What Pictures Show Me.

Pictures are so powerful. The other day I was kidding around with some of my Facebook Friends, yes you are real to me, and started pulling up old pictures of myself. I started thinking of what I was like when those pictures were taken. I began imagining where I am today and where I thought I would be back then.

Perhaps the reason my mind wanders this way is that my 50^th birthday is just around the corner. There’s nothing sad about all of this, not at all. I just think it’s healthy to look back, laugh at what you thought was true and be willing to cast aside some of the things that have been proven wrong.

When the long hair picture was taken I thought little of my future. I never dreamed I’d end up on television for 23 years. I failed a speech class (Got an “F”). I was too afraid to get up in front of 30 people and give a speech. That young man in the picture would never dream of running for public office, speaking to eight-thousand-people at Mac Court or emceeing hundreds of events over the years.

The guy with the mullet had just shaved off his mustache that he’d toted around on his upper lip for 15 years. He’d just been through some major discovery, some changes and was all set for a new life. If you’d asked him about the future he would have told you he was destine to be a news anchor for the rest of his life.

The guy in the last picture is by far my favorite. Sure, I’d like to be 17 again in some ways or I wouldn’t mind living in denial thinking I was pretty sure of my future. There’s something beautiful about not knowing too much. The more you know the more that’s required of you.

The guy in the last picture couldn’t really tell you where he’s going next. He has no idea of the future and he’s okay with that (most of the time). He doesn’t want to go broke, or hungry or lose everything, but living on the edge, with freedom as your constant companion is pretty tempting, peaceful and powerful.

Here’s the most interesting part of this little blog we’re reading together. All three of these guys have always been there. Each had his place and each lived out his purpose. The guy in the last picture was simply in process. Yep, way back at 17, he was being created it just took a while.

So, wonder what my next picture will look like. I can’t wait to meet that guy or at least uncover him.

No Comments

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  zach June 13, 2009 at 1:24 pm

  Something tells me that if bigtv news outfits were not so obsessed with doing more and more non-news stories you would still be with them. It is a great way to help and make change. I think you bailed because you saw how the leadership really resisted investigations and “hard” news gathering. Because bigmedia has chosen not to serve the public it is good to see it crumbling. I was up late the other night as the analog signals of local channels suddenly vanished. i was thrilled by that. the way of the dinosaurs. On the subject of pictures of Rick, you should dig up the KEZI footage of you at the federal courthouse opening ceremony. I remember you looked really sharp that day….or even a little like a secret service agent.
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  Seth Woolley June 17, 2009 at 10:46 am

  You looked great in long hair, what gives? How could you bring yourself to cut it off?