I had an Uncle name of Matthew.....

No, not really. But this past weekend I was reminded of the John Denver song about Uncle Matthew, more on that later.
I went to Kansas to surprise my Great Aunt on her 85th birthday. She lives in El Dorado, Kansas. My family has a very long history in that town. When I was growing up, I listened to my families stories of life in Kansas.
I grew up in Southern California. Orange County.....far away from Kansas. I listened to the stories of another time, another place and I really had no interest in them. I lived one mile from Disneyland. I had the beach, big cities, lots of friends. All of the things that I thought Kansas lacked.
My grandfather loved Kansas. He loved farming. He loved the out of doors. Due to some family hardships, he was forced to move to southern California. He never got over Kansas though.
He had made a vow never to return to Kansas. When I was little I thought it was because he did not like the state or the lifestyle. I learned that it was because it was too heartbreaking to return.
Once, when on a long family trip, my grandfather drove from Washington D.C. to Colorado, completely bypassing Kansas. Look at a map of the U.S and figure that one out.
I was 13 at the time and I just wanted to get home to see my friends. I was so mad at him for lengthening our trip by going around Kansas. I argued, begged and pleaded to continue on I-70 through Kansas. He refused. I normally won arguments with my grandfather and could not figure out why I was losing this one. With one final attempt I cried, "Why won't you go through Kansas?" I still remember his short but succinct reply, "Because I am as stubborn as you. When I don't want to do something, I don't."
There was no arguing after that remark. I did not argue for a couple of reasons. One, he was right. If I did not want to do something, I did not do it. And second, I realized that for my whole childhood, he had let me win every argument. He did not understand every choice I made, but he did understand my stubbornness. This was the first time I understood his. I thought since he let me win all the other times, I can give him this one. We did not go through Kansas. I did not see Kansas until after he died.
The first time I went, I finally understood what he missed. We went to the old farm where he was born. I saw the one-room school house where my Nana taught. I saw the old courthouse where my Nana and Gramps were married. I saw the old creek that he would play in as a child. I saw huge old black walnut trees that gave more shade than I thought was possible in Kansas. I understood why it broke my grandfather's heart to leave Kansas. It was beautiful. I did not picture Kansas like that at all. I felt sad that I never got to visit these places with my grandfather. Yet, he was there all the same.
This past weekend when I returned after a 15 year absence, I felt the same presence of my ancestors there. When I was laughing to the point of tears with my Kansas family, I felt the same familiar feeling I had when I was a child. I felt loved, I felt family connections to the town and I saw shadows of the people that I had loved that are no longer with us.
It was through the family and the drive that I was reminded of John Denver's song, Uncle Matthew.
"Joy was just a thing he was raised on.
Love was just a way to live and die.
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field,
and blue just a Kansas summer sky."

In one weekend I experienced the joy and love that the song talks about. I also saw the gold and the blue of Kansas. I forget sometimes that I do not have to go half way around the world to have the trip of a lifetime.

Do you have someone in your family that is your 'Uncle Matthew?' Maybe the way to get to know them better and to understand the 'joy that they were raised with' is to see the world through their eyes.

1 in 60,000

Depending on which website you use for reference, the average person has between 60,000-70,000 thoughts per day. That means you have a new thought every 1.2 seconds. That includes the time you are sleeping!
Have you ever had that one thought that led to an avalanche of other related thoughts?
Now imagine that you have had a negative thought and then the avalanche to follow is all negative. Does it work in reverse? I think so.
A very long time ago I had a friend named Steve. He and I used to hang out on my front porch on summer eve's and talk about everything. One the night before I was to go to London, I let him in on a secret fear of mine. I told him that I was afraid to fly, especially to fly over oceans.
The first time I did a long flight over an ocean was when I went to Hawaii. I was terrified. I kept envisioning the plane crashing into the water and sharks would come in for the kill. OK, I know that is not logical. I know that if a plane fell out of the sky into the ocean......sharks should be my last worry. But, hey, I was only 15 at the time. That fear continues into my 20's, until my conversation with Steve.
When I let Steve know about my fear, I told him that I was afraid that every time I got into an airplane I was afraid it would be my last. He asked me why I continued to fly. I told him that I had such a love of travel that I was willing to be terrified for a few hours so I could experience a few weeks in a new place.
Steve thought for a moment and then he said the one thing that changed everything for me.
He said, "Cathy, if you are meant to die in an airplane then that is how you will die. If you are not on a plane when it crashes, then you will be on the ground when it lands on you. How you're supposed to go is how you are supposed to go."
OK, I know it sounds strange that I took huge comfort in those words, but I did.
I did not know it then but Steve used a well known NLP technique of 're-framing' a thought or idea. He took my fear of flying and re-framed it onto my belief of 'how things are supposed to be.' He knew that I had faith that when my time is done, it is done. I was afraid that a plane would take me out before I was supposed to go. He actually put it in the frame of 'live your life and things will always work out how they should.'
Steve took that one negative thought and re-framed it so their was an avalanche of positive thoughts. Since then I have never been afraid to fly, travel, step outside of my comfort zone, because I know that God has already been there and I am fine. Yes, bad things happen, BUT I also know that "Everything is OK in the end. If it is not OK, it is not the end."
That statement has always been my other re-frame. I have never gone through anything where I wasn't OK in the end. In the middle of the deep, dark hole...I thought it could never be OK, but it always is.
Re-framing has always helped me to put things in perspective, and if I am going to have an avalanche of 60,000 more thoughts......I want them to be positive thoughts.

