Comin Home without a Camera

Friday morning I grabbed my convertible traveling backpack, the kind that allows you to stow the straps so you can carry it like a normal bag, opened the zipper, and started piling in the black clothes.  It has been a long time since I had to move so quickly to pack, well that’s not true, it just always feels that way. 

Although my home is Oregon, I was born and raised in New Jersey. If you have every known anyone born and raised in New Jersey, there must be something in the water that just makes that place home. It seems you just can’t take all the Jersey out of people.  Maybe it was the water that has been making me want to come back to visit for quite some time. I must have been missing it, I felt my accent coming back at the stop over in Chicago as I talked to a fellow NewJersian about the frequent delays when flying into Newark. 

My fellow Jersey traveler, was a musician that doubled as an insurance guy.  He had a cool travel guitar (not a Martin), and he mentioned that had given up being a rockstar.  He did hand me a CD of his bands newest songs. Then we talked about flight delays.  I usually take delays as a part of traveling. My new friend had theories and in a twist of conversation came round to telling me half jokingly that the airlines delayed just to make his life difficult.  Well, he was kidding, of course,  but he also confessed that he would only say disparaging remarks about Continental in a United part of the airport.  I told him I understood.  Hey, I know all about having superstition, I’m from New Jersey.  By the end of the conversation the two of us didn’t have the same accents that we had started the conversation with, and it they certainly didn’t match Chicago.

Go Giants!

Thursday morning, as I packed my bag, I thought about bringing my camera.  My camera has been more of a constant companion in the past year as I made my resolution to take more pictures.  I have certainly made this resolution become a reality, but as I looked down at my digital third eye, a digital SLR with a wonderful wide-angle lens, I thought it just might be to much for me to handle.  It was much easier not to carry it, but I did miss it as the sights of my childhood moved on both sides of me. 

Could I Ever Take THOSE Pictures?

Since I have started to take photographs, I have begun to get a little of what I call, photographer’s mind.  It is a good and bad thing, and I just assume that it is something that happens to people who takes lots of photos.  It is probably a lot like loving to play an instrument, and being away from it, my hands just feel empty a little, and a small part of my mind feels like it should be doing something that it isn’t.

People may laugh when I say I get those types of feelings about taking photos while driving down the New Jersey Turnpike, but it is true.  Even the route in between Newark and New York, which I got to travel many times this trip, has always given me that feeling, even as a kid.  Perhaps the director’s of the beginning to the Soprano’s and I have something in common.  There is beauty in the grim and grime. 

And wouldn’t it be cool to take those pictures of the grim and grime.

Fantasies Aside – What about my phone camera? 

Well… yeah yeah yeah… I thought that I would have to just deal with having my phone.  I have taken some pretty good photos with that little 2 megapixel camera.  Not this time.  My trust phone is showing its wear and tear, its little battery is telling me it is time for a new phone.  The little-battery-that-can’t-anymore was also telling me that I had a choice between taking a couple photos and making my calls home to Oregon.  Memories would have to be enough this trip.

I’ll Have to Come back

It has been a while since I have spent over a week back East.  Each time I have come to visit it has been way too short.  Isn’t that just how life is?   I guess I’ll just have to plan to come back sometimes.   Hopefully the next time I won’t need all the black clothes.  Would I get all those pictures even with a camera… probably not.  Probably something to think about.