MY STORY

On January 20th 2010 I departed for my Colorado adventure. Final destination is Telluride, CO. My previous employer closed our Boston office on October 31, 2009 and this seemed to be the most opportune time to do something different. My inspirations are two things really. They are both movies. First is "Into the Wild", a movie about a person who leaves his life behind to pursue a life in the Alaskan wilderness and along the way he meets people that shape his life. The second movie is "The Bucket List", a movie about two terminally ill men who escape a cancer ward with a wish list of to-do's before they die. The #1 item on the wish list is "Witness something truly majestic". My adventures are not exactly similar to these movies, but underlying themes and life changing perspectives are. As far as the location, I thank my sister for that. She lived in the beautiful & remote town of Telluride for five years and met Paul there. Their 1997 wedding was in Telluride (Trout Lake). Telluride is nestled in the dramatic Rocky Mountains of Southwest Colorado.

BLOG 101

If you are new to blogs so am I. Here is an intro. The home page http://mycoloradoadventure.blogspot.com/ has all the posts (the write ups) in order and they work so that most recent is at top of the order. i.e. Day 1, my first post/write-up, is on the bottom page of all the posts/write-ups. On the left side of the blog site there is a "Blog Archive" section where you can navigate to pick and choose year, month and then specific daily posts/write-ups. I wanted to share this in the event you are new to blogs.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Day 63 - 3/23/10 - A picture worth too many words





"No crying, no tears, only celebration. He wanted people to celebrate. He envisioned it to be a beautiful party. The most amazing people would be there. His friends would celebrate his life. And he was even specific that there would be clinking of ice and whiskey" - Hunter S. Thompson





Today is Tuesday March 23rd 2010. Let's jump right into today's quote and what the hell is going on in this here picture of the day. The picture will dictate the writing for today and since I did not take the picture, I went to the photographer Liam Kennedy. Pictured are Jenny Soltoff Kennedy in the foreground and Colm Kennedy in the background. Jenny is the wife of Liam. Colm (brother of Liam) started my adventure off doing the drive out from Boston with me. The picture description from Liam:

"It was Christmas Morning (picture was taken at about 9 in the morning). First Xmas without Dad so Colm and I got after the bottle early…seriously (had 1st of many whiskey shots/irish coffees) Anywho, Jenny wanted a nice picture to send to her parents with her new Diaper bag I had just got her (had to be Designer Diaper bag of course...don’t get me started). As I was about to take the picture Colm said for me to hold on as he wanted to slip behind her without her knowledge and do what he did. So I delayed as long as I could, Colm grabbed the bottle of Jameson and I took the pic. I didn’t show Jenny the picture before I sent it to her parents. A much needed laugh on a very bittersweet Xmas….."

Thanks Liam. Now that I'm a photographer I can tell you that this is a GREAT shot. Some of you reading this blog understand that there is a lot of emotion in this picture. For those of you who cannot, I will do my best to explain.

The picture was snapped on Christmas Day 2009 at the Kennedy household in Halifax, MA. Jenny has her new diaper bag gift from Liam. At the time of the picture Jenny is approximately 6 months pregnant and she wants a picture to be sent to her parents in Maryland, where they reside. This is a thoughtful request as I am sure Jenny misses her family on Christmas Day. Her nice model-like shot is turned upside down by the Kennedy boys. Typical. What better person to break into the scene of a meaningful shot then brother-in-law Colm? Jenny, even with the backdrop, you still look great.

This picture would also capture the first Christmas Day that the Kennedy family would not have their patriarch present. On October 11th 2009 Robert (Bob) E. Kennedy passed away. In the words of his obituary, he died "following a courageous battle against illness." The Kennedy family has been near and dear friends of mine for 17 years now. Liam is the common thread. He and I met August of 1993 on the Babson soccer fields and since we met we have been best friends. Liam's mother Sarah has been supportive of me for every one of those 17 years. She and Bob were kind and caring people, a nurse and a teacher, respectively. Aisling is Liam's sister and her family (husband John and children Eoin and Siobhan) is always fun to be around. They live in Concord, MA. Finally, there is Liam's brother Colm. He is like a younger brother to me and as I mentioned, he accompanied me at the outset of this adventure...a cross country trip I will never forget. All the Kennedy children carry values of their parents. They are kind, caring, unselfish and hard working. Many people felt the loss of their father.

I turn to the quote to honor both Mr. Kennedy and the backdrop piece of the picture of the day. I read this quote and it seemed to fit perfectly from what I grew to learn of Mr. Kennedy. It would be the way he wanted things to be when he passed. Colm has done the quote justice. Although there would be no glass with ice involved, the whiskey is present and his actions are the epitome of celebration.

The picture captures several very different emotions.
  1. a daughter who did not spend Christmas with her family, but is happily showing off a Christmas gift in a picture for her parents.
  2. a son who is celebrating his first Christmas without the presence of his passed father.
  3. a girl who poses innocently for a picture without knowing what is going on in the background.
  4. a guy who knows exactly what the outcome of this picture will look like.
  5. a soon-to-be mother who is carrying a new life.
  6. a son who extends an Irish honor to the end of a life.
Thanks for reading and I hope you are well. Good night from Telluride.
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