It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use. - Sam Abell

When I travel I do not buy souvenirs for myself. I buy them for friends and family. My souvenirs are the photographs, my memories in print. When I look at a picture that I took, I can feel what I felt the moment I captured the subject. I can feel the wind, see the light and remember things that I had forgotten. I am not a professional photographer, I just enjoy it immensely. I enjoy loading my pictures on to my computer, editing them with different software and uploading them to Flickr.
Before the days of digital photography, I had a very expensive SLR camera. I loved it. It took the best photos. I came in to the digital era kicking and screaming. I waited a LONG time before I bought a digital camera.
When I used an SLR, I had a backpack that held my camera, lenses, tripod and all of the equipment I may need to capture the moment. When I decided to switch to digital, I priced the DSLR's and immediately ruled them out due to the price factor. That actually ended up being a blessing. I now own an affordable Nikon Coolpix P90. What I love the most is the 24x optical zoom. That is the equivalent of a 600+ mm zoom. I do not have to change lenses.
The draw backs are that I can not add filters. My favorites were the polarizing filter and the UVB filter. I have not missed them too much because the photo 'darkroom' software is so good that I can edit my photos for the desired effect.
The camera does everything my old SLR did, manual controls, shutter priority, aperture priority, bracketing...everything I need. It is compact enough to fit into my travel purse but large enough to get the job done. It is not a lightweight model that you can fit in to your pocket, but I do not want that. I want to have high quality frame-able prints. The boat pic above was taken with my old Kodak z1015IS. I thought it took awesome photos but I wanted a higher zoom.
In my most recent trip to the Mideast, I used up an entire 8G sandisk memory card. Of course, I shoot at full 12 megapixels so I can blow up the photos for framing. If you do not want to blow up your photos, you can shoot at a lower MP and get more out of your memory.
Now, with all that said.....I have seen incredible prints from point and shoot cameras. Keep in mind, it is not the equipment, it is how you use it. If you are just starting out, I recommend getting your composition down. Really learn how to frame the subject. What angles are best?
Then get yourself some good software or photo service. Photoshop is great but it can be a bit intimidating for beginners. I like Picnik.com. I think I paid around $25.00 for one year. It works great with Flickr or Facebook and many other sites.
If you are serious about capturing the moments of your life......Get a free Flickr account and join some of the travel groups. It is a great way to share and learn a new hobby.
My house is filled with my photos. I have given them as gifts and made them in to cards. I have made photo books and shared my photos with my daughters geography class.
A picture is worth a thousand words?? Well, OK....for some. For me it is worth a whole lot more.

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

You have heard the complaints from your friends and family right? The French are rude, Venice smells, Muslim countries are dangerous and they hate Westerners. Did any of the rumors that you have heard stop your desire to go to a foreign country?
I have never run across a rude local in all of my journeys. I have never been to a country that I did not find beautiful in it's own way. I found the French to be lovely, Venice beautiful and Muslim countries to be charming.
Before I went to France, I had heard for years about how rude the French are. I had also heard that if you attempt to speak the language, they got friendlier. Isn't that the same all over the world? I know that here, in America, there is a huge prejudice to immigrants that do not speak English. I have also heard other English speaking countries have the same complaint. It is human nature to be suspicious of anything or anyone different. That is understandable.
What I do not understand is believing what other people say without checking it our for yourself. I really do not understand it when the media is involved.
One of my favorite geography shows is Globe Trekker. I would show this to my middle school students when I was teaching. I remember in particular, the episodes through Jordan and the Wadi Rum. Ian Wright led the way through local weddings, feasts and festivals.
I think when I saw that episode is when I first got my desire to see Jordan. Globe Trekker is definitely more 'liberal,' if you consider 'liberal' as meaning....getting to know the locals.
At times, I have ventured out of my comfort zone and been WAY nervous about a country that I was visiting. I have even not enjoyed 'the moment' because of the discomfort. Every time I get home from the journey and had a chance to reflect, I had fond memories of the event. I also had regret that I did not enjoy the moment more.
The regrets are getting fewer, the moments more enjoyable. I will never regret that I have never taken someone's word about a country as the 'truth.' I have always wanted to see for myself. I have never been disappointed.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. -Mark Twain

