harder than she should. A workout fanatic, as soon as she could get back into a routine she did, and she paid the consequences too. She would go on 3 mile hikes with her crutches only to come home in excruciating pain. There have been lingering side effects to her severe injury but still she remains upbeat, positive, and LOUD. When Megan is in a room, you knew it before she got there, that is for certain. She is one of the most real and genuine people that I have ever met and her zest for life is unmatched. Her laugh starts as a smirk and then just explodes, enveloping anyone nearby in its blast zone.

As the emergency personnel were on scene trying to stabilize her and save her life, nearby sat one man who had more to lose than anyone, Selves, Megan's boyfriend. He was a crane operator at the shipyard that day and when it came time, he was the one who had to lift the crushing concrete pilings off of Megan. I can not even imagine the emotion that must have been rushing through him. He literally picked Megan up and rescued her. He continued to be by her side every day at Harborview and that never changed. Their love grew deeper and deeper and they decided last summer that they wanted to marry. But what kind of wedding for a woman like Xena and guy like Selves?? I doubt it took them too long to come up with an answer.

Vegas. Or as Megan would say, "Vegas baby, yeah!"

Plans were made and before I knew it my wife Heidi and I were bound for Las Vegas. Megan asked me to pull a trifecta, to be her wedding photographer, her videographer, AND she wanted me to perform the ceremony (and throw a little "Mooselips rap" in there too). I was honored to be asked and that's exactly what happened. We had an absolutely wonderful extended weekend in Vegas. We took photographs out on the Vegas strip on their wedding day then had a nice intimate gathering of close family for the wedding ceremony (only interrupted about 4 times by low flying aircraft!), then enjoyed a delightful reception at Selves' parents house. Selves' mom fed us like it was going to be our last meal for a month...yum. The celebration was truly fitting for two individuals that had already been through so much together but who now are starting a new life together as husband and wife. Their journey will be amazing, it will be real, it will be genuine, and it will definitely be LOUD!

Congratulations!


Megan showing off "Shorty" as she calls her right leg these days and one of her new tattoos.

The entire wedding party with downtown "Manhattan" in the background

Supergirl continues to amaze!

2011-02-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

Caitlyn Bell (aka: Supergirl) continues to re-write the definition of the word "awesome". I recently visited her and her parents at Ronald McDonald House in Seattle. At that time she had about a week left of daily radiation treatments that she was receiving as a follow up to the major surgery that she had last November. During that epic 10 hour surgery the doctors went in to remove two known cancerous tumors from her abdomen. They instead found and removed 17. Her recovery from that surgery was superhuman (hence her new nickname).

Caitlyn at Ronald McDonald House

Caitlyn with her mom Misti

Caity with a random troubadour

When Caity was just 2 days away from finishing her last radiation treatment, after which she would be able to go home, she developed some complications and wound up spending 3 or 4 more days in the hospital at Seattle Children's. This has been the pattern for her for years, making a few steps forward then having to take a few steps back. Still, she keeps marching on and is making progress. It was during this latest set-back that she decided to fight cancer in another way-- by raising money to help fund cancer research. Instead of looking inward to her own fight, which would be totally understandable, she is looking outward to see how she can help others.

Her plan? She's going to shave her head on March 10th for St. Baldricks fund raising drive! This is a 14 year old girl. Hair is about the #1 accessory for most 14 year old girls and Caity is willing to get rid of it all as long as it can make a difference in the fight against cancer. Her goal was $1,000 and she's just a little short of that at the moment. I'm hoping she can reach her goal and then surpass it.

To find out more about this incredible young lady, please check out this link and perhaps you'll be inspired to sponsor her.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/423780

Highs and lows

2010-12-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

I've experienced a very broad spectrum of life lately through people that I have become close with, from birth to death, and have seen and felt so very clearly the joy and sorrow that flow between the two. Firstly, babies. I love babies. There's just something magical about a brand spanking (no pun intended!) new baby. I've had the pleasure recently of photographing some adorable babies as well as young families in my studio. I swear that every time you hug a baby it adds a couple of years on to your life. Herding cats is easier at times than trying to get a baby or some little kids to sit still for a photo but it's time well spent. I've also been enjoying my own two kids this Christmastime, Alex and Miles, and am very thankful that Miles is home safely from his epic trip to China. And finally, I also had numerous wonderful visits with two of my favorite Camp Goodtimes kids in the hospital, Caity and Henry, and have seen Caity's subsequent amazing recovery from surgery only then to feel the great loss of sweet little Henry who passed away on December 3rd.

Henry's celebration of life last week was very heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. The service was attended by all sorts of people including kids that are in the same fight right now as the one that Henry fought so bravely. All I can say is that I hope the church gets their Kleenex at Costco. It was a great tribute to Henry that day and rest assured that anyone that was lucky enough to know him will keep him close forever.

The very next day for me was all the way at the other end of the emotional spectrum. Witnessing tears at a totally different type of celebration, the marriage of a beautiful couple, Nick and Helen, was very therapeutic. Tears of joy are just fine in my book and it was truly a wedding where everyone wore their heart on their sleeves. The wedding took place on about the only day in the last month when it didn't rain...at least on the teensy-weensy corner of the northwest where they tied the knot at Kiana Lodge on the Kitsap Peninsula. Congratulations to the happy couple and I hope they enjoy their snowboarding honeymoon (first lesson was today!). I'll share some photos from their wedding below.

Everyone's lives' obviously are on different courses, with radically different paths, and vastly varying starting and ending points. To dive into them randomly as you simultaneously navigate your own course is a beautiful thing. If you do so with an open mind and an open heart there is so much to be gained, and at the same time, there's so much to be given. I'm very thankful for the meandering course that has allowed me to crash into so many other people's voyages, even if for an instant...sometimes in as little as 1/30 of a second. Being sloppy at the helm does at times have its advantages.

Proud father of the bride.

A formal pose, yes, but also totally classic.

Great times with Henry

2010-12-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

Just thinking about Henry today. Remembering some great times and being thankful for the joy that he brought into people's live wherever he went.

Remembering Henry

2010-12-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

About 3 o'clock this afternoon, the amazing Henry Xu's cancer struggle ended. He is no longer in pain. He is cancer free. But those that were lucky enough to know him will forever be warmed and inspired by the memory of his awesomeness. Quirky? In your face? Off the wall? Hilarious? Unbelievably strong? All of these describe a little man who was loved by so many people, especially by his devoted mother Lihua that all of my thoughts and prayers are going out to at this time.

Henry, you left a permanent mark on me and my family and we will never forget you. We love you.

Henry's mom was with him every moment including this when I visited a few days ago.

(giant poster in Henry's room featuring a photo he took at the Woodland Park Zoo)

Henry's words to live by...every day.

On behalf of Lihua please remember Henry in your thoughts and prayers.

One of Henry and Caity's favorite places

2010-11-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

Camp Goodtimes this, Camp Goodtimes that...what is this Camp Goodtimes that I'm always talking about? The easiest way to tell you is to show you the photographs that I take every year. I heard this Michael Franti song recently and all I could think about were the kids from camp. I'm sending this slideshow to Alaska tomorrow so that the campers from Alaska can watch it at their Christmas party this weekend. If you are interested in supporting Camp Goodtimes please go to the website at www.campgoodtimeswest.org.

SLIDESHOW!

Henry

2010-11-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

Just one floor down from Caity is 10 year old Henry who attended camp in June of this year. I've been lucky enough to see him and his mom quite a few times recently. He is the same age as my daughter Alex who he always seems to ask about.

Henry is struggling right now and I just wanted to post a few photos of him so you could keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He creates smiles, laughter and a little havoc every where he goes and those are qualities that I truly admire in him.

Henry was excited to see Alex when we visited a few days ago. Alex delivered a panda doll that my son Miles picked out on his recent trip to China. Our visit was relatively short but it was fun to hear Henry crack up when I tried to pronounce Alex's full name backwards, Ardnaxela, which sounded like some new dietary supplement of some kind.

He is a tough little guy and is putting up with so much right now. Yesterday I heard him say, "This is the worst day ever" which just broke my heart. I wish there was a magic wand I could wave to make his pain go away so in the meantime I'm still looking for a few spare billion dollars to go towards cancer research...

Caity's progress

2010-11-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

Caitlyn went in for her major surgery last Friday and after some very difficult days and knowing that there are many difficult days ahead, still she is smiling, joking, sculpting strange little animals out of puffy clay and showing dramatic improvement over the last few days. Her strength after a 10 hour surgery is mind-boggling.

I was there last Friday to "see her off" to her surgery and took this picture of her surrounded by her loving and supportive family, mom & dad, Misti and Scott, and little sis, Makenzie. Caity looked so good and optimistic. After a customized rendition of "Always look on the bright side of life" that Caity, Makenzie and I sang for the assembled family she was led off to surgery. What a terrible thing for a kid to have to deal with.

Caity is indeed on the mend and looking forward to getting out of the hospital. This photo was taken just two days after her surgery! I just can't believe how great she looked. She is one amazing kid and I hope that she continues down the road to full recovery as smoothly as possible.

An update on Caity

2010-11-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Caity at Camp Goodtimes, summer 2010

(The following is an update from an earlier post and was written for an American Cancer Society Wine Auction newsletter that supports Camp Goodtimes)

13 year old Caity Bell has taken a much more different road to growing up than most children. Her route was not chosen by her or her family, but by cancer. She has been battling cancer since she was just 7 years old. At that time she was officially diagnosed with Metastic Solid Pseudopapillary Pancreatic Cancer. She underwent abdominal surgery to remove the cancerous tumor and then would have scans every 4 months to make sure it hadn't come back. This went on until she was 10 years old; three straight years of wondering and anticipating that next scan and then breathing a sigh of relief when it showed nothing.

Caity's life changed dramatically again when on a subsequent scan the doctors found that the cancer had come back with a vengeance. It was everywhere in her abdomen, from her stomach lining to her spleen and liver. After a nine-hour surgery to remove all the cancer that they could find, they just had to wait, knowing that it would probably come back again. And it did, a year later. This time, they had to take out most of her pancreas, causing her to become diabetic. She also lost her spleen, causing her to become more prone to infections. Throughout this fight the doctors are still confused by her cancer. In fact they haven't seen any other like it.

In the spring of 2009 Caity relapsed again. Her doctors felt that the surgeries themselves were causing the cancer to become more active so a different route was chosen. Since her cancer started in her pancreas she is now being treated with a chemo drug used to fight pancreatic cancer. This means more and more monthly trips to Seattle Children’s Hospital for treatment.

I first met Caity when she attended Camp Goodtimes in June of 2006. She has enjoyed attending every year since. At the end of June camp in 2009 she walked up to me and said, “Mooselips...would you come visit me at Children's Hospital sometime this winter?...cause my cancer came back." I was completely taken aback by the wonderful honesty of her question. How could anyone possibly answer “no” to a question like that?

I tried to keep up on her progress after camp but didn't hear of any Children's Hospital visits until after they had happened. Then last Spring, through the wonders of Facebook, I knew Caity was going to be admitted to Children's to, as her mom's status indicated, "Face the Monster". I was in Seattle and had tried to call them at Children's first but didn't have any luck so I just showed up. While checking in on the oncology floor, Misti approached, surprised to see me, and asked how I knew they were going to be there, to which I replied, "Facebook." She chuckled and added, " I LOVE Facebook". She then immediately took me back to where Caity was sharing a room with two other patients, the room being divided into three separate areas with curtains. Misti said to Caity, "Honey, you have a visitor!" Caity said in a very confused, bordering on upset tone, "Who?!?!" I then started singing a classic camp song, "Little Red Wagon" as I walked around the curtain. Seeing her face light up and to hear her blurt out, "Mooselips!!" just made my day.

