JWilsonphoto wrote:
Took my good friend and T38 Crew Chief to lunch today. Brought him a 40" gift for his wall. We began planning air to air line ups for 2013..........gonna be very, very cool!

Awesome can't get enough of this photo

Sorry people don't have a photo handy i'm at my mothers house restoring her pc that went down the drain I will make up promise

Tora Tora Zero Alliance 2012

Mark sorry for your loss. I am a GSD lover too. They are so loving and become one of the family; they are hard to lose.

Meet Zoe, when skunks and rabbits have been near, she thinks she is a pointer...

That's rough, Mark, all of it. I hope when the time comes you'll photograph the ceremony at Arlington.

Still mining the Hawaii folders. The first is a view from the shoulder of the Kohala Mountains overlooking the Pacific. The others are from that same 1986 lava flow.

Mark, sorry for your loss.

Steve, the lava photos take me back to my honeymoon on the Big Island back in 2003. We stayed in Kona and drove to Kilauea. While at the crater some one asked if we had seen the lava flow, which had recently restarted and was about a 1/8 mile from reaching the ocean. Intrigued we drove down then hiked to the active flow. We arrived there about mid-day with a single 8oz bottle of water to share. We stayed within feet of the flowing lava until after sunset so as to see the entire hill side glowing in the dark. We then hiked back to the car, in the dark, without a flashlight over all that old, sharp lava. Needless to say, the wife and I didn't feel too well the following day. Lots of heat, lack of water, and volcanic gas isn't a good combination. It was so worth it, and I'd do it again tomorrow.

John

Mark, sorry for your loss.

Lightning

Dear Mark,

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, sorry you had such a tough week. My brothers and I were watched over during 15 years of our childhood by "Blaze" our purebred German Shepherd. Blaze suffered the same weakness at the end of his life, his back legs just wouldn't carry him anymore. They are a very special breed, have an intuition and a deep love of their family members. Blaze would be laying in the yard while we all played, if a stranger looked like they might be headed our way, those ears went vertical and he'd be burning a hole in whoever it might be until he determined the threat level.

Those footprints in the yard will vanish eventually, but the ones on your heart never will. Sorry for your losses. Thanks for thinking enough of us to allow us to help you carry a little bit of them.

JW

P51D

Flybyphoto wrote:
Mark, sorry for your loss.

Steve, the lava photos take me back to my honeymoon on the Big Island back in 2003. We stayed in Kona and drove to Kilauea. While at the crater some one asked if we had seen the lava flow, which had recently restarted and was about a 1/8 mile from reaching the ocean. Intrigued we drove down then hiked to the active flow. We arrived there about mid-day with a single 8oz bottle of water to share. We stayed within feet of the flowing lava until after sunset so as to see the entire hill side glowing in the dark. We then hiked back to the car, in the dark, without a flashlight over all that old, sharp lava. Needless to say, the wife and I didn't feel too well the following day. Lots of heat, lack of water, and volcanic gas isn't a good combination. It was so worth it, and I'd do it again tomorrow.

John

We were too sensible to hike to the live flow in our sandals. Ah, youth!

J-A, the Brat is lookin' good!

We'll have at least one MiG17 behind the Mitchell at AFW 2013. How many chances does one get to go A2A with a Soviet Supersonic?

Locked and loaded...........................

"Break!"

The definition of sweet light.....................

Mark, as I read your post I was reminded of Mr. Hobbs who walked on four weeks ago today. I am so very VERY sorry for your loss. Both of them

JWilsonphoto wrote:
We'll have at least one MiG17 behind the Mitchell at AFW 2013. How many chances does one get to go A2A with a Soviet Supersonic?
Mmmmmmmmm ok im back to sleep now

Mark,

So sorry for your loss's, both your trusted friend and the sudden loss of your Uncle. The November picture is beautiful but you can certainly see the grey and strain of time on him. The vibriance shown in the 2007 photo's really show his strength and character. May god hold the wind at your back for a while.

Colin, love the words of Rainbow Bridge. Pictured below is Butch, who will be waiting for me at the bridge. He was our protector and friend, much as Jim described Blaze to be. Butch was with us for 12 years, pound mut, rotten lab I called him (Black Lab, Rottweiler, Great Dane mix) and the most wonderful, faithful friend. He left us in 2011 just 2 weeks before our move to Iowa. Clara and I had just had the conversation whether he could make one move and two days later she call me at work to say it was time.

Dan

Mark, I am sorry for your losses, that is a rough week for sure.

bobl wrote:
Mark, as I read your post I was reminded of Mr. Hobbs who walked on four weeks ago today. I am so very VERY sorry for your loss. Both of them

Thanks Bob, I was thinking of Mr. Hobbs too.

Colin, thanks for the Rainbow Bridge post. I can never get through reading that....

Ray, Zoe is beautiful. Kelsey had the same lithe build to her. She weighed about 70 pounds.

Dan, I'm sorry about Butch. Yes, Kelsey was definitely showing her age. She had lost much of her hearing, but her eyesight was still sharp, and she was still very alert. I'm just glad she didn't suffer and we had her for as long as we did.

Thank you to everyone else for the words of support.

Jim, I have thought often of you and Blaze these past few months. I remember you talking about him before, and how your family had reached the point where he had to be carried. Luckily our house is a split set into a hillside. That means there is one step out of the house onto the back porch, and from there one more step to the yard, or else we would have also been at the carry stage with Kelsey some time ago.

Steve, I have thought about photographing the Arlington ceremony, as long as my aunt and cousins are OK with it of course. I'm sure I'll be asking for advice when the time comes, as it will be a real challenge for me. He was cremated, and I don't know if they will be going for an interment or placement of the urn in the Columbarium.

Thanks again everyone.

Mark

Rodolfo Paiz wrote:
cbrandt wrote:
I did this trip your doing a couple of years ago - shooting Merritt Is NWR every other day [...]

Thanks a bunch for the pointers, Curt. I've filed it for another day, because planning changed quickly and radically when I mentioned the word "alligator" to Daniela. We are now spending tomorrow at the KSC and then heading over to Orlando for Sunday and Monday. Looks like Merritt Island is going to be a future outing with Anya.


O bummer .. but on the WD in the boonies, you'd want to be careful walkin' around for sure ! Not like the more public / commercial WD they normally shuffle folks to.