Destiny...

I figured I would start with a picture than means the most to me personally.  Pardon the quality, It was taken several years ago before I made the leap to digital, so what you are viewing is a scanned 35mm print.  It was taken in 2004 as I was hiking in the mountains of Blairsville, GA one July afternoon.  I stumbled upon this lonely rock pile in a riverbed along the way.  Strong yet vulnerable. Independent. Balanced.  Beautiful.  I said a quiet thank you to the unknown hiker that left it there for me to find, and then to Mother Nature for aligning the stars and tides so that it could remain standing until I found it. 

Fast forward several years to a chance encounter with an American soldier. "Here's my address. Stick it in your boot and take it with you."  Who says that anyway?  Well... apparently, I do.  And so it began, an intimately surreal penpal-ship (yes, I made that word up) that touched my heart and hugged my soul.  I included this photograph in one of my letters to him not knowing the impact it would have until his return.  I met him in his office one afternoon and there, framed on his desk, was this photo.  The edges were tattered and torn and it had been through Hell, but it had been through Hell with him.  Since the day he received it, the soldier carried it in his acu pocket.  I may never know exactly what it meant to him, but I do know what it meant to me... Destiny.

Peace, Love & LiveSTRONG,  ~Kj