I kept thinking to myself how amazing Caity looked AND how great her attitude was. Considering what she has been facing and what lies before her, she still can break into that enormous smile so quickly. I know that besides all the physical abuse that cancer has unleashed upon her, that coping emotionally is another thing entirely. I am confident that with her spunkiness and her tendency to start cracking up in an instant, that she has the ability to keep facing this with strength very uncommon for a 13 year old. I think it definitely helps to have something fun to look forward to, like Camp Goodtimes. She attended camp again this past summer and partied like a rockstar just like I knew she would. She continues to amaze me.

The other day Misti shared with me one of Caity’s most recent Facebook status updates. Caity wrote;

“Cancer is like being stuck fifty feet under water. Eventually you lose sense of which direction you’re facing. You don’t know how to get out. Trapped. Frozen. You just want to be able to breathe again...”

Those are incredibly honest words coming from a young lady who has been facing “The Monster” for 6 years already. She will be facing it head on again the day after Thanksgiving when she is scheduled for an 8-10 hour surgery that Misti calls “very high risk.” While most kids in the end of November will be singing and living, “Over the river and through the woods…” Caity is just going to be trying to get out of a very different sort of woods.

Caity needs love and support from all angles right now as she bravely heads forward into another thicket so please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I really don’t know where her journey will take her but rest assured that her Camp Goodtimes family will be there to love and support her along the way.

Caity will always be welcomed with open arms at camp where life is celebrated to the maximum, regardless of any type of diagnosis. She lights up at camp. Her recent status update would never happen there. Instead of feeling trapped under water, she does a cannonball into it. She only loses direction during the heat of the whipped cream battle at the carnival. She doesn’t feel trapped because she is having fun with friends that are fighting the same fight and who understand her. The only time she is frozen is during the Polar Bear Swim...

And at camp, she does something effortlessly that we can all learn from…she breathes comfortably and deeply, and never takes a single one of those breathes for granted.

Henry

2010-10-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

I had just have to share this portrait of Henry that I took yesterday. Unfortunately, Henry has been on the cancer roller coaster this summer. He has had his extreme high's and low's but somehow his wonderful and quirky sense of humor always seem to keep a smile on his face. It's been so special for me to be able to spend some time with him and his mom Lihua as of late. They are just taking things one day at a time and hoping and praying for the best. They are welcoming hopes and prayers from any and everywhere so please send along your own.

I'll have much more to share about Henry soon but right now I need to go dress up as a penguin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The First Day of School

2010-09-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Summer has been busy, crazy, and fun. As I'm slowly getting more organized as my schedule slows down a bit, I paused this morning to savor the wonderful emotions associated with the first day of school. In a flash of inspiration and silliness I uploaded a video to Facebook. It wound up on the evening news at King 5 in Seattle (must have been a slow news day!). You parents out there will totally understand how I was feeling this morning!

Check it out now on King 5 here;

http://www.king5.com/video?id=101991528&sec=549122

Holly & Christian

2010-08-05T06:44:00.001-07:00

Last week was a whirlwind in preparation for my sister-in-law Holly's wedding. With my wife Heidi as the wedding coordinator every detail of the week was intricate and beautiful and the wedding itself at Port Gamble was incredible, eclectic, entertaining and even aquatic (see above). Holly and Christian enjoyed a very unique celebration. This I know for a fact since I've been to over 900 weddings. I've never witnessed a groom finishing making his own tie less than two hours before a wedding.

Two nights before, Heidi put on a rehearsal dinner for 30 people at our house. It's unbelievable to me what she is able to create for a party. Cocktail hour was on our back patio and dinner was in the breezeway outside my studio. The next day I ran off in the afternoon to the Camp Goodtimes carnival to get my hair done in a bright red mohawk and then lead an enormous whipped cream fight (I'm not making that up!). After 4 showers and another wonderful dinner some of the wedding musicians hung out with us in the breezeway and took turns making my guitar do things it had never done in it's life. Now whenever I walk by it, it just ignores me.

Heidi with her cocktail hour tableau.

The lemon drops were a hit.

Johnathon making my guitar hate me.

Holly's best friend Iman reflects for a moment (or checking out the dessert options).

The wedding day came and went so fast, so once again, thank God for photography. So many wonderful moments punctuated Holly and Christian's day and it truly was a family affair. Heidi doing the coordinating, me with my cameras, my son Miles helping out with the video, Heidi and Holly's sister Heather doing all the flowers, my daughter Alex was beautiful as a junior bridesmaid, our good friends were all the worker bees, Christian's entire family sang and performed music for the ceremony and reception, and Christian's dad provided the perfect touch as the officiant. We even had some champagne left over...how was that possible?

I'll let some pictures tell the story.

Congratulations Holly and Christian! The canoe graffiti artist was correct. It's obvious by everything that happened on your wedding day that this is "4 EVA" (and to top it off you float each others' boat).

P.S. If you don't hurry back to our house your extra wedding champagne might not be here any more. :)

One of the strongest women I've ever known

2010-07-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

(Karen at the bottom of a pathway just
up from the beach at camp)

This is a photograph I took of my dear friend Karen just moments after she, along with her husband Gregg and son David, scattered the ashes of her daughter Katie in the waters off of Camp Goodtimes on Vashon Island in keeping with Katie's wishes. Katie went, as Karen likes to put it, "kicking and screaming" to camp in June of 2007 and wound up having the time of her life. Tragically, her cancer returned and she passed away only 7 weeks after returning home.

It took three years for her family to be ready to hop into that canoe and paddle out into the middle of Quartermaster Harbor. It was a blustery overcast day and Karen, Gregg and David calmly climbed into the tandem canoes. They invited me along as an extra paddler and I was honored to be included. They are such a loving family. To see Katie's wish be fulfilled by those who loved her more than anyone else was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen. It was solemn, it was thoughtful, it was loving, it was an exclamation point on a wonderful life cut short by a terrible disease.

Karen has been such an inspiration to so many people in the time since Katie's death. She has freely opened herself up to share her own personal story in such a way that has already had a tremendous impact on the world. She has written, spoken, and volunteered her way through her own grief journey and in the process has helped inspire others to keep their own hearts open to the struggles that kids continue to endure at the hands of life threatening diseases.

Her strength is mind-boggling.

I suck at Blogging!

2010-07-05T18:13:00.001-07:00

Ok...it's been two months now since I last posted and a billion things have happened since. There's so much that I'd like to share with all 4 of you who read my blog! I'll try to be better about it as the summer goes on. I just got back from a week at Camp Goodtimes so that is what will dominate my next posts. These kids have been through so much and yet the overall feeling at camp is not that of an ongoing struggle that they are having but instead the deep down need to celebrate life and just be a kid. A childhood is alive and well at all times at Camp Goodtimes, regardless of a particular diagnosis. In the last two months I've also photographed a number of very fun weddings, portrait sessions and other random things. I'll share some of those images soon.

Oh my goodness, going to click "Publish Post" for the first time since my birthday!

A Random Coincidence

2010-05-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking about a little girl that I met last Friday.

I went to Children’s Hospital to visit a friend from Camp Goodtimes. I knew she was going in for chemo so I thought I’d try to see her and her mom. I went to the regular spot in the hospital where I had visited her before and stopped to check in at the reception counter. I was told that she was there and was probably on a bike ride around the floor. That did sort of strike me as a little odd because Susie is 13 years old and perhaps a little big to be riding around through a hospital ward.

The nurse asked me to follow her back in towards the individual rooms. As I was walking back I saw one of the nurses that I know who volunteers at Camp Goodtimes, Lysen, also known as “Yahoo”, who is about one of the nicest people you would ever meet. While I was chatting with her, I heard someone say, “Is it you that’s here to visit Susie Smith?” I said, “Yep, that’s me.” And I looked around and all I saw was a little girl staring up at me from what they call a “Lily Pad”, which is a little cart that has a place for a child to sit on while they zoom around courtesy of 4 wheels beneath it. It also has a poll going straight up so there’s a place for necessary meds to be hanging. I said, incredulously, “Are you Susie Smith?” She and her mom both nodded and I cracked up and said that the Susie Smith that I knew was 13 years old. I was temporarily stunned--two kids, same hospital, same name, and fighting the same disease. I instantly sat down on the floor though and introduced myself to this Susie. She and her mom had time…what’s a few minutes talking with someone when all you’ve got to look forward to at that moment is another day stuck in the hospital? So I started chatting with her and found out that she was 4 years old and that she thought my nickname, “Mooselips”, was funny. She then just blurted out, “I don’t have any hair.” I said, “I see that, but you’ve got a great big smile and I love your orange helmet!” She said, “Orange is my favorite color.” She then turned her head so I could see her ear and added, “My hearing aid is orange too.”

Those words seemed to echo in my mind, “…My hearing aid is orange too.”

After talking for a few minutes about the many wonderful things in the world that are orange, I exchanged a smile with Susie and said goodbye to her and her mom. As I stopped to ask a question at the front counter on my way out, Susie zoomed by, this time in her “Fred Flinstone” car which, fittingly, was orange. She said loudly, “Bye!” I waved and told her that she better not be talking on her cell phone when driving that thing. She just continued smiling and said, “I won’t!” and drove away.

A bit later, as I myself drove away from the hospital (I never did find the other Susie that day), I kept thinking about little Susie. She’s 4 years old, she has cancer, she’s lost her hair, and she already needs a hearing aid.

My heart goes out to her and her family and I hope she gets out of the hospital very soon. In the meantime, it’s comforting to know that she’s being taken care of by some of the most wonderful people on earth.

A Conversation with Karen Gerstenberger

2010-04-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to share this video for a long time. I made this so that the staff at Camp Goodtimes could have the opportunity to listen to a parent's perspective on sending their kids to camp. I have shared the video with our camp staff that last couple of summers and people have been very moved by Karen's sincerity and honesty. It was very emotional for her to open up like this and I so appreciate her willingness to share her story. It's about 20 minutes long so grab a cup of coffee and maybe a Kleenex or two and I think you will enjoy this.

We will continue to celebrate her daughter Katie's life every summer at camp.

http://www.vimeo.com/11279058

Katie, June 2007

An amazing person

2010-04-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad about posting on my blog as of late but life does indeed get very busy at times. However, lately in my random waking moments when I'm not consumed with the day to day I keep coming back to thoughts of my dear friend Puck from Camp Goodtimes (her real name is Cory, but I've known her for years and have never actually called her by her real name). Puck is one of the Camp Goodtimes docs who every year during her vacation time elects to volunteer at camp, hanging out with many of the same kids that she takes care of at Children's Hospital 40 hours a week at her regular job. That bears repeating...during her down time she goes to camp to take care of and play with many of the same kids that she treats at Children's Hospital.

There should be awards for people whose hearts are as big as a horse, for people who are just so filled up with awesomeness that it spills over to positively effect the lives of so many people.

I most recently saw Puck at the memorial service a few weeks ago for one of our campers, 12 year old Brandon, who had bravely fought brain tumors for almost 8 years. Puck was one of his docs and was very close to him. I picked out Puck from the overflow crowd at the church and I went to sit down next to her. I told her that I saw photos of her with Brandon that were lovingly placed near the guest book. We started talking and the topic came around to our volunteer work. She said that a number of people ask how we can do what we do when inevitably from time to time there is this tragic result of pediatric cancer. I responded that I felt that the human heart has an incredible capacity to love and that I just couldn't imagine NOT getting to know some of these wonderful children whose lives were cut short by cancer. I've learned so much from them and have enjoyed their company so much. I've felt privileged to be welcomed in to their families and have so enjoyed sharing their story in words and pictures with the world.

Puck and I kept talking along these lines for a while and then she really summed things up so beautifully when she said, "We're not doing these children any favors by not falling in love with them." And this comes from a woman who has spends all of her working life taking care of children battling cancer. She is so right. What bad could happen from opening your heart up for someone going through something terrible? Nothing that comes remotely close to what the person's family is going through or the patient is going through. But if you can add some joy and hope to someone's life?...then jump in, go for it, and soon you will realize that there's no other road that you would've wanted to take.

