“Life Is Full Of Surprises. Embrace Them”
It was a gloomy Sunday morning. Something in San Francisco we are accustomed to. When I went out to pick up the newspaper, the humidity in the air felt like it was raining. We receive “The San Francisco Chronicle” and “The Wall Street Journal”. I prefer to scan the headlines to know what’s going on, and do not usually read the articles about the killings and disasters in the world. But I like to read commentaries from smart people. One of them is Peggy Noonan’ and her column, “Declarations”. On Sunday October 11th, 2015 the title of her story was “Shows of Strength From Trump and Putin.” She did not compare them; but rather, commented on the results of their bullying actions. While the Russian economy is crumbling as a result of the sanctions (a friend of mine who was on a business trip to Moscow a year ago, told me that steak at the Ritz Carlton Hotel’s restaurant, where he was staying, was $360.00 US dollars), Putin decided to help his buddy Assad of Syria, and instead of fighting the ISIS forces, is bombing rebels supported by the U.S. (and taxpayers’ money). She comments about Donald Trump that “Mr. Trump would remind some women of a blustery first husband.” She continues, “His supporters don’t think he’s a sweet, sinless businessman. They love it that he’s not.” Then she points out, “But this year has reminded us to expect the unexpected”.
I thought about this phrase when I ventured out for my regular weekend walk around our neighborhood. I often go up to the Mount Davidson (which I have previously written about), but it was quite foggy, and I knew there would be no view of the city to photograph from the top. But for some reason, I chose to go up into our hilly neighborhood, for the sake of increasing the difficulty for the purpose of building physical endurance (I am very good at justifying my choices). On the way, I photographed bushes covered with a spider web and water drops caught in it. I noticed a hummingbird busily sucking nectar from the flowers, when it suddenly decided to rest on a branch, giving me the opportunity to capture its glory. There was a tree with some berries, which looked very beautiful against the grey sky. When, without thinking too much, I arrived at the foot of the mountain, I had to make a decision. In the back of my head, I heard my wife’s wise words: “It is muddy and wet there, and besides it is all grey anyway.” But I overcame my doubts (for the sake of exercise, of course), and kept on walking. But for some reason, I chose to follow the lower trail along the fence (I never went this way, before). And suddenly I saw it in the distance a large bird sitting on the electrical wire. As I got closer to it, I realized it was a hawk. The hawk did not fly away and patiently waited for me to come closer. I came as close as I could. I did not have the 400 mm lens I needed for this kind of shoot with me, but it did not matter. We just looked at each other and I photographed. After a while it was enough. After all, I was in the birds’ territory. I thanked the hawk, said good-bye and started my ascent, repeating to myself: “Always expect the unexpected”. But as I approached home, the fog melted away. The bright sun warmed my back, and the sky was blue.
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Cheers,
