So imagine how gob-smacked I was when I opened a box from a viewer whom I had done some guitar work for and found inside a new video camera.
A NEW VIDEO CAMERA!!!!
 |
| Surely this holds something other than what it says. |
 |
| It didn't. It held what it said it held. |
I've been limping along with one particular JVC camera that was the subject of me repairing it (mostly) on camera and, as thanks for doing what I do, he sent this to me saying (paraphrased) "I hope this does what you need it to do".
Yes. Yes it does.
I almost cried. When I work on a guitar for someone I ask, in lieu of payment, that they get me something. The "something" is never defined. I never make a specific request nor have any expectations. I only want them to put some time into the "something" as I put a good amount of time and energy into their instrument. So for this person to have seen the parts of videos where I say "sorry about the weird angle today, we're having camera issues" and to pick a camera of the same brand was pretty remarkable to me.
Now to put thisa into perspective I offer this. Some years ago we were stationed on a small island off the coast of Portugal called Terceira Island in the Azores island chain. I was always looking for ways to keep busy and be a blessing to others when I was approached to lead a field trip for a group of kids at the youth center and to teach about photography. Each child was given a disposable camera (anyone remember those?) and 24 exposures and we drove around the island and took pictures of buildings and statues and what seemed to be a LOT of pictures of the ground. It was kinf of like herding cats: lots of effort and not a lot of the desired result, but we had fun.
The next day I was given a stack of 5x9 index cards where each child had drawn a picture of written a short note thanking me for the day. If I'm having a crappy day, I open my desk drawer and look through those and suddenly the doom and gloom magically vanishes. I have a dozen stacks of cards like that from talking to classes or homeschool groups and they're wonderful treasures that bring back fond memories.
And so it is when I'm sent an item: a box of proper UK tea bags, or a home made string ferrule insertion tool. I look at each item and think about how a person saw a need, then took the time out of their day to fill that need. Inconsequential as it may seen, we ALL can have that type of influence in the lives of the people around us as well as across the globe. How amazing could the world be if we followed where our hearts lead us when we see something like that?
Cheers,
James