In 2007, one of our Camp Goodtimes staff members, Tara Clarke, known affectionately to hundreds of people as Twiga (Swahili for giraffe-Tara grew up in Africa), was very sick but none the less came to camp every day. On cruise day I made her sit down next to me as the boat approached pier 56. I said to her, "Can you fly?" She looked at me completely stunned...I continued, "How would you like it if in about 20 minutes from now you were flying over the boat in a parasail?" Her mouth fell open. She replied, "Uh, I don't know, but I'd like to try it!" Puck was sitting next to her. I directed a question at her, "Puck, will she physically be OK to go up?" She said, half flabbergasted, "I don't see why not." I said, "Good...because you're going up with her!" Puck immediately said, "NO WAY!" But Twiga countered with, "If I'm going, you're going!" How could Puck argue with that? Twiga knew that her cancer was incurable but she knew that every day was a new day, and it ain't over till its over.

Just 20 minutes later, on a beautiful summer day, with signal flags blowing in the breeze on the top of the Spirit of Seattle, a parachute appeared in the distance. As it got closer and closer, suddenly all 200 people on the boat realized that it was Puck and Twiga flying over Elliot Bay. With music blaring, people cheering, and our parasailors grinning from ear to ear and waving enthusiastically from the sky, a parachute flew right over the back of the boat. As it disappeared in the distance, I stood there in the wheelhouse, transfixed by one of the most beautiful moments that I had ever seen.

Less than 3 months later, Twiga passed away. But on that summer day, at that moment, on a tandem parasail and holding the hand of her doctor the entire time, Tara learned to fly.

Without the love and support of my dear friend Puck, that magic moment would never have happened. At Children's Hospital, minus the parachute, she is there for her patients every single day. She is a blessing to anyone and everyone that is lucky enough to know her. She has dedicated her life to children facing the toughest times imaginable. I am in awe of her.

Thanks Puck, and I'll look forward to seeing you at camp again this summer!

The Camp Goodtimes Wine Auction

2010-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Coming up this March 27th at the Harbor Club in Bellevue is the annual Camp Goodtimes Wine Auction. The gala event historically has been able to raise enough money to entirely fund one full week of summer camp for pediatric cancer patients and their siblings from around western Washington as well as Alaska. With this additional support, there are now two separate camp sessions each summer, enabling approximately 240 kids to attend and have the time of their lives.

The American Cancer Society's Camp Goodtimes is now in its 27th year and the impact that it has had on kids, volunteers and everyone that has come into contact with it has been enormous. Thankfully the survival rate for pediatric cancers has risen dramatically over the years but the devastation that cancer causes in the life of a child has stayed the same. Cancer is a huge dark cloud over childhood and for some survivors that cloud can stay with them for the rest of their lives. Camp provides a place that is filled with unconditional love and acceptance and bonds are created there that just get stronger over time.

As a volunteer for each of these past 27 years Camp Goodtimes has given me so much. It has given me the chance to meet and get to know kids who I will never forget and the pleasure of witnessing first hand classic moments that I know couldn't happen anywhere else. But mostly, camp has allowed me to grow older without growing up.

And that is my wish for everyone one of our campers.

I produced a video to help people get to know what Camp Goodtimes is all about. I'll be showing this at the Wine Auction to allow guests an inside look at what camp is all about. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptMooselips?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/P_MztE27m3E

If you would like to attend the Wine Auction or make a donation please visit;

http://www.campgoodtimesauction.org

Christa & Michael

2010-02-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed a nice afternoon in the studio recently with Christa and Michael to take some engagement portraits. I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding this August. About 5 few years ago I had taken Christa's senior portraits including this very cool one in a very cool Crystal Lake.

Connecting the dots with people through time is one of my favorite things. To watch as they grow and change and enter new stages of their lives, AND to be there with a camera to document it is one of the core reasons that I do what I do. The bottom line is that I'm sentimental. Life zooms by so you have to jump out and tackle it from time to time; wrestle it, capture it, remember it, and then let it go so it can continue on to do its inevitable thing.

Christa and Michael's summer wedding will be here before you know it. They're enjoying their pre-wedding time at the moment by vacationing in Europe. I offered to go with them for some "location engagement portraits" but they didn't take me up on it unfortunately.

Congratulations in advance to a wonderful (and very photogenic) couple!

XENA WALKS!!

2010-02-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today was a huge day in Xena's comeback. Miles and I met her and her parents in Seattle to witness and record her first steps with her brand new leg. 24 years after learning the first time, she had the chance to do it again, but luckily, this time she wasn't wearing diapers.

Xena did fantastic today. She was emotional, loud (as usual), and completely psyched to be walking, albeit slowly and cautiously. Her parents, Connie and Denny, were looking on with pride. Xena's brand new tennis shoes looked great and while I was pressing down on the end of the shoe on her prosthetic leg I said, "Just tell me where your toe is."

Geez Megan laughs loud.

More later but I just had to share some photos today.

Xena and Selves

2010-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Just over two months ago, Xena (aka, Megan) was airlifted to Harborview Hospital clinging to life after being extracted from some concrete pilings that had shifted at a shipyard, crushing her legs. The other night she was clinging to the man who used a crane to lift those pilings off of her, her fiancé, Selves. Well I guess if Xena is the Warrior Princess, and since she and Selves are now engaged, hmmm...should I call him "Prince". Or "The Crane Operator Formerly Known As"? Well, I guess I can figure that out later. For now I'd just like to share some of the portraits that I took of them in my studio the other night.

Megan didn't just dodge a bullet in that accident a few months ago, she dodged machine gun fire from multiple assailants and she miraculously will soon be literally "walking away". In fact, this Friday she hopes to be taking her very first steps with her new prosthetic leg. Her comeback tour now is already well underway. The evidence I think is in these portraits. Megan's spark is so apparent, as is her love for Selves. Selves, to say the least, not only scooped Megan up out of the jaws of death, he has been looking after her ever since. He spent every single night with her at Harborview and judging by the size of the engagement ring on her finger, he intends to be in this relationship for the long haul.

That night in the studio was the first time I had the chance to hang out with Selves. I came away very impressed by him, especially his love for Megan. I was also impressed by his arms! I told him that he's a natural as a crane operator because if the crane ever breaks it's pretty obvious that he could just lift whatever he needed to by hand.

I was constantly struck that night with the realization that I was photographing a woman who recently was so close to death but instead was brought back by the skill of so many people (including some nifty helicopter handling). She was given a new lease on life and here she was enjoying it with Selves and being as loud, goofy and beautiful as ever. I love the last photograph below. In it she seems to be saying, "Yeah, whatever, I lost a leg, I'm over it, what's next?" Well, the next thing is learning to walk...again.

23 years after taking her first steps, this Friday she will try once more.

Happy Birthday Caity!!

2010-02-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

Caity is joining the ranks of the world's teenagers today. Turning 13 opens a brand new door for her on her unique path to growing up. She's had to take a much different road than most as she continues her cancer struggle. I hope dearly that her latest rounds of chemotherapy will rid her body of the cancer that she has been facing since age 7. At that time she was officially diagnosed with Metastic Solid Pseudopapillary Pancreatic Cancer. She underwent abdominal surgery to remove the cancerous tumor and then had scans every 4 months to make sure it hadn't come back. This went on for 3 years; 3 years of wondering and anticipating that next scan and then breathing a sigh of relief when they showed nothing.

Caity's life was to change dramatically when on one of those dreaded scans they found that the cancer had come back with a vengeance. It was everywhere in her abdomen, from her stomach lining to her spleen and liver. After a nine hour surgery to remove all the cancer that they could find they just had to wait, knowing that it would eventually come back again. It did, a year later. This time, they had to take most of her pancreas, causing her to become diabetic. Caity also lost her spleen causing her to become more prone to infections. Throughout this arduous battle the doctors are still confused by this cancer. In fact they haven't seen any other like it.

Last spring Caity relapsed again. Her doctors felt that the surgeries themselves were causing the cancer to become more active so a different route was chosen. Since her cancer started in her pancreas she is now being treated with a chemo drug used to fight pancreatic cancer. This means more and more weekly trips to Children's Hospital in Seattle for treatment. Recently after yet another scan, they finally got some good news that the cancer had not grown at all. So for now, she and her family are staying the course and continuing on her present protocol.

I had a wonderful visit with Caity and her mom Misti at Children's last week where they had come in for this new round of chemo. I actually first met Caity two years ago at Camp Goodtimes in June. Later that summer she also attended a Campfire camp, Camp Sealth and I was the captain of the boat that day that took her to camp. Even though photography has been my full time job for over twenty years now, I still drive the Argosy boats a couple of dozen times every summer, mainly driving the Goodtime II and taking kids to Sealth. I've been doing that for 30 years now, and I hope to do it for about 30 more.

Last summer when Camp Goodtimes was ending, Caity walked up to me and said, "Mooselips..." (if you didn't already know, that's been my goofy camp name forever) "...would you come visit me at Chldren's Hospital sometime this winter?...Cause my cancer came back?" How can you possibly answer that question? "No, I'd rather sit around and play video games." or, "Gosh no, but thanks for asking. I happen to be quite self-centered so it would never occur to me to go visit a friend in need." I usually try to come up with something funny to say, but with that question the only thing that came out was, "I'd love to." And I responded that way not out of any guilt whatsoever. I was just so honored that she wanted me to visit and I was looking forward to the time when I could do just that and hopefully cheer her up a little.

I tried to keep up on her progress after camp but didn't hear of any Children's visits until after they had happened. I did have a very nice visit with her and her family on the Camp Goodtimes Holiday cruise last December (Argosy Cruises has donated the boat for 20 years in a row now). Recently, through the wonders of Facebook, I knew Caity was going to be admitted to Children's to, as her mom's status indicated, "Face the Monster". I was in Seattle with my son Miles and we tried to call them at Children's first but didn't have any luck so we just showed up. While checking in on the oncology floor, Misti actually walked up to me and said with surprise, "Hey Mooselips. I'm Misti, Caity's mom from camp." I said, "I know, we're here to see you both!" She gave me a confused smile and asked how I knew they were going to be there, to which I replied, "Facebook." She chuckled and added, " I LOVE Facebook". She then immediately took us back to where Caity was sharing a room with two other patients, the room being divided into three separate areas with curtains. Misti said to Caity, "Honey, you have visitors!" Caity said in a very confused, bordering on upset tone, "Who?!?!" I then started singing "Little Red Wagon" as I walked around the curtain with Miles. Seeing her face light up and to hear her say, "Mooselips!!" just made my day. She had seen Miles before a number of times at camp. A few minutes into our visit she looked over at Miles and said, "You look like Joe Jonas." Referring to one of the Jonas Brothers teeny bopper band (sorry Caity, that's the best description I can come up with for them!).

Misti had asked me before if I could take some photos of Caity sometime and even though the hospital wasn't the greatest setting, it does represent their reality at the moment. I kept thinking to myself how amazing she looked AND how great her attitude was. Considering what she has been facing and what lays before her, she still can break into that enormous smile so quickly. I know that besides all the physical abuse that cancer has unleashed upon her, that coping emotionally is another thing entirely. I am confident that with her spunkiness and her ability to start cracking up in an instant, even after a dumb Mooselips joke, that she has the ability to keep facing this with strength very uncommon for a 13 year old. I think it definitely helps to have something fun to look forward to, like Camp Goodtimes, or more immediately, an awesome birthday party. So today, Caity is having a huge "Happy 13th" party thrown for her that will feature all kinds of craziness, including belly dancing! When she told me that, I told her that WHENEVER I dance, it turns in to belly dancing by accident (the new workout schedule should make that happen less frequently though I hope).

