Dedication

Before I left on my one day trip, my son, Tony, said something to the effect: “Man, you’re going to drive all the way to the coast to take pictures. That’s dedication!”. That may not be a direct quote, but it’s close enough. I see it as no more than his practicing basketball nearly every day. He loves it, so it’s no problem.

While I was in Wilmington, NC, I met 3 other individuals who had a serious dedication/passion to something.

• Debbie – She is devoted to spreading the gospel of her religion, Church of God. She’s so dedicated that she moved from Charlotte to Wilmington to minister several times a week to surfers on the beach. She told me that she’s physically disabled and that she believed that it was only for a time, as she thinks that God will heal her. She’s spent some time sleeping in the state park in a tent when funds were low. She said that she’s also slept on the beach when funds were even lower! However, the only thing that matters is that she gets out the ‘word’. Debbie and I talked for a couple hours. It was an enjoyable conversation.



• Dave – Debbie introduced me to Dave. Dave was another missionary spreading the word of his church. I never did find out which church that was. He and his wife, Kathyrn travel all over the world spreading their faith. What was interesting about Dave is that each morning that he swims 2 miles along the shoreline. My best guess was that Dave was close to 60! From where I took the picture of a couple sitting on the beach, to the pier, where the lights are, is about 1-1/2 miles! He said that he just loves to swim!



• Unknown recycle lady! – I only spent a few minutes with this woman. I noticed her go over to a trash can, turn it over, and start sorting through the trash. She was recycling. She methodically took out potato chip bags, emptied them for the seagulls, put them in one plastic bag, emptied soda cans, put them in a different bag, and emptied plastic containers and put them into yet another bag. She said that this is her passion. She loves to recycle and that she would make her way all the way down the beach every day doing this. As you can see, she’s got a ways to go. She said that she used to work in a recycling plant. She would sort through trash all day in the top level of what looked like a barn, no air conditioning, and exhaust fumes from the earth movers operating beneath them. The used the earth movers to push around the tons of paper that they had to recycle. She said that she no longer works there and that the beach is a much better venue to do her sorting.

Regarding the last person, I’ll admit that I’ve been known to pick up the occasional piece of trash while out photographing, but have never gone to this level! I really liked her lack of fear, too. She didn’t care what people thought. She was just doing what she thought was important.

I’m finding that I really like to meet passionate people. I like meeting those few individuals who are not just wandering through life asleep at the wheel. They believe in something. It’s rather refreshing. There’s more to them than just their ‘job’.

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