Last month I went to Egypt and Jordan. I got to see places that I have read about my entire life. The Valley of the Kings, The Pyramids, The Wadi Rum, Petra, The Red Sea, Mt. Sinai and much more. I went snorkeling in the Red Sea and saw the most incredible coral and sea life. It was truly a great trip with great sights to see.
The highlight, however, was not what I expected it to be. Living in America, I have heard a lot about the Mideast and Islam. I hate to say it but I do not ever remember hearing anything good about either one. Especially from the media. I guess I took it on faith that what was said was the truth.....and I am sure it was the truth that somebody else saw through their eyes. It is not the truth that I observed with my eyes.
We were escorted through Egypt by one of the most gracious people I have ever met. He is Egyptian, Muslim and lovely. He had the most wonderful sense of humor and was extremely knowledgeable about every place we went. I enjoyed his company immensely. He shared stories about his family and I shared stories about mine. He shared stories of his faith too. I think what impressed me the most was that when he talked about God, or Allah, he spoke of Him with such reverence. He spoke of Him with such beauty and grace, that you knew he truly loved and believed in Him. He spoke of his God, the way I wish I spoke of mine. In fact, I was able to get a whole new appreciation and understanding of God. Right there in the middle of the oldest mosque on the African continent, I felt a renewal of my faith...Christianity. I saw the common bond that he and I had. I saw the common bond that I have with all of humanity. I have heard it said that Christians and Muslims do not believe in the same God. That is just a way to keep the divide growing wider. Love God, love others. Isn't that what Jesus said? He did not put a qualification on others. He did not say, "Love others EXCEPT for those that do not believe in me, oh yeah, and do not love homosexuals, Democrats, Republicans, people who do not salute the flag or people that criticize the government." Yet, I have seen too many Americans, that claim to be Christian, act like that is what He said. I found a Jesus without borders while I was in the Mideast. I looked at people that probably looked a lot like Him. I found the God of all, the God of the Mideast, America and the rest of the world. I see Him in the eyes of a Muslim, a Jew and an atheist. It does not matter, we are all His.
Since my return, I have looked for quotes for this blog. I chose the one from Mark Twain as the title of this post. I almost chose one from Malcolm X that also summed up how I feel: "The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it."
I paraphrased a bit, but the gist is there.
Remember the story of the good Samaritan in the Bible? In case you are not familiar with it. Jesus praised a Samaritan for doing the 'will of the Father" even though he was a non-believer, according to the Jews. (The true root of their dislike is unknown but the Jews thought they were not pure in their religion. Sound familiar?)
We live in a country that is made up of human beings. With human beings comes human error.
The media is made up of human beings. Again comes human error. Have we gotten it wrong? I think in many cases we have. When we judge a whole region by the actions of a few, that is wrong. Don't get me wrong, I have NO desire to go to Saudi Arabia where they behead tourists
for practicing 'witchcraft.' I do not want to wander around Iraq or Afghanistan without an armed escort. But I do not want to make the mistake that the whole region is like that.
King Abdullah II from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan said it best when he said, "When you hear about a riot in Cincinnati, you do not avoid going to Boston." Same with the Mideast. You do not avoid that part of the world because of the fanatics involved with 9/11. (my words)
I know that in my wanderings, my wonderings have changed quite a bit. I now wonder what would happen to the prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness of all people if they would just travel outside of their comfort zone. I believe Mark Twain got it right, it would be fatal to those beliefs. It was to mine.