Caity you are a remarkable young lady with a huge heart. You truly have a lot to teach the world and on this your big day, turning 13, I wish for you crazy-belly dancing-hanging out with friends-laughing so hard till milk squirts out your nose-present opening-junk food eating (but be careful about that!)- birthday wonderfullness. My sincer wish for you is to have at least 90 more just like it.

Happy Birthday!

Remembering Mary

2010-01-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

Mary Blackman, one of the owners of Argosy Cruises, passed away recently. I attended her memorial service Friday, fittingly, aboard the Royal Argosy at Pier 56. Hundreds of friends and co-workers were treated to a wonderful evening of remembrance. It was actually her second memorial. With so many family and loved ones in the Midwest, a memorial in Chicago was held recently also.

Mary and her husband John became primary owners of Argosy Cruises in 1990. They were married for almost 55 years after having been high school sweethearts. 55 years together...that just blows my mind. John's devotion to Mary was truly touching and especially during the last few years when Mary's health was deteriorating. John stood before us the other night to share some thoughts to the group and I just sat there in awe of this man who I respected so much, speaking from his heart about the love of his life. It was heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time.

Mary and John have been huge supporters of Camp Goodtimes ever since they first climbed aboard Argosy. Camp Goodtimes is a week long camp for pediatric cancer patients and their siblings held on Vashon Island every summer. The first time they ever saw me was on a Camp Goodtimes cruise day. I had just dove off a tower at Waterfront Park and was swimming out to the Spirit of Seattle which was filled up with kids and camp counselors. An Argosy employee was standing with John and Mary on the pier and John asked, "Who the heck is that guy?" "Oh, he's one of your captains." When I was informed that the new owners had seen the dive and swim I was a little nervous to meet them (you never get a second chance to make a first impression of course). When I did meet them I was instantly impressed with their wit, charisma and sense of humor. They wanted to know more and more about Camp Goodtimes. I sat down with them and showed them a video I had produced for camp to show to prospective donors. It told the story of little Anna Zenkner and her cancer struggle. The video started with Anna walking in to MaryBridge Hospital in Tacoma for a check-up prior to getting more chemo and ends up with her at Camp Goodtimes that summer, completely bald, but smiling, dancing, and having the time of her life. Mary and John watched the video intently and I saw Mary taking notes. I knew she was touched by Anna's story.

With former owners Lynn and Alyce Campbell originally offering the Spirit of Seattle for an all day cruise for the kids in 1989, I was worried that the new owners wouldn't carry on and make it a yearly tradition. Well, my worries were unfounded. This summer will mark the 48th time (with Christmas cruises since 1990 and now two summer cruises each year) that Argosy (and formerly Seattle Harbor Tours) has donated a boat for the children of Camp Goodtimes. Their support has been completely unconditional, with no requests for publicity whatsoever. They have supported camp because they know what a difference it makes in the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Over the years, watching that boat pull in to the pier packed with smiling, waving, screaming, singing and dancing children, Mary and John could see the result of their philanthropy. They were moved deeply by the display of energy, emotion and personal strength of these kids and I didn't really realize how much until after Mary had passed away. At her family's request, in lieu of flowers, they wish that remembrances be made in Mary's name to the American Cancer Society's Camp Goodtimes West (www.campgoodtimeswest.org).

With all of the great causes that Mary and John have supported over the years it was Camp Goodtimes that touched them most.

I'll miss you Mary. I still remember that warm summer evening back in 1992 when I took that portrait of you while having a "Beer on the Pier". I loved seeing you at a party and kneeling down next to you in your "power chair", hugging you and giving you a kiss on the cheek. Even in a brief moment, you made someone feel special. Thank you for making my own kids feel special too. You truly made a difference in this life and the traditions that you established I know will continue. And don't worry about John. The strength that he showed the other night aboard the Royal would have made you so proud. Judging by the outpouring of support for him that night, rest assured, he will be well taken care of.

An historic day for Xena!

2010-01-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Megan’s first full day with a pair of crutches in the house. She sucks at them. She said that she has already fallen a number of times but knows she’s going to get better and better with time. I watched as she gingerly stood up with them and moved slowly forward. She was under strict parental orders not to use her crutches when they weren’t there but she was anxious to show Heidi and I how good she was doing. She maneuvered through the kitchen with Heidi shuffling closely beside her. Megan laughed and told Heidi she was freaking her out and to move away and give her some space. I quickly took a photograph and she hobbled back into the living room with its plush soft carpet. That was a good thing. I turned away for a split second and heard her say, matter-of-factly, “Ohp, I’m fallin’.” That was followed by a muffled thud and immediate laughter. She was one inch from her wheelchair when it happened. She knows she’s going to fall many more times along the way and she’s ready for it. For her entire life, she has been able to use her legs to regain her balance when she has stumbled, but now, her lower right leg and foot are gone so her body has to relearn how to protect itself. Incredibly, just two months after the accident that almost claimed her life, she was able to stand and put her weight on her shattered and subsequently repaired left leg. One reason that she is so unstable she says is that she feels so tall. She hasn’t stood up in two months. The last time she was walking upright was at the shipyard moving along a catwalk just before being crushed by the shifting concrete.

We all settled back down in the living room and Megan took Heidi and I on a brief guided tour of her ravaged legs. She started the tour at her upper left leg skin grafts, passing the area where she had seen her bone protruding from her skin when she was pinned by the 30 tons of concrete. She moved from there over to her upper right leg, which was the destination for the skin grafts, down past the staple and stitch scars to “Shorty” (as she lovingly calls her stub) and we listened while she described the way that they folded over her damaged skin to close up her wound. From there we switched legs to her lower left leg where at regular intervals there were drill holes from the screws that were inserted to hold her bones together. The final stop on the tour was her left calf. They had taken half of her calf muscle and actually twisted it around and up to the side of her leg where a huge hole had been. The relocated muscle will take a while (up to a couple of years) to get used to its new location and the divot where it was taken from will eventually fill in with new muscle. It was an exhausting tour of the complete carnage that was inflicted upon her and in true Megan-style, as a tour guide, she knew the route well, and delivered her narrative with enthusiasm and humor. How was that possible, just two months away from almost losing her life? I am amazed yet again, and I think I’m going to be feeling this way a lot as I continue to follow Megan along on her recovery.

I really think that she will be running by this summer. Keep it up Xena!

Kiana Lodge

2010-01-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share here a slideshow that I put together for Kiana Lodge to showcase their fabulous venue on Agate Pass in Poulsbo. I've been shooting weddings at Kiana for 25 years now. Out of the 900 weddings that I have personally photographed, just over 300 have been at Kiana Lodge. I've also photographed special events, high school seniors and families at the lodge. There is a something comfortable and soothing about the ambience there. A few years ago, Kiana even provided a wonderful place for a memorial service for a close friend of mine from Camp Goodtimes.

It's actually pretty crazy to think of the impact that Kiana has made on my life. I met my wife when she used to work there in 1981 when I was the bartender on the tour boat that brought people over all the time. I photographed one of our best friends' weddings there in 1985 (who also worked at Kiana). Two years later she left her wedding album up in Kiana's office and people suddenly started calling me to shoot their wedding. From those first few years of shooting Kiana weddings my referral base spread out across the Seattle area. Ever since I've been averaging about 30-35 weddings per year to go along with all the other photography work I do.

Not to sound like a walking advertisment for Kiana Lodge but Kiana just has so many great places to take pictures. The gardens, pathways, ponds, walkways, atrium, arbors, beach, and beautiful long pier give me so many options for fun photography. There's only a few private venues that I can think of around the Northwest where you can arrive or depart from via floatplane. How cool is that? One guy landed his helicopter on the beach once but that was a little over the top!

Miles and I flew in by floatplane a couple of summers ago so I could shoot an event at Kiana. We flew from Lake Union in Seattle and the flight was breathtaking (for me at least). After getting out of the plane and while walking up the pier, Miles, 12 years old at the time, said matter of factly, "Well...that was terrifying." I had completely forgot about the fact that Miles' only experience in airplanes were ones where there were nice smooth take-offs and landings, not ones where you've got earplugs crammed in your ears and are noisily bouncing along on the water. Miles survived though and I hope his next flight will be more enjoyable.

Now for the Kiana Lodge backstory.

The first time I shot pictures at Kiana Lodge professionally was in 1980 for a Ford Motor Co. awards banquet. The former owner of Kiana, Bob Riebe called me and asked if I could shoot pictures for the event. I shot pictures of the "grip and grin" award plaque hand off and then went to a friend's house on Bainbridge Island where I had set up my darkroom in one of their closets. I developed the black & white film, made prints and then delivered those back to the lodge. That seems like science fiction to me nowadays. The sidenote to that was that my friends were Charlotte and Tats Araki and their 4 kids. Charlotte is Captain Lynn Campbell's daughter. Captain Campbell, for all 12 of you who read my blog will recall, was the founder of Seattle Harbor Tours and I was lucky enough to work with him for over ten years. One of the Araki kids, Hanz, is an amazing musician (www.hanzaraki.com/) whose beautiful music is featured on my website. Anyway, I always have appreciated Bob Riebe giving me that first opportunity to take pictures at Kiana Lodge. Unfortunately Bob passed away recently. He was welcoming and gregarious and a lot of fun to be around, especially on one amazing trip to his villa in Puerto Vallarta that my wife and I along with a few friends made in the mid 80's.

I just have to add one thing about that trip. Bob's place was still under construction at the time and was absolutely spectacular; built right into a cliff above Mismaloya, just south of Puerto Vallarta. Everyone kept saying, "Watch out for scorpions!" It was scorpion this and scorpion that. For the first few days we had scorpions on the brain. One night I reached over to brush a piece of lint off my wife when we had just crawled into bed and she exploded into a ninja defense mode faster than any ninja in history. It almost stopped my heart. I was laughing at her so hard until one night when she was able to return the favor. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I turned on the light a little gecko fell from the top of the door right in front of me, "HEEYAAH!!" No scorpion, just a dork standing there in a ninja pose.

Even the gecko was laughing at me.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

Thanks Boss Hogg!

2010-01-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

I'm heading off today to a gathering of Camp Goodtimes friends in Seattle to celebrate Tom "Boss Hogg" Nielsen's 12 years as our camp director. In digging through some of the thousands of photographs that I've taken over the years it became more and more striking to me the impact that Boss Hogg has made on the world around him.

Boss has led a team of volunteers on an amazing journey with a truly altruistic goal, to better the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families. Camp Goodtimes was founded 26 years ago on two founding principles. One, cancer sucks. And two, since cancer sucks, what can we do about it? The answer that Charlotte "Lion Tamer" Ellis came up with was to create some good to help offset the bad. The result has been the creation of a place where incredible things happen every single day, and anything is possible. The effect of the camp is permanent. When the kids go home, they take camp with them. It provides them with an instant extended family and gives them a little bit of the childhood back that cancer took away.

In looking back through photographs for a slideshow that I'm sharing tonight, I kept being drawn to Boss Hogg's eyes. I'd look at dozens of photos of the fun, crazy and emotional times and then I'd come back to a photo of Boss, and his famous glance. He truly looks at the world through eyes that care. That, in my opinion, is the single best thing that each and everyone of us can do try to do to make the world a better place. Next time you see Boss, just look at him square in the face and you'll see what I mean.

Boss has looked over Camp Goodtimes, which I have always liked to call a "compassion building machine", with the perfect recipe for fun. Here's how Boss Hogg has made his treat;

Take,
5 cups of Leadership
3 cups of "I've spent years as a camp director and I understand all of the official policy crud"
12 cups of compassion towards others
Mix together and add,
1 cup of "The Dance of Joy"
2 cups of "I'm going to get you before you get me during the whipped cream fight"
100 cups of classic moments
and 1 tablespoon of "Ninja!"

That's it. Then sit back and enjoy and serve the wonderful mixture to everyone you will ever meet.

