Framing the Sound

Category: Springtime

  • The Unexpected Companion

    Learning to live in a way you’ve never lived before—especially at my age—is a lesson in humility. All 69 of my years have been lived as if I could do just about anything I wanted. And truth be told, I’ve done most of it.

    To start with, I’ve got a woman who’s put up with me for half of those 69 years. She’s never complained about my shortcomings as a husband. I don’t cook, I don’t clean… I could go on, but you get the idea.

    I’ve also raised four children—two with my present wife, and two from a previous marriage back in Kentucky. I wish I could’ve done more for the two in Kentucky, but life doesn’t always unfold the way we hope it will.

    I’ve tried to provide for both families the best I could over the years. Some would say we’ve done a pretty good job as parents. I’d like to think so too.

    But age has a way of introducing the unexpected.

    And lately, the unexpected has taken up residence as I approach my 70th trip around the sun. Let me introduce you to my new companion: degenerative disc disease.

    Now that this uninvited guest has made itself at home in my aging body, it looks like we’ll be traveling together from here on out, wherever the road leads. And you know what? I accept that.

    I’m grateful for whatever time I have left. And don’t worry—I’m not looking to cash in my ticket early. There’s still too much to see… and if I’ve learned anything by now, it’s that there’s always more of the unexpected waiting just around the bend.

    It’s not what you expect, and that’s a part of life

  • I’m a Degenerate!

    And I’m using that as my excuse for the long gap between blog posts. Let me explain…

    Back in January of this year, after a wedding shoot, I started noticing some lower back pain. Nothing severe—just an annoyance. I brushed it off as a pulled muscle from bending, twisting, and hustling around with heavy camera gear.

    But the pain didn’t go away. It got worse.

    By the end of February, I figured it was time to see my VA doctor. X-rays were scheduled, and about a week later I got the news: I’m a degenerate.

    Well—not me exactly… but the discs in my back.

    Degenerative disc disease.

    Once it was explained to me, it all started to make sense. The worsening pain, the discomfort that wouldn’t quit—it’s those worn-down discs putting pressure where they shouldn’t be, triggering sciatic nerve pain.

    So now, I’m learning.

    Learning to move differently.

    Learning to slow down.

    Learning to be intentional.

    Things I love—gardening, playing guitar, tapping out rhythms on my slap-top cajon, mowing three acres of lawn, even getting down low for macro shots of bugs—all of it now requires a bit more thought, a bit more strategy. The goal is simple: don’t make things worse.

    It’s an adjustment, no doubt about it.

    But if there’s one thing I’m realizing, it’s this: adapting isn’t quitting—it’s continuing, just a little wiser than before.

    Still… I stand by this truth:

    Aging is not for the young at heart!

  • Generative AF?

    Generative artificial intelligence is taking over the world. I’m sure you’ve heard about it or seen it on the nightly newscasts and in newspapers all over the world and in every language. It won’t be long before humans become an extinct species.

    Generative AI has become the bane of all existence on our Pale Blue Dot. We will soon have no control over anything. Our lives will become meaningless and we will whither away and fade into whatever the Generative Bots decide is best for us.

    Because GB’s will be as knowledgeable and more powerful than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet, and they’ll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, humans will run away as fast as they can. But of course the GB’s will catch us because, as I mentioned, they’re going to be faster than a speeding bullet.

    We have no recourse but to accept defeat, because those GB’s are as generative as fuck!

    They win, we lose.

    The End.

    This image IS NOT generative as fuck!

  • Dealing with Disappointment

    I suppose there are many different ways one can handle it, positive and negative. It may need to be measured in some form or fashion before you can choose how to deal with it. Life here on Pale Blue Dot is so full of them that it becomes second nature to either accept them and move on, or ignore them and move on. Either method can be both subjective and objective at the same time.

    It’s disappointing to not be chosen for a position on the high school basketball or football team. Especially if you think you’re good enough. You wonder why it wasn’t noticed at tryouts. You watched and learned many different moves and strategies for the game, you’ve practiced and played with friends at the local park during summer. They all seemed to think you were quite good.

    I wasn’t chose, but that has no effect on those that were. They might be thinking it was best for the team that I wasn’t picked. They might’ve noticed my method of handling the ball looked a little awkward, or I was just a little too slow running the 50-yard dash. Their views and opinions are completely objective to me, my opinion of myself is what should matter for being picked, right?

    Perhaps. If you show that you are okay upon discovering that you weren’t picked, if you can come to grips with what is probably better for the team, if you can tell yourself “next time.” And keep believing that there will be a next time.

    Life is full of choices, and I understand that sometimes not being chosen is best for the team. But handling the disappointment within is not a team effort, you are the only one that can take care of that. Just know that there’s always a next time.