Occasionally, a man or woman may be going into the store behind me. They often reach around me to open the door. I say, “Thank you.” Then they do the same for the second door. Smiling, I say, “Thank you,” again. We make eye contact and I notice the smile my helpers' faces. We are both happy. I appreciate the help, and they are feeling good about themselves for their acts of kindness.
I've witnessed this phenomena many times—an ATV driver carried my tripod with camera over tidal flats in Alaska, a guide did the same for me in a jungle in Borneo, a Mexican checked with me three times to see whether my plane had arrived so he could push my wheelchair down the ramp—just to name a few. In all cases the helper sent me on my way with kind words and a big smile.
It’s like I can use my physical problems to make other people happy. Isn't that strange? I am loosing all my embarrassment. People seem to love to help.
That’s a long introduction to what I really want to talk about. Our last trip was a cruise around the Baja California in a sport-fishing boat. Talk about rough seas. The Pacific can be a roller-coaster ride at times. I had trouble staying on my feet. I felt safe enough while sitting (which means I spent very little time on the deck shooting killer whales and common dolphins and sea lions). Then there were all those sea birds and much more. You can imagine my difficulties taking photographs.
With the help of some burly seamen, I did make a few excursions on skiffs and pangas. They helped me up and down the ladder into and out of the smaller boats by guiding my legs from below and pulling me up by my life-vest. The one time I went ashore, a seaman grabbed me by my sides and lifted me up over the gunwale to get me back into the boat. Each time their touch was firm, but gentle.
On our last night everyone gathered together in the dinning area. The Captain wanted us each to list the two experiences we liked the best. When it was time for me to speak, I used my arms to illustrate my trip over the gunwale. Before I could name my second choice, an ovation broke out. Everyone was clapping. When they stopped, I said "and gray whales."
Why? Why did those wonderful people—amateur and professional photographers and British tourists—clap? Was the ovation for me, for not letting my heath problems stop me? I prefer to believe it was for the crew because they did most of the work. But maybe it was for both me and the crew. Maybe those people understood the relationship between the helped and helper and were enjoying that love too.
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| Galapagos Penguins Galapagos by Jeter Skeet |
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