Boss created this recipe through his intelligence, willingness to listen to others, and ability to learn from others and be spontaneous. We have an acronym at camp that goes;

TLOGSIDRTHCYAWTPAY

Which means, The Likelihood Of Goofy Spontaneity Is Directly Related To How Comfortable You Are With The People Around You. OK, I came up with this piece of random silliness. And I've come up with lots of other random goofy spontaneity over the years. None of that would have been possible if I didn't have the support of Boss Hog. He has been behind me, as well as beside me and also in front of me throughout the years, picking with great wisdom the right moment for each. When you know deep down that someone believes in you, you want to honor that trust. That's how I feel about Boss. He believes in me and trusts me. I respect him so much that I don't want to disappoint him. Instead, I want to make him proud.

Under Boss Hogg's watch, the staff gathered every year on the last day of camp in a circle on the upper field. "Circle" didn't start until everyone was quiet and Boss Hog spoke. He invited others to share their heartfelt impressions from camp that week; what they learned, what they were taking away. During this time there were as many tears expresses as there was laughter. A few years ago in closing the circle he said slowly, "With any great moment or experience, there's a time when it must end. And that time is now..." And he added, trying to hold back his own tears, "But you all came together this week and with your love and compassion you changed the world. Thank you all."

No Boss. Thank you...for everything.

P.S. Here's some classic moments from Boss Hogg's years at camp!

That's Boss in the alien mask, parasailing a few years ago. Kind of a long story.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

2010-01-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

The King is alive and well in the hearts, minds, and dancing shoes of people all over the world. That includes the 1999 vintage Doppler when he was a kid at camp, dancing to the beat of his inner Elvis. I don't think I've seen a kid ever who turned it "up to 11" quite like he did (and he still does!).

Who knows what else I'll find in my archives this winter!

Putt Putt is cool

2010-01-07T10:52:00.001-08:00

Do you know people like my close friend Putt Putt, the kind of person that will drop everything to lend a hand to someone in need? Or perhaps the kind of person that will drop everything to lend a hand to someone that is inept at certain types of home improvement projects? The latter describes me to a T. I’m great at some things (like eating, watching TV, mortaring rocks on cinder blocks), but crummy at others (like crawling up in my attic and spending two hours putting new light boxes in the ceiling). But Putt Putt (Chad) is great at that kind of thing. Putt Putt has been a co-volunteer with me at Camp Goodtimes for the past 3 years and adds so much to the kids experience there. In the span of just one hour at camp I’ve seen him get dumped into a dunk tank, immersed into a foam pit, get obliterated with whipped cream during the “dairy” war at the carnival, get hosed down by the local fire department, start a slip ‘n slide on the muddy, whipped creamy grass and then go jump into Puget Sound. But I digress…

Chad brought his daughter Devon out the other day to help me with some stuff that I would have caused a fire doing and in return I was going to stuff them both with Thai food plus take some killer pictures. We had been meaning to get together for a photo shoot for a while but now Devon was getting ready to head back out of town to Florida where she lives with her mom during the school year.

When they first came out the light was beautiful here but Putt Putt and I had a lot of work to do so Devon just hung out with my son Miles, chilling and texting their significant others on their iPhones. By the time we (because I DID actually help a little) were finishing up, the clouds had rolled in and the sky had darkened and I was mad at myself for not taking photos sooner. However, I quickly resolved my inner conflict when I came up with some ideas for photographs that I never would have earlier in the day. I even had Devon posing on my gas grill for a few photos using only a 50 watt porch light to illuminate the scene. In one shot, Chad and I both thought that Devon looked a lot like the actress Natalie Portman. Adding Francis the Dog for a few photos was a little tricky. Mainly because I was laughing so hard at Francis’ “doggy sweater” that it was difficult to focus the camera.

I guess there is a fringe benefit to being inept at a few things and spending the day with good friends turned out to be one of them. Chad is a rare person. When he’s not actually working to make a living it seems like all of his other time is directed towards doing things for other people. This time, the light now (literally) shines brighter in my house because of Chad (wait for the clever analogy and cue violin music…) as it does in everyone’s house who is lucky enough to know him! (I just couldn’t resist that one.)

Thanks Putt Putt!

Xena, with some new bling!

2009-12-31T09:11:00.000-08:00

How many people ever get engaged while having over 150 stitches in their body? Well Xena did. Just a few days before Christmas her boyfriend Selves got down on one knee and asked Megan to marry him. She responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!” Selves has been by Megan’s side every day since the accident that almost killed her 5 weeks ago. As a crane operator at the shipyard, he was actually the one that had to carefully lift the giant concrete pilings off of Megan after they had shifted unexpectedly, crushing her legs. I asked Megan the other day if he also had to use the crane to lift the enormous engagement ring out of the box! Once again, it was great to hear Megan laugh.

I have only met Selves once but by all accounts he’s a knight in shining armor and I’m really looking forward to getting to know him. His devotion since the accident has said a lot about his character and it is obvious in listening to Megan talk about him that she is deeply in love.

I took the Miles and Alex over the other day for a visit along with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and my two nephews. I just happened to have my camera, and Megan just happened to look fantastic for drop in guests; two things that in actuality are pretty much a given. This was the first time that I had seen her legs mostly unwrapped and she is healing very well. She has red stripes on her left leg where skin is healing after some was taken for grafting onto her right leg. The soreness is getting better slowly but surely. The most pain comes from, as she calls it, “Shorty”, in other words, the site of the amputation. Shorty? Megan’s sense of humor and positive attitude are sure to help her leapfrog over entire stages of her recovery. She told me that she would eventually like to tattoo some eyes on the end of Shorty just for fun!

(Miles helping out by holding up my jacket as a photo backdrop)

Alex was very sweet and asked a lot of questions about how Megan was feeling. I told her while pointing at the painted toenails on Megan’s left foot that at least now she can paint her toenails really fast. To which the master of witty quips, Megan’s dad Denny, said slowly with a twinkle in his eye, “Yeah, that’s true, in fact now she can do her toenails TWICE as fast.” He cracks me up.

With a fractured pelvis, numerous broken and now reset bones (compliments of a fascinating array of rods, pins, screws and other things that are sure to set off airport metal detectors for the rest of her life), skin grafts and pain medications, Megan is pulling big time from her Xena powers to get better. The latest prognosis is that she looks on track to be able to put some weight on her left leg in a month, which is about a month faster than originally thought. Until then it’s dealing with getting around in her wheelchair. Or when Selves is around, he just scoops her up in his arms and carries her wherever she needs to go. I hope soon to photograph them both together and when you see the photographs you will instantly understand why lifting Megan up is no problem. I had biceps like his once too…in a caricature that was drawn of me.

We had a nice visit that day and while chatting the subject did turn briefly to the reality that the result of the accident completely sucked. But then we got right back on the underlying miracle…that she survived. And now here she was, the same as before the accident in almost every way, beautiful, welcoming, funny, wacky and loud. She still has the world before her but now her course is different. In many ways, I am led to believe that when all is said and done she will look back on her life and realize that she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

She almost got killed at the shipyard, but without her job there she never would have met Selves. While holding up her left hand and showing off the ring she said with a glow, “Nice huh? You should see it when the sunlight hits it. Then it’s really beautiful.”

Oddly enough, that’s what more and more people are saying about my cousin Xena, the newly engaged Warrior Princess.

Happy Birthday Miles!

2009-12-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

In February of 1995 I was driving down Greenlake Way on a sunny afternoon. Suddenly I burst into tears. I had to pull over to the side of the road. I was sobbing. It had just struck me again that two months before that my son Miles was born on Christmas day.

December 25, 1994 was the single greatest day of my life. Being a father was, is and will be the greatest thing that I could ever have done, am doing and will ever do. Every single day of my life has been better, more fulfilling and above all, more purposeful since becoming a father. Miles at first and then 5 ½ years later, Alex, have taught me more about love than I could ever have imagined was possible. The million glances, kisses, hugs, goodnight tuck-ins…each day there’s another moment that I wish I could just freeze forever. Even the frustrating ones I look back on as being just a part of the beautiful fabric of life. Some times it’s stained (but I won’t go into that aspect of it), but the fabric is being woven into the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. I’m just the loving observer. Heidi is the seamstress who started it all. Her limitless love has nurtured a life for all of us that I am so thankful for. She is the best mother that I could ever have hoped for for my children.

Miles, I hope you realize how lucky you are to be surrounded by so many people that love you. You have earned it by being an amazing, thoughtful, caring and compassionate person. I am so proud to be your father. I am, though ,absolutely scared to death that you will be getting your driving permit in two months!

Happy Birthday little man, I love you!

XENA

2009-12-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

My cousin-in-law Megan has just spent almost a month at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She is recovering from a horrific accident at the shipyard where she worked. Through no fault of her own, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when some giant concrete pilings unexpectedly shifted, pinning her against a walkway and crushing her legs. After being trapped for almost an hour and being perilously close to bleeding to death, she was finally extracted and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. They were able to stabilize her but were not able to save her right leg, which had to be amputated below the knee. Many people at Harborview remarked that if she had not been in such incredible physical condition that she would have died.

Her courage is absolutely unreal. Heidi and I visited her the day after the accident and if someone had asked me, “Guess which one of your friends this is.” I wouldn’t have been able to. She was connected to so many machines that she looked like a puppet getting ready to be lifted up into the air. She had a breathing tube in and the ventilator was keeping her alive. She was swollen all over from the trauma but conscious. We went in, held her hand, told her to stay strong and that we loved her. She couldn’t reply. She just moved her right hand over her heart and tapped it a few times in response. We were just so relieved and thankful to actually have somebody to visit. To be crushed and trapped the way she was and to be so far away from the hospital it was a miracle that she was still alive. The day before it had been touch and go for hours. Looking at her laying there that day, despite the massive trauma, we were confident that she would be all right.

When she was admitted to the hospital she was given the name, “Doe, X.” That is the hospital’s designation for the 24th female patient that arrives during a specific period of time who cannot identify herself. We were later told what the “X” stands for by Megan’s father… “Xena”. He had to tell me twice because I was so flabbergasted! He even showed me the hospital admittance form where it said, “Doe, Xena.” There could never be a greater nickname for Megan than “Xena", yes, "The Warrior Princess". I know she will amaze people with her strength during her recovery. How fitting and how perfect a name.

She didn’t even know for a few days that her right leg had been amputated. She was in such trauma that just breathing was her major priority. When she was told that she had lost a leg she took a while to compose herself and then the very first thing she said was, “I’m going to run a marathon.”

Rest assured, she will.

I tried to visit her a couple of times after that first day but she was always in and out of one surgery after another. One day I was in the waiting room and I saw her being wheeled by in her bed after a grueling 3-hour surgery. All I saw was the back of her head as she zoomed by. When she passed the check-in counter on her floor she lifted her right hand and waved enthusiastically to the nurses behind the counter. I couldn’t see Megan’s face but I could see the huge smiles on the nurse’s faces. I had to leave that night before she could have visitors but a few days later I was finally able to see her.

I will never forget that day. I walked up to her room on the 7th floor and knocked on the door. The door popped open and there she was, sitting up in her bed, looking like herself again. She paused for a second and then exclaimed, smiling, “Paul! Oh my God!” I gave her a huge hug and then just stood there staring at her. The change in the previous 2 weeks had been remarkable. No breathing tube, no puppet show, and 1/10 the number of machines in her room. Her parents, Connie and Denny, were there as they had been every single day since the accident, giving her the love and support that only a parent can give. They had been doing this for 24 years straight but now, Megan needed them more than ever. And every single night at the hospital, Connie and Denny would tag team it with Megan’s fiancé who would arrive in the early evening and spend the entire night in her room. Over the previous weeks she had constant visits from family and friends, including co-workers that had been struggling to come to terms with one of their own being so seriously injured. There could be no doubt in Megan’s mind how much she meant to so many people. It’s almost as if she had been teetering on the edge of a cliff and just when she started to fall, dozens of loving hands reached out to grab her and pull her back. Starting with the rescue workers at the shipyard, to the helicopter crew, and then to all of the people in the emergency room, Megan was collectively yanked off that cliff and now her family and friends were holding on tight and not letting go. I took some photographs of Megan that evening and then pulled out a photograph of television’s Xena, although with Megan’s face Photoshopped in. I handed her a Sharpie and had her sign it for me. Megan has such a wonderful laugh. To hear it at that moment proved to me that she was going to be OK.

