When I was growing up in Uclulete B.C. It was a very moving and challenging time in history the 60s - VIETNAM was in fill force.
I was young and a lot of young kids dodged the war and didn’t want it anymore, they were kids ..NO MORE WAR STOP VIETNAM.
I developed a very personal friendship with a young man and his dog, who lived on the beach, collecting shells, making necklaces and jars all decorated with all sorts of sea shells. whom he would give away for donation, food or anything that could make it easier to survive
One day he said to me" I can never go home because I refused to go to war and left my country for that I will go to prison"
I didn’t understand how that could be, I started to notice pictures on newsstands of the war from Journalist’s and hit me to my core and broke my innocence so bad.
I never got my friends name but he made me understand, we need change.
I lived in a town that we had to evacuate from underwater nuclear testing, causing title waves and devastation, it was very scary. I knew my love for my world but this was so much bigger I needed to be a part of it somehow try to help and understand.
I was very young and people were saying no more war and that drove me almost crazy as it was not happening fast enough I had to reach people . . My mission I needed to save my world and hoped one day I could join these Journalists stand by them to bring home the true reality in pictures and articles for all the world to see but that did not happen. So I wrote and wrote about it, spoke it, participated at every opportunity tried to educate every person I could reach to help save our beautiful planet and spread LOVE, we needed to care about all life not kill it.
From there my passion took hold of me and over took my desire , I had to reach people it was a personal mission. And always will be.
However those early days now and always will bring tears to my eyes when I think of being 7-8 years old sitting on a curb talking to young scared boy, broke and hungry. I would go ask my Dad, Dad can I have 10 cents to buy a dog some food, he’d say Jody you have to be careful who you talk to, I had NO fear. So I would get my 10 or 20 cents buy a can of dog food for my friends dog, and set up a Kool-Aid stand in front of the local store, and buy food for my homeless lost boys of Vietnam.
My heart broke for them, I seen the pain within their eyes they were true and honest to me and at that point it was final and I decided where and what I needed to do. I wish to this day I knew who this young man was he taught me so much and I was going to tell everyone about it one day.
I did just that my whole life I’ve tried to educate people, share with them this part of my journey in life the pain I seen in those young boys and how scared they were.
From that day forward I wanted to make a difference, I had so much passion and desire to get the information out there.
Life evolved as did my writing but my memory’s of those days are forever etched in my mind and heart I hold that memory close and dear and so thankful he set a path with his message to me how important to photograph or write about everything I was absorbing and I did just that.
Now looking back I feel the power people had within them how we all changed the world in great numbers and strength with all the power of people pulling together. There are many links on this site to look at the rebuilding of a once devasted part of our great rainforests, and we are getting there and so many people just keep giving.
Once I realized how much destruction was being done, through my experience with the young man in his long dirty coat his shoes with holes, thin, hungry and sad... But happy within his journey he set a path with his message to me how important it was to photograph or write about change NOW and the future of our world.
I thank my unknown friend and mentor for setting the path of what was real and what mattered.
Either way he is always with me and a great part of my life and " I am forever greatful "
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