Paul Lester Photo

I must say that I am very fortunate to have picked a career, software development, that I really love. It’s made for a very cool 27 years of work experience. Of course, if I were to pick something else to do, it would probably be photography.

I met the gentleman pictured here at the Farmer’s Market, yesterday. He’s not a farmer, that I know of, he’s a craftsman. I only spent a few moments with him as I saw him doing work on this etching for one of his customers.

When I walked over, I focused on him and he stood up and smiled. I asked him to continue his work, as I wanted to get a photo of him doing what he likes to do. That led to a short conversation about work. He said that he was a Certified Public Accountant for 20 or so years, but he felt ‘trapped’. He decided to quite, change his lifestyle, and carve wood for living, which is what he does now. I love those kinds of stories.

He asked me: Do you love photography? I said: Yes, sir! He said: Do you think about it all of the time. I said: From the time I get up until the time that I go to sleep! He said: I’ll bet you’re really good at it, too. I said: I suppose I am, thank you.

I asked him how long he’d been working with wood: “Since I was a boy. My dad was a carpenter and I’ve always liked to work with wood!”. So, there you have it, a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Although I spent only a few moments with him, I was glad to have met him. I think that I’ll see him again when I make back to the market. Perhaps I’ll even find a piece of his work that I’d like to own.

I was sitting in the Atlanta airport on Thursday morning waiting for my connection to Akron. I was dressed appropriately for Charlotte weather. I had on shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals. It was quite comfortable. When I sat down in the terminal in Atlanta, I noticed that it was very cold in the terminal. So, I sought out a place to get warm. Fortunately, there are lots of windows in the Atlanta airport, some of them facing east.

I moved to a seat next to the the window where I could feel the heat from the sun radiate through that same window, watch the planes come and go, and get a bit warmer. After I had sat at the window for a short while a couple came up and sat in the seats opposite me, for the same reason. They commented that they were from Oregon and had been in Atlanta for about a week and it just so happened that this week had been a bit chilly, about the same as what they would get in Oregon, save for one really hot day in the 90′s and another moderate day in the upper 70′s.

We sat and talked about the differences between Atlanta, GA and Portland, OR, both of them saying that they wouldn’t mind living in Georgia. We also talked about NASCAR, as I noticed that her husband had on a NASCAR had emblazoned with the number “3″, Dale Earnhardt, his favorite driver.

It was fun to watch the conversation between this couple. They seem like they had been married for quite a while and it was easy to see who was in charge. She, at one point, chided him for his selection of clothes, saying that he had to have the most flamboyant and mismatched clothes in the airport. He had on a NASCAR had, a college football t-shirt, and his carry-on bag had a baseball theme. Truly a man ready for most any sport. Also, the colors didn’t match. He simply, smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said: Big deal. We’re traveling home. We’re not going out to a fancy restaurant! I liked his style! LOL I was able to share pictures from my NASCAR experience with them. We all got a laugh out of that. They loved the photo of the ‘lady’ flipping the bird to one of the drivers.

Eventually, she told him to go find a restroom and use it because it was almost time to board the plane. He did as he was told. Further, she added: If you find one of those smoking rooms, make sure you make it back, or I’ll leave you here smoking yourself to death and I’ll head on home!!! After he left, she said: He knows that I don’t approve of smoking, but he does it anyway. He won’t quit!

Well, he made it back in time for the flight. They left. I continued to enjoy my place in the sun, sitting atop my ‘rock’ and sunning. I did notice how the loud that airport was with the constant recorded security announcements every minute, gate announcements, carts buzzing and beeping here and there, people talking, incessant chatter of the television stuck on CNN, and general din of the terminal, but I still enjoyed that time between flights chatting it up with someone that I’d never met before and probably will not see again.

On the way back, today, it was great seeing that they airport was stuffed with passengers even though it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Great that people didn’t get scared and stay at home!