Megan will astound people on her “comeback tour”. She is now recovering at home with her parents and indeed has a long road ahead of her. For Megan though, it’s not going to be just about looking to the end of the road when she’s out there running that inevitable marathon. It will be about the journey itself. I know that along the way Megan will surprise, inspire, and completely blow people away with her energy, her determination, her attitude, and her wonderful sense of humor. She IS a warrior, and she is already worthy of her brand new nickname.

I have a feeling that I will be writing about Xena a lot. She'll be supported every step of the way by all those who love her, and who, by the way, are going to be hanging on to her a little tighter from now on.

Dreams

2009-12-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Codi died a week ago today. Her struggle is over. She is no longer in pain. She is cancer free...finally. It’s been a strange week. I’ve been thinking of Codi’s family constantly, knowing how difficult it is for them right now. I had a wonderful visit with her just two days before she died. I’ll never forget that. Normally she had a houseful of visitors, but on that day during my visit, her mom Lisa was the only other person there. The house was decked out with all sorts of Christmas décor and Codi was sitting fairly upright on her special bed in the living room munching on some Teriyaki chicken. She smiled when she saw me and I said, “Hey, is your forehead still kissable?” She nodded with a smile. Her pain had been so intense that even a slight brush on her shoulder could be excruciating. The motto of their household for the longest time was, “Air hugs and forehead kisses.”

We started talking and Lisa brought over photographs that I had taken of Codi and her cabinmates at Camp Goodtimes that I had given her a few years ago. One of the photos was of me wearing a court jester outfit and leaping up in the air covered head to toe in toilet paper; just an ordinary day at camp. It was actually her cabin that had TP’d my tent and they visited to admire their handiwork. I had totally forgotten that she had actually taken that photograph with my camera. I asked her if that would count towards her bucket list item “To take a breathtaking picture.” And she just laughed. We moved on to talking about some of the skits that she had been in. Her memory was crystal clear from camp moments in 2005, 2006 and 2007 to the point of remembering specific rolls that her friends played. Her memory refreshed mine and we just sat and laughed and remembered the good times.

After a while, I asked her how her pain was that day and I told her how good she looked. She explained that the paralysis that the tumor had caused had started in her feet and now had worked its way all the up to her abdomen. She chuckled when she told me how a few days previous Lisa had been helping her with some physical therapy and was moving her legs back and forth. Codi wasn’t really paying attention at the time but then suddenly looked up and saw her leg way up in the air. She couldn’t feel it at all. She then reiterated that she used to be able to feel some things happening in her midsection but now all had gone numb. I was momentarily speechless as I thought about how terrible that was and then I said to her slowly, “There is no adjective that I could possibly think of that I could put in front of the word ‘sucks’ to adequately describe that. Especially not in the English language…maybe a foreign language…like UBERsucks!” She laughed and repeated my new word. What else can you do? She was stuck in that body, just waiting to die. I can’t imagine. But still she was so gracious, so accepting, and so welcoming.

We heard a sound outside and it was the neighbors’ dog whining. She had just had puppies, 8 of them, and the neighbor was talking to all of us through the open living room window. Codi said in the sweetest of voices, “Ohhh, I want one!” Lisa just looked at her with all the love in the world and almost without saying the obvious. Codi realized that she wouldn’t be around very long to take care of one. She just said in a very matter of fact tone to Lisa, “I know, I know.”
An hour went by so quickly and then there was a knock on the door. It was Codi’s Uncle Leroy arriving for a visit. I told Codi that I should be going and but I really wanted to tell her something before I left. I grabbed her hand and told her that I really wanted her to know what an incredible impact that she had made on my life, and on so many other people’s lives too. I said that she could definitely cross “To help a complete stranger” off of her bucket list too. I explained that all the people that connected with her through the luau were so much the better because of it, as were so many other people who have heard her story told by people who loved her. With that I told her that I loved her, kissed her forehead, and told her I would stop by the following Monday. She smiled and we said goodbye.

Late Friday morning I received a text from Lisa saying only, “She’s going fast…” At just before 4pm with a light snow falling and a brilliant orange sky in the distance, and most importantly, surrounded by her entire family, Codi gently passed away.

I did stop by the following Monday, and of course, it was so strange to walk in to such a different scene in her house. Lisa was there, as was her husband Brian, and Codi’s aunt Sherry too. I actually delivered tubs of cookie dough that Lisa had bought from my daughter for her school fundraiser; nothing like chocolate chip cookies for comfort food. I also came to pick up photographs for the slideshow that I promised to put together for her memorial service. Lisa had told me that Codi wanted to trust me with that job. While we were talking, Lisa stopped mid-sentence and tears welled up in her eyes. She said matter of factly, “Now I know where it’s supposed to go.” She walked over to where Codi’s living room bed used to be and reached up and pulled a colorful dreamcatcher off of the wall. She handed it to me and said, “You’re supposed to have this.” She told me that this dreamcatcher had been by Codi’s bedside at home and in every hospital stay since she got sick, watching over her. The dreamcatcher is supposed to let in or out the good dreams and thoughts but block the bad ones. I was so honored to be entrusted with such a treasure and I promised that I would be a proud guardian of it.

Lisa, glowing with pride but filled with sorrow, then showed me some of Codi’s paintings and also let me read some pieces of her writing that she had produced over the years. Codi spoke with such wisdom for someone so young. I just wish she could have continued to express herself…she had so much more to do.

I hugged everyone goodbye and told them how thankful I was for their friendship and wished that it wasn't cancer that brought us all together in the first place. I also thanked them for sharing such a wonderful person with the world. Codi made a lasting impression on everyone she met, especially the doctors and nurses who took care of her (the most amazing people on the planet in my opinion). My heart will continue to ache for all of Codi's family, especially little sister Cheyanne who loved her big sister truly, deeply and forever. That love will only grow stronger now.

Sweet dreams Codi, and don’t worry, I’ll help catch the good ones and pass them around!

At least there's HOPE

2009-11-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm optimistic. Always have been. Even when there doesn't seem to be much hope, I'll hold out because I know how strong hope can be.

Right now, barring some miraculous bending of the space/time continuum, my friend Codi's cancer will continue to spread. Her treatment has been stopped and so we're left with hope...and with love. What else can you do? Hope and love can come from anywhere and everywhere and carry a power stronger than any cancer. Cancer can destroy a body, but hope and love carry the soul and grow stronger and stronger with time.

Codi is only 20 years old but she has touched countless lives already. Her compassion is unyielding, her sparkle undeniable and when she looks you in the eye, she connects. Anyone that has ever had the good fortune to meet her will remember and comment on her eyes. They're filled with hope, and love is what overflows. I'm not just saying this now for words of comfort. I've told it to her personally more than once. She has always had this warming, calming presence where you just feel at home when you are with her. Knowing her family, it's easy to see where she learned that from.

Codi will now have to rely heavily on her family and friends to surround her with love...and with hope. If you wouldn't mind sending along some of your own, I know it would be put to good use. :)

The Old Knucklehead!

2009-11-17T19:00:00.001-08:00

Look at that hand...as big as a catcher's mitt. It wasn't until he was almost 90 years old that he couldn't crush my hand in a regular handshake. I was thinking about Captain Lynn Campbell today because he recently turned 99 years old. He lives about 30 minutes from me and is still going strong. He's been slowing a bit in recent years but still can tell an old salt tale like no other.

I first met him in 1975 when I was the little kid working at the aquarium on Pier 56 arranging fish tanks and feeding whales, dolphins and seals at the age of 16. He owned Seattle Harbor Tours next door and would pop in to the aquarium from time to time. He was vibrant, charismatic, and looked like some famous Hollywood actor would someday be portraying him in a movie. He was 65 when I first met him. That's unbelievable to me. I didn't even get to know him until a few years later when I became his sidewalk barker in 1978. Sorry...but I feel compelled to share a photo.

Yeah, that was me in 1980 actually, doing my barking routine. I'd convince people to go on the harbor tours during the day and then bartend on the party cruises at night; it doesn't get much more fun than that for a 21 year old.

Captain Campbell has been a famous person in my life, worthy of much more than a random blog post. But today, a blustery day in November, a day that, well, when back in the day I'd be running around on one of his boats in late fall, setting up, cruising around the harbor with nary a passenger to be found, I was thinking about Captain Campbell and remembering his smile, his quick wit, and those crushing handshakes.

A great moment

2009-11-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Oh and one more thing!!

2009-11-10T20:38:00.001-08:00

I just realized in glancing at my last post that I somehow completely left out one of the most unique details about our Luau...Codi had absolutely no idea that it was going to happen or that Hawaiian shirts were packed in her weekend luggage. All of the planning was done quite sneekily behind her back. She thought she was coming up to my Poulsbo studio from Bonney Lake to have some family portraits taken and knew that her family would be spending the night at the Manor Farm Inn B&B directly across the street from me.

So that night while she was getting settled in to her room, Tiki Torches were being lit and the party was beginning. All we needed was our guest of honor. As her car drove up the driveway her jaw dropped and then she broke into a flabbergasted smile. Her camp friends surrounded her and were cheering as Codi’s dad wheeled her into the Luau.

"Go to an authentic Luau"?

Yes Codi, you can now cross that off your list!

Aloha

2009-11-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

It started with a wish. A wish passed on to me from a loving mother desperately trying to see what she could do to help her daughter.

A wish expressed by a young woman only 20 year’s of age but already in her fourth battle against Ewing’s Sarcoma. Codi is by no means throwing in the towel in her fight. In fact, her motto is “Bring It!” It is important for her though to still get her ducks in a row, so she has written out her Bucket List. Her mom Lisa was sharing the list with me a few weeks ago and naming off a few of the items that Codi has crossed off and a few others that she hadn’t. On the top of her list was, “Die without regrets”. Further down was, “Take a breath-taking picture”, “To help a stranger” and “To go to a Luau”. I realized that I might be able to help her cross off a few things. I knew I could help her with her photography wish and I felt that if I shared her story with others that could indeed “help a stranger”.

Then I started thinking about the Luau: the Pacific Northwest, November, typhoon-like rain and wind, a Luau? Why not? The only two resources I needed were my amazing Martha Stewart-esque wife Heidi, and my Camp Goodtimes family. I made a few calls, and they made a few calls, and suddenly things started falling together. We connected up with volunteer musicians and dancers, collected dozens of Tiki Torches, went on a huge Costco run, decorated my studio from top to bottom and adorned the front entrance with giant banana leaves. The mother of one of our camp counselors sent from her home on Oahu beautiful flowers, monstera leaves, head scarves for Codi, assorted traditional Hawaiian food items and even FedExed a special fresh lei for Codi that arrived the day before the Luau. A camp counselor’s sister, who has never even met Codi, made her beautiful earrings with “wellness” inscribed on them. People brought unique Hawaiian dishes to add to the feast and were decked out in their best Luau attire, although a few of them were wearing Uggs instead of flips flops. A few of our camp friends even spent the night before and after the Luau to set up and break down (and finish off the Mai Tai’s…thanks Putt Putt and Watermelon). And last but not least we had 50 people here on Saturday night that were treated to a night filled with love, music, dancing, great food, and the warmest feeling of Aloha.

