Lake Louise

On my first trip to Lake Louise in Canada, I took this picture. It was very early in the morning maybe 5:30AM. I took the roll of film to downtown Banff and had it processed. When I went back to pick them up, the store owner asked me a question-------do you know how many pictures I develop of Lake Louise each day? With a whimsical, "I don't know", he said to me, "I develop hundreds each day. I was looking at yours and I have to tell you, that is one of the best pictures of Lake Louise and the glacier that I have ever seen." His comments made me instantly proud and I have always valued this picture. Maybe he says that to everyone. I don't know. However, it made me feel good. A kind word always prevails over thoughtless and harsh ones. They each last equally. 

The Fall is a special time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In North Carolina the colors burst as the season comes to an end. The leaf season is the last hurrah before winter. 

This picture was taken near Grotto Falls near Cades Cove in the Smokies. It was on a walk which I took with my wife Jimmie who has leukemia. She can't walk fast and in fact it was the first long hike she was able to endure. Though it took about 4 times the normal time for us to get there, it was a beautiful sight as one can see. I was proud of her for making the effort. CML hasn't taken away all of her enjoyment of life. Although the side effects of her Gleevec seem to increase, she is glad to be alive, which she didn't think she would be in 2000.