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." -- Susan Heller

When I was 25, I made my first solo overseas trip. It wasn't too adventurous...I was going back to England. I had not been in 7 years and I was so excited to go. If I had been truly adventurous I would have gone to a new country where I did not speak the language. But ever since my first trip there, I had burning desire to go back.
I had decided to travel light because I wanted to get around easy. I took one carry on for the 2 weeks I planned on being there. This was pre 9/11 so there were no long lines, except customs.
The first time I had gone to England we were all stuck in Heathrow for hours. Our luggage did not make it on the same flight as us. It was coming on a later flight...much later. We had to wait in customs until our luggage got there. That was my reason for wanting to do the carry on...I wasn't going to waste 3 hours sight seeing time in the airport.
When I arrived at Heathrow, I got my carry on and walked right past all of the people waiting for their luggage. I went up to the security check point and attempted to walk on past. He stopped me, very politely, with a "Love, you can not leave this area until you have all of your luggage."
I told him that I had all of my luggage.
"That is all you have?"
"Yes," I replied.
"You have absolutely nothing else for you coming off of that plane?"
"No, this really is all I have."
I could see the cogs working in his brain as he was thinking. I could tell that he did not quite believe me and he finally said, "Are you sure you are from America?"
Remember the line in the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, "You Americans are always overdressing for the wrong occasions."
One of the things that I have learned on my travels is that Americans have the reputation of packing too much. I have always broken that stereotype. When we went to Ukraine in February of '05, I took 3 outfits. They were all mix and match so it looked like I had more. I also took Woolite and some bungee cords for a makeshift clothesline and washed clothes in the sink every night.
The last trip I took was in March of '09. I traveled through Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It was a 2 week trip. Once again, I had my one carry on with my 3 outfits. I ran in to a young lady from Miami. She had brought a new outfit for every day she was to be gone. She had one large suitcase and a medium sized suitcase and the old fashioned makeup bag. She used everything she brought. I have found her to be in the minority though.
Most people I have talked to have said that they took too much but would rather have too much that not enough.
Not enough? What exactly does that mean? Not enough clothing to cover the body entirely? That would be embarrassing. Not the right formal clothing in case you get invited to the palace for dinner? Also embarrassing. Although I have never met anyone where that situation has actually happened. What does it mean?
One of the things I really like about traveling is to be surrounded by the unfamiliar. If I take everything I own with me, well that is too much of the familiar. I like forgetting about myself, what I own or don't own and seeing a whole new world. I love how I feel. There is no 'me', there is only my eyes and my camera. Everything else does not matter. When I get dressed in the morning, I make sure I do not have any breakfast between my teeth, my hair is combed, my body is covered appropriately for the country I am visiting and then I do not pay attention to myself for the rest of the day. The rest of the day is about the experience of the country.
It is not only a vacation from the daily schedule of home, it is a vacation from me. My daily thoughts, worries, mundane activities are gone if only for a few days. I do not want to worry about what I wore yesterday and what I will wear today. My only concern is the cleanliness of my clothes and that I do not offend. I find that as relaxing as being away from the daily grind.
I wander through the airports of the world and watch travelers grab a cart and haul of their 2-3 suitcases per person and wait in the line at customs. By the time they are through the line I have already checked in to the hotel and started my vacation.
Yes, I have a lot of pictures of me in the same outfits. I look at it this way....I have a lot of pictures of me from all over the world.
One of my favorite travel site is "Don't forget your Toothbrush." You can join for free. Make a list of what you want to take and set up the pre-travel e-mails that will remind of you of what to do. Everything you need is on the list from watering the plants to well, packing your toothbrush.

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer" - Ansel Adams

When I travel, I travel lightly. I pack 1 carry on for clothes, my travel purse that carries my passport, credit cards and my most important piece of equipment...my camera. I am not a souvenir hunter. My souvenirs are my pictures.
I have had several versions of digital point and shoot cameras. Most of them have been Kodak, but I have now switched to Nikon. You can see a more in-depth gallery of my photos at my flickr site. (My flickr photostream.) All of the photos on my photostream are from my various Kodak cameras.
I have used my photos as postcards, greeting cards and framed prints. I use a fairly high megapixel because I blow my prints up as high as 20" x 30".
I am in the experiment phase of my recent purchase of the Nikon Coolpix P90. There are new buttons, bells and whistles to figure out. I upgraded to a 12 MP and a massive 24x Zoom.
You do not need large MP or a large Zoom for regular prints. I want as close to a DSLR as I can get, except I do not want to change lenses. I used to carry my old SLR in a camera back pack with several different lenses, filters etc. Although I think the film SLR took better pictures, the digitals have gotten so good that the difference to me is negligible. I would rather sacrifice a little quality for convenience. If I was shooting pictures for National Geographic, I would rethink the decision. (Of course if they called, I would definitely rethink it!)
I love looking through photography books of the country I plan to visit. I get inspiration and try to think of ways to capture the same over-photographed site in a new angle.
You do not need to spend a lot of money on books. Go to your local library and check them out. If you live in a larger city, go to your local bookstore and grab a few and sit down right there on the floor. My Barnes and Noble has big cushy chairs! Of course I always end up buying my favorites! Big stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders have a bargain section where you can get high quality coffee table books for half price.
If all you want is to snap 'memories'...well then you can probably ignore any photo tips or books. If you want high quality photos that you are proud to frame, pass on or on your own Flickr photostream....then take some time to develop your own style.
There is a reason people recognize the big photographers such as Ansel Adams, Annie Liebovitz, my old fave- Edward S. Curtis, because they are the unseen second person in the photo. You can not mistake their eye when you see it. Many have tried to imitate their style, but you can not imitate the truly great photographers. They have their own style, and so should you.





Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Edward S. Curtis: Visions of the First Americans