“Aloha” by it’s definition means “affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy”. That did indeed define our entire celebration. There were prayers spoken in Hawaiian, songs of love and healing, the holding of hands, the giving of gifts, and the performance of traditional hula dances. All the while, Codi sat in her wheelchair wearing her leis and participating entirely in the wonderful gathering. Behind her on the floor was her bag of pain medications that unfortunately she had to dip into towards the end of the evening. Her smile was unwavering though and she didn’t want to leave. The musicians and dancers performed for about twice as long as we were expecting simply because they wanted to keep sharing their traditions with us.

In between dances at one point I said a few words of thanks to everyone and invited Lisa up to the microphone where she tearfully did the same. I inquired in a whisper to Codi if she wanted to say anything and she shook her head no. But after dances, songs and more dances (and after a Skype connection was made to her former camp counselors in Ohio and New York), Codi said, “I do have something to say.” I handed her the microphone and she said with a smile, “Because I now understand what it really means…Aloha.” To which the guests immediately responded back to her with the same wonderful sentiment.

When it was time for Codi to leave, she and her family didn’t have far to go. The Manor Farm Inn B&B across the street from my studio had donated a couple of rooms for them. So with a 30 second drive to a comfortable bed awaiting Codi, her Camp Goodtimes family formed a gauntlet of silliness lining the driveway to her car. While she was getting buckled in I asked her if she wanted to witness one last piece of Hawaii…body surfing. She grinned her approval and within seconds a few counselors were riding a human wave around her car!

The Luau kept going for a while longer and, luckily, one of the musicians locked his keys in his car so he and his family couldn’t leave! While waiting for AAA they all came back in and continued to dance and celebrate with us.

The next day Codi and her family all came over so we could actually do the photo shoot that was, in Codi’s mind, the only reason she was going to Poulsbo in the first place. I took portraits of everyone and then shot the official “Christmas card photo”.

The highlight of the entire weekend for me personally? Helping Codi to her car yesterday and then watching as she crossed “Go to a Luau” off of her Bucket List.

Thank you everyone who helped make this happen especially the musicians and dancers of nanaike.org, and thank you Codi for celebrating your wish with us. Our wish for you is for you to be feeling better each and every day.

Aloha!

I met Codi at the car to present her with her special lei sent all the way from Hawaii from our dear new friend Jane.

Bunny ears from "Daffy" in New York City while Skyping.

And finally, a different sort of goodbye wave, bodysurfing on a human wave!

A Halloween wedding!

2009-11-01T10:03:00.001-08:00

Matt and Melanie are not only a couple who are in love with each other, but also with Halloween. They have very unique taste to say the least. Yesterday's very small backyard wedding was filled with macabre decorations and people in full Halloween regalia. The ceremony couldn't begin until the groom showed up. The guests were a little mystified until Matt rose out of casket wearing an Elvis mask!

Tears, laughter and toasts - skeletons, vampires and ghosts. An afternoon to remember!

Just a random photo

2009-10-11T20:11:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Peter and Julia's wedding on Saturday in Woodinville. More photos to come but I thought I'd share this one, taken seconds before guests were to be seated in the church. I've been photographing Julia and her family since she was about 9 years old so her wedding day was very special for me. Watching people grow up, and capturing great moments along the way, is such a great joy. I can't imagine not knowing how to work a camera! Life zooms by and trying to chase down a moment at times can seem like one of those sad/hilarious cat videos where the little kitty is trying to step on the light beam from a flashlight! But during this wild ride, photography is my way of catching that light and then sharing that moment with others.

A camera is a much better tool for doing that than a paw! (poor kitties)

Heather and Mike at Kitsap Memorial State Park

2009-10-02T20:19:00.002-07:00

A fun couple on a beautiful late late summer night!

Amanda and Matthew- the big jump!

2009-10-02T20:19:00.001-07:00

A few classic portraits of Rachel

2009-10-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Senior portraits don't have to be boring. Rachel is a unique and stylish person...boring just wouldn't cut it!

Oh, these are cute too!

2009-10-02T20:05:00.001-07:00

Claire and her bridesmaids got ready in a beautiful little cottage straight out of Coastal Living magazine. The light was streaming through the skylights and created such a great opportunity to capture some quick portraits. I love the profile shot. It was only 1/250 of a second of the day but in that instant I think it captures so much.

Claire & Fowler

2009-10-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

A quaint garden setting on Bainbridge Island was the perfect backdrop for Claire and Fowler's wedding in mid-September. There was an eclectic mix of people from all over the country. The ceremony took place in Claire's parents back yard. The toasts were hilarious, the music was loud and even the family dog was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it all. He looked completely drunk with glee after having been petted by 100 people, chasing frisbees all day, snacking on leftover gourmet wedding food AND dancing with Claire's parents. I wanted to protect the dog's privacy (he is very high profile in the canine community on Bainbridge) so I won't post any pictures of him here (yet), but here are some photos of two of his favorite people!

Ellie performing the classic "hair-flip thing"!

2009-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ellie's senior portraits

2009-10-02T19:43:00.001-07:00

I've known Ellie since the day she was born. Photographing her the other day was emotional and classic at the same time. I'll post a larger series of those photographs soon but here are a couple of my more unusual favorites.

Ellie hanging out of one of my apple trees.

Puget Sound's only 45 degrees...why not hop in for some photos?

Jenn & Laurie's wedding

2009-10-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing Jenn & Laurie's wedding at Kiana Lodge. It was a wonderful day, and together with their dog Boo, they made a very happy family. The day was filled with love, laughter, good food and drink, great music and awesome people. It can't get much better than that!

OK, now it's been waaayyy too long!

2009-10-02T18:40:00.001-07:00

A month and a half since last posting something? What an awesome blog huh? I've been shooting all kinds of things lately from weddings, to family portraits, to high school seniors, to events. So many great moments. All of that added together with a wonderful late summer and early fall with friends and family has equaled absolutely no complaints (other than how do we keep the sun from setting any earlier than 8pm?...that should be illegal).

Hmmm...what to post first...hey, isn't this a cute shot of my sister-in-law Holly with her little man (my adorable nephew) Arlo?

Blind-sided

2009-08-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

So many people are mourning the loss today of Christopher Robin Odle. Six weeks ago I was sitting around a campfire with him singing songs and taking pictures...today he is gone. I'm shocked, confused and in disbelief at the moment. Cancer is so powerful and at times it seems almost patient in its destruction. Not in this instance.

Chris, when I hugged you goodbye on July 3rd I never could have imagined that it would really be goodbye.

Thanks for your wonderful smile, all the laughter and especially the music.

Another month has flown by!

2009-08-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, I really do suck at updating my blog in the summer! But hey, I've been busy. In the last month I've shot 7 weddings, had 3 family portrait shoots, two event shoots, led a two day workshop for the Camp Sealth photography campers at my studio, spent a week in the San Juans boating, AND spent another week volunteering at Camp Goodtimes on Vashon. Today it's back to the volunteer arena. I'm heading to Vashon again to hang out with the Sickle Cell Camp kids, take pictures, MC their talent show, and put on a slideshow. Tomorrow I'm changing hats again and skippering the Goodtime II to Camp Sealth with 300 kids from Fisherman's Terminal. This is actually my 30th year doing that (1979-2009...where does all the time go?). Even though photography has been my full-time job since 1989 (the year I finally did more photography than boat driving), I still love taking kids to camp in the summer, skippering my kids' field trips and driving the Christmas Ship's occasionally. My goal is to keep my license current until I'm about 100! I just wish I could clone myself in the summer. The problem is what to do with the annoying clone for the rest of the year!

Anyway, thought I'd share some recent photos from Piglet and Click's wedding (Amie and Tim). I met Amie as a 10 year old cancer patient at Camp Goodtimes and now she's all grown up and healthy and married to a great guy who is also an excellent photographer. Piglet has been a volunteer at camp for 10 years now and brought Click along with her last summer. She now works in Childlife Services for Children's Hospital and brings her wisdom, compassion, enthusiasm and wonderful zaniness to children every single day. She definitely brought the zaniness with her on her wedding day.

Congratulations to a wonderful couple!

Hey I've been busy lately!!

2009-07-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's been a month since I've posted something in here. In that time I've photographed 6 weddings and a half dozen other shoots and spent a week at the American Cancer Society's Camp Goodtimes. I'll try to organize some of my favorite photos soon to share. For now though here are a few of my favorite shots from Kyle and Rebecca's wedding last Saturday in Seattle.

Oh, and this is kind of funny. Kyle an Rebecca love the "Love" sculpture at the park but the "E" was missing so just to be goofy I Photoshopped their own personal "E" to complete the sculpture.

My first photography job!

2009-06-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful surprise I had the other night while photographing a multiple-reunion party for Lakeside School. Lakeside does it right and every year invites every class that has ever graduated from the school, in 5 year increments, back for a reunion party. There were quite a few classmates from 1959 and about 15 or so from the Class of '49. One of those was Richard Wheeler. I noticed him and he looked very familiar to me. I glanced at his name tag and realized who it was. I took the photo and then told everyone, "By the way, this was the man who gave me my first job as a photographer in 1977!" They all smiled and I shook Richard's hand, told him who I was and he broke into a broad grin. I had grown up with his daughter Wendy; in fact I was madly in love with her in first grade when I was 6 years old! He asked how my mom was doing and I said very well. He remarked what a beauty she used to be with her striking red hair. I told him her hair was a little softer tone of red these days but she was still very beautiful. It was so great to see him and it was also kind of weird to call him by his first name instead of "Mr. Wheeler". My parents only had about 3 friends that I ever called by their first names.

The day after I graduated from Bellevue High School in 1977, Richard Wheeler called me up. He ran Wallace & Wheeler Real Estate in downtown Bellevue. He told me that he loved my photography in the yearbook. I appreciated his compliment because as editor of the yearbook I had put 500 more photos in the book than had ever been in a BHS yearbook before (I actually had enough free time in those days to check up on stuff like that!). To me, photographs are windows for time and the more of those you have, the more clearly you can see a moment and remember it more distinctly.

Richard wanted me to come work for him as a photographer. Really? Me? A budding portrait photographer working for a well known local business owner? What did he need me to do I wondered, portraits of agents or owners perhaps? Nope. Houses. Pictures of houses. He said he'd pay me $5 a picture for photographs of homes for their "Homemaker's Showcase" monthly magazine. I was psyched. They gave me addresses of brand new homes all over the Eastside and I would drive around in my brother's 1970 Ford (piece of junk) Maverick, take pictures, then go home, process the film and then print the black & white photos in my darkroom. How classic is that? I got to the point where I could really crank out a lot of photos. So much so that he wanted to give me a pay cut later on! College though came along before that little photo recession was about to hit.

I still have the camera and the enlarger that I used that summer. Neither have been used for years but are a nice part of my miniature "Paul Dudley- The Photographer" museum, which also includes a number of other photographic enlargers and various cameras that you actually had to open up an put something in and take something out of occasionally. Strange technology that I still make use of for some work. Film is still beautiful. As long as it still looks cool on paper and they still make it, I'll shoot it even if it's just for personal projects.

So meanwhile, back at the reunion after my exhaustingly long sidebar, Richard pulled his cell phone out and said, "Let's call Wendy." I haven't talked to Wendy in 25 years and so I took Richard's phone and listened to it ringing. Wendy of course recognized her dad's phone number but not my strange voice. I said, "I was in love with you in 1st grade." She sort of have half gasped and then I said, "This is Paul Dudley" and she screamed. Not a blood-curdling-roller coster scream but one of those, "Oh my God!" screams that are quite pleasant actually. We exchanged contact information and I encouraged her to join Facebook so it would easy to share photographs of each other's families. This morning I noticed she had her page up and soon there I was...her first friend. Her first friend...from first grade!

I'm not sure what changed about my feelings for Wendy when I was 6. Perhaps I just got preoccupied all the things that 1st graders get preoccupied with like playing football, soccer, and baseball. We would have played basketball at school but the hoop was way to high! We also played boys-chase-girls or girls-chase-boys. If we caught them we were supposed to kiss them but most boys were too frightened to catch them. And when they chased us? Only a few of us smart ones stumbled on purpose.

