June 3, 2022
This woman is my wife. (I like to say that.)
She doesn’t like this picture. I do. She doesn’t like it because her hair is wild and in her face and she looks just a tad bit crazy. I like it because . . . well . . . her hair is wild and in her face and she looks just a tad bit crazy.
As a photojournalist, I’m all about truth.
We got married yesterday so, technically, this is our honeymoon. I’ve learned on our honeymoon—just twenty-four hours– a great deal about this woman.
First, she is crazy.
Take for example the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge on the Antrim Coast. Some drunken Irish salmon fishermen back in the 18th century decided it would be a good idea to string a hundred feet above the ocean a couple of boards about as wide as the space separating the salami from the brie on a cheese board.
That’s the bridge and, if you look close, that’s my wife. The one waving.
She floated over the damn thing like Olga Korbut doing an arabesque on a balance beam.
This is in stark contrast to her husband. That would be me with his eyes glued on the charcuterie board and his hands wrapped tight around each rope. When my wife suggested I pause mid span and turn around for a photo, I politely but firmly suggested “that’s not going to happen.”
I’m normally not afraid of heights. After all, I’ve looked over the edge of Half Dome. But, as I got midspan, the shakes set in like the needle on a Richter scale on speed. (Several small children trapped behind me were terrified and their parents apparently did not believe me when I tried to explain I have a disability)
This study in agility and balance was also evident at the Giant’s Causeway. My wife hopped from basalt column to basalt column recalling her boulder hopping days with her brother Bob. That’s her out by the water.
Me? I gingerly made my way. . . oh, I don’t know . . . maybe 10’, might have been 20’ out onto the columns and sat down pretending to tie the knot on my slip-on shoes. This is me. My wife kindly took the photo from ten feet below to give the illusion that I was resting before making the final pitch to summit Everest.
We make a great team, my wife and I. Yes, she has the looks, the brains, but don’t forget I’m the one who can set up a tripod to snap a photo. That kind of mad skill set is rare.
"Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost" 