Pay It Forward

One of my neighbors had been out of town for an extended time and their lawn needed mowing. With such a beautiful day developing and I had planned to mow our lawn as well, I set out mow two lawns on Saturday. I felt good about doing something just because it was the right thing to do. My neighbor did call to thank me, but my joy was in doing something for someone else on the spur of the moment.

Sunday, an equally beautiful day, found me working indoors all day at the 69th annual Strawberry Festival pageant. The day was very long as I left home about 7:30am and returned 11 hours later. Not only was the day long but it was lonely. With only 14 contestants, I chose to work solo for the day. I remember when I first photographed the Strawberry Festival pageant there were 105 contestants. It's sad that such an important event has suffered as a result of decisions gone awry.

Back to my long day inside BUHS at the pageant. Two of the pageant staff members were assigned to monitor the pageant contestants in their dressing rooms and see to their needs etc. My photography area was just out side the contestants dressing area and I photographed each contestant in their three pageant outfits. The two pageant staff members took an interest in the photography end of pageants and I enjoyed sharing my craft with humor and hands on practice. Both saw action behind the camera during the day.

As the long day ticked by slowly my arthritic right knee was becoming more and more uncomfortable. My new photography helpers must have noticed my pain and without any fanfare they both chipped in and helped me during the crunch time of the pageant. Additionally, as I was photographing the contestants during the on stage awards, both my new helpers completely disassembled the temporary studio and had it ready to load in my car at the conclusion of the pageant. By pageant's end my knee was throbbing but my heart was ready to burst with gratitude for the unexpected help and friendship I received. My thanks to Teresa Kee and Marcella Garrison, two unselfish friends who paid it forward for me.