Most boys ran like they were trying to escape a flood.

Miles is cool

2009-06-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I went up to Kingston Middle School to pick up Miles as well as to pick up the fish that we are adopting from his science teacher. It struck me while we were walking to his classroom that this segment of his life is coming to an end. He'll finish middle school in just over a week and then it's on to high school in the fall. Two years have zoomed by and now here he is just about ready to leave the place where he has excelled in the last two years; straight A's, first chair clarinet in the band, drum major....yes, drum major for the marching band. He just got back from a Disneyland trip with the entire band. What great experiences he has already had and so many more to come. He's poised, artistic, talented, and at times, a complete pain in the neck! I think he got that from my side of the family.

Hard to believe this is the little man that we brought home on Christmas Day in 1994! Where does the time go? Hmm...where DOES the time go?? Well, in my opinion, it goes beautifully from experiences in the here and now, to memories that inspire wisdom, knowledge, happiness or any assortment of other emotions and when bundled all together form a foundation for our lives. We keep building it, and hopefully it gets stronger and more encompassing as we age. As it strengthens and grows it continues to anchor more moments and experiences and provides the lens through which we can reflect upon how beautiful this gift of life is.

Just a random thought while following Miles into his class.

Oh crap! I forgot the fish food!

"Go ahead...make my day!"

2009-06-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

An afternoon with Kate in the garden

2009-06-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

I had the chance today to hang out with my cousins-in-law while Alex was having her piano lesson. I decided to bring my real camera today because Kate is always so animated. I wasn't expecting to see her playing in the garden with her grandparents enjoying a beautiful evening.

What a nice surprise!

Twilight Signature

2009-05-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I've used my iPhone as a "light pen"!

Alex can fly!

2009-05-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

An invite from some close friends, a cool rope swing, and amazing energy that only a child can provide equaled some very fun photographs.

I only got kicked in the face a few times but it was totally worth it!

Karen Boren, Principia, Illinois 1980

2009-05-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Allison's portraits

2009-05-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

A fabulous cousin model, a couple of great assistants and my concrete front steps made for some fun photographs!

Circle of Care

2009-05-19T14:17:00.002-07:00

I thought I'd share a few images that I took a few weeks ago at a conference attended by 600 people from across the country whose philanthropy greatly supports their local Children's Hospitals. I've photographed the conference since 2001 which has taken me all across the country. This year the travel was only across Puget Sound! The conference was held locally in Seattle again and featured a luncheon keynote speech by Tom Brokaw and an evening Gala performance Natalie Cole. The opening act was the Pike Place Market fish thrower dudes! Everyone was so much fun to work with. For me personally it is great to see so many of the same folks year after year. I am so impressed by their kindness and willingness to help children. Next year it's on to Atlanta!

Elton wore cool glasses in Boston

2009-05-19T14:17:00.001-07:00

Hi Pineapple!

2009-05-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, you asked for it. I'll post some more randomness here today!

Let's start with a photo of you....

A great afternoon with Kaelen

2009-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Kaelen's been through a lot already in his life. Now 17 years old, he's getting ready to embark upon the next stage of his life after high school. Not only is he smart, gregarious, polite, goofy, compassionate and an amazing athlete, he's also a cancer survivor.

I met Kaelen almost 10 years ago at Camp Goodtimes when he was in the middle of his fight against leukemia. He was a kid who was always ready to speak up and express himself as well as lend a hand to anyone else who needed it. I have been so proud of him over the years and that overflowed yesterday when I had the great chance to take some portraits and hang out with him and his parents, Wally and Tina. What a great afternoon and evening it was.

You should have seen the dance Kaelen was doing prior to and after descending into the icing waters of Hood Canal for a photo opp!

More random Krista portraits

2009-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Krista's Portraits!

2009-05-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

I had the great pleasure yesterday of spending about 5 hours with Kritsa and her family to capture some fun senior portraits (not to mention eating killer burgers on the shores of Liberty Bay!). Hope you like these...more to come!

First there is a photograph of Krista as an alien;

But here's the real picture...

Photographer's note: When taking 'reflection' photos of a human, make sure that the reflection doesn't make them look like they belong in 'Whoville'. This one went to the 'outtake' file!

A Classic Moment!

2009-04-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a shoot in Seattle this evening (or last evening now). When I pulled into the ferry dock to hop on the 10:55pm boat home I saw my friends Denise and Krista in the neighboring car. Denise had taken her daughter Krista shopping in Seattle and they had spent hours looking for a bridesmaid dress for Krista to wear for her brother's wedding this summer that I will be photographing. The girls were completely burnt out and exhausted from the whole ordeal. I'm going to be taking Krista's senior portraits in a few days but I got an idea. I told Krista how cool it would be if she got her bridesmaid dress on and met me up on deck for some photos. She groaned loudly and kept texting someone on her phone. Just as I was driving away to get on the boat I said through my open passenger window that I was going to take my camera up on the boat and if Krista wanted to be FUN she would meet me up there for some photos...if not, no big deal. As I was grabbing a pop, here she came in jeans and flip flops with her dress bundled up in plastic. She headed to the restroom to change and the rest is history!

I love this first shot especially. I hung my camera far off the side of the boat and had to bounce the flash off of my own white shirt to get the shot. In other words, I sort of eyeballed it and then closed my eyes when I took the shot so as not to blind myself!

I took the last few in black & white because her skin was turning purple!

Random spontaneity is the best. Thanks for being fun Krista and Denise, hope you enjoyed your nap in the car!

Like father like son!

2009-04-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time up in Bellingham recently. It was great to meet my new nephew Arlo and photograph him with his proud parents, Holly and Christian. Christian pulled out a photograph of himself when he was 5 days old taken by his photographer father. We tried to recreate the shot on Arlo's 5 day birthday. The backdrop was Heidi's sweater, which will need to be dry cleaned but it was well worth it!

It was a very memorable day and I'm looking forward to another fun photo filled visit this coming weekend in Poulsbo!

Tuesday's my favorite day!

2009-04-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd post a link to my first YouTube video.

My favorite day!

I will answer in advance the question that I know you would ask after watching the video...Yes, I did have too much time on my hands that day!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T08:18:00.001-07:00

Katie would have been proud!

2009-04-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some of the photographs that I used at the Wine Auction in a slideshow while Karen was giving her wonderful remarks. In this case, pictures were worth a thousand words, but Karen's words were definitely worth a thousand pictures!

To read Karen's remarks from that night, please visit her blog;

http://karengberger.blogspot.com/

The Wine Auction

2009-03-30T20:51:00.001-07:00

I wanted to wait until I had some photographs to share before I wrote about the Camp Goodtimes Wine Auction on Saturday night but I just can't. The evening was too amazing. The bottom line is that more than $150,000 was raised to go towards enriching the lives of pediatric oncology patients and their families in the state of Washington and Alaska. Camp Goodtimes strives to give back a small portion of the childhood that cancer takes away. Camp is a compassion building machine for the kids, for the staff and for any and everyone that comes into contact with the experience. The machine needs power, needs oil and needs a starter motor. That is provided by community support. If it wasn't for the wine auction, there wouldn't have been a second week of camp these past two summers. That means that 220 kids would not have been given the opportunity to attend camp. Since they were able to have that experience, friendships were made and amazing moments happened and those kids lives were permanently affected for the better.

Saturday night, the event was spectacular. Guests and volunteers dressed to the nines, and wonderful silent and live auction items to bid on. The entire evening we had a slideshow going on a loop of my photographs of the kids from summer. One highlight of the night was when the owners of Argosy Cruises, Kevin and Cary Clark, were given a special recognition award for their 20 years of dedication to the children of Camp Goodtimes. In those 20 years they have donated boats for summer cruises, Christmas cruises and even on occasion for memorial services for campers who had passed away; a total of 44 times! 44 cruises with no conditions. The only thing they were concerned with was that the kids be able to have a fun and memorable time out on Puget Sound. Watching the Clark's get a standing ovation and seeing the tears rolling down their faces was in my opionion, and I do have a 30 year affiliation with the company, Argosy's proudest moment. They were being recognized for their generosity, compassion and for making a difference in thousands of kids lives over two decades.

The highlight of highlights was provided by my courageous friend Karen Gerstenberger. She bravely stepped to the podium and told the most personal of stories to those in attendance, that of her daughter Katie's battle with cancer and her experience at Camp Goodtimes. Katie passed away only a month and a half after attending camp in 2007. With photographs of Katie rolling on the display screens, Karen slowly and deliberately spoke from her heart. The ambient noise in the room instantly stopped and the audience was glued to Karen and hanging on her every word. She told everyone she was going to be reading her remarks because she thought that was the only way that she could get through her speech but still she glanced up caringly and compassionately and connected with every single person in the room. The saying is overused but in this case, and not overstating at all, and I know because I was standing less than 10 feet away, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Immediately following her rousing, standing ovation the paddle raise took in $20,000!!! And that was in less than 5 minutes!!! I was so very proud of her and I couldn't help but think of how proud (and maybe just a little bit embarrassed) Katie would be of her mom.

Katie was alive and well in that room Saturday night. With her parents' Karen and Gregg, and brother David's unwavering love (and excellent memory), Katie's life will continue to have a huge impact on the world!

Thanks for asking Karen

2009-03-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

My long-time friend Karen (37 years and counting!) asked me how Risa's memorial service was yesterday so I thought I'd share some thoughts.

There must have been 300 people there and the mood was very positive and uplifting but tempered with the great weight of such a big loss. They had a great slideshow of her life, there was lots of singing, and many very heartfelt remembrances were shared. The same wish of Risa's was shared a number of times. She knew that her death would be hard for family and friends to deal with but she didn't want too much "moping". She wanted people to celebrate and dance and and carry on in life like she tried to do...not wasting a single minute. The more that sentiment was expressed I realized how important it would be to sing one more song that day...her favorite from camp..."Little Red Wagon". It's loud and potentially embarrassing but I knew Risa would have been proud. So with the help of our one full row of camp friends and three more in the back sitting with some soon to be astonished little old ladies from the church, we busted out a few verses of Risa's song...not too much, but just enough to bring some laughter into the room.

Later that day, some of us hung out over some pizza and "continued". My camp family is amazing. They feel life so deeply and are so appreciative and empathetic, of the moment and to others. They are also, on occasion, complete nutballs. That is why I love them. I am also thankful because they don't forget. This summer we will have our own "Memory Circle" at camp for Risa and, unfortunately, for the three other friends we've lost since last summer (Allison, Haylee, and Chris). When I say we are going to celebrate them, we really do. We don't just say it. We physically do it. We sing louder, play longer, and turn the music up to 11. That's our way of coping, of respecting, and of remembering.

Celebrating Life

2009-03-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Life is beautiful. It should be celebrated constantly and fervently. I remember watching an old Hercules movie when I was in high school. It was an Italian movie from the 1950's that was translated into English so badly that none of the lips matched the words. It was cracking me up until this giant battle was taking place and suddenly there was this little old wizard man who stopped the fighting armies. He put his hand on the shoulders of each sides' generals. He said in a voice that was a cross between Yoda and Morgan Freeman, "Life hangs by a thread...who is to say that we will be alive tomorrow?...so let us be happy today." That has stuck with me for 30 years. The little wizard couldn't have been more right. You don't know about the future. What you do know about is today and all of the possibilities of now.

Tomorrow I'll be at Risa's memorial service, her life cut short by cancer. By all accounts she really didn't waste any time in life and that does inspire me follow her lead. "Live every day like it's your last"? Well, not necessarily, because if you did you'd probably max out your Visa cards, dine and dash a few times, and really have a pretty hectic day (i.e. cleaning up your room, double checking your will, canceling your car insurance etc. etc.). But wasting time is just not an option...life is too precious.

To celebrate right "now" I thought I'd share some photographs of people enjoying the moment!