> In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined the kindness and
> generosity others have shown me.
That's the story of my life. Thank you, Bill. My wife and I do as much
as we can to be a blessing to others. Sometimes, it's a bag of
groceries (we've been the recipient of such when we had no groceries
in the house so we know the feeling), money, or even a $7000 vehicle.
In most cases, it was still a sacrifice to give. It's easy to give out
of your own largess, but when you give from your own cupboard, from
your own limited resources, it takes on a different life.
Giving isn't about the recipient, it's about yourself. We can get all
upset that a gift wasn't acknowledged, appreciated, etc., but is it
really about them? Sometimes, yes, but more often than not it's about
yourself.
I've probably shared this before, but the day I got this mystery
package, opened it up and found a shiny OM-3Ti tucked inside, I balled
like a baby. OK, maybe not that much crying, but it was incredibly
emotional. Speechless with heavy rains. When I called Wayne up, I
could barely whisper, much less carry on a conversation. I've since
had at least one other similar conversation with him. I can only hope
that my return friendship during his own time of need has been
sufficient.
Jim Timpe and James Olsen provided me with an OM-4T, that had an
incredibly profound effect on me. This is the gift camera that
completely reawakened me to the world of film. Had it not been for
that camera, I'd have bought an E-3 and abandoned film entirely. The
timing was incredible (literally weeks before the E-3 purchase) and I
never had a second thought. My photography has undergone a revival as
well as my love for photography. The OM-4T(Ti) was the one OM camera I
always wanted, but remained just out of reach. The OM-3Ti was beyond
my wildest dreams, so that one was just too far out. Again, the
telephone conversation with awkward silence and snivelling has been
repeated a couple of times.
Others on this list, of whom I've been the recipient of their
generosity include Bill Barber, Joel Wilcox and former list member Tom
Scales.
Probably the greatest "giving" that I've been a recipient of here, is
the friendship of several individuals. I'll pick on Tom for a moment.
Tom was a tremendous friend to me when my wife was battling cancer. I
apprecate him more than anybody could know. Joel has also known me
through my trials and tribulations and has been the friend I've
needed. The friendship with Bill is unique and the adage "iron
sharpens iron" comes to mind. Bill has stretched me more this past
year than I've been stretched in a decade.
My wife has wondered why the Olympus List is so unique and what it
means to me. I've only managed to describe it is "we're a bunch of
friends from all over the world who happen to have been brought
together through the pretenses of a camera system. The Olympus List is
anything but about Olympus cameras. We discusss them, sure, but it's
really the fact that we are friends.
And what's a little OM among friends?
AG
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