They weather was ripe for a rainbow. It had been like that for days, bursts of sun interrupting the rain showers. After work, I sat in the couch by the front window and read, but I was also spying. After awhile I glanced out the back sliding doors. The rain was coming down, but the sun was shining too. I turned and looked out the front window again.
“There it is!” I yelled. My husband, who was sitting on the other couch, asked, “What?” I think I had startled him. “The rainbow,” I said like he should have known that’s what I had been waiting for all day. It was a good one, very bright. I stared for a few moments and went to find my camera. We had just gotten back from London (I promise this post has a London connection) and it wasn’t in its usual spot. When I finally found it, I returned to the window to discover the rainbow had already started to fade, but I snapped the picture anyway.
I was kind of disappointed that it didn’t last longer. And I had missed part of it while looking for my camera to get a picture of it so I could remember it. (Okay, here’s where the London connection comes in.) Now this made me think of my trip to London. I kept seeing people–okay, tourists–hauling their video cameras around everywhere. Now I’m all for taking pictures on vacations and at family functions and such, but I think some people miss the whole point of taking pictures or video.
You take them to remember the trip, but the important part is the trip. I think some tourists spend their whole vacations behind the lens. How much are they really experiencing? And who’s gonna watch all those videos? It’s like that video of your wedding. No one really wants to watch it–admit it, you don’t even want to watch yourself get married again–and it’s never really as good as the real thing. Sometimes I just want to go up to those tourists and yell, “Put the camera down! Start experiencing life!” For good measure, though, here’s one of my own pictures from London. Please note that it’s of Tower Bridge…not London Bridge (which is actually quite boring).
You are on to something here… I’m hooked!