It's been a while and I don't really have a good reason for not posting recently. I've been very busy with lots of little things . . . but not any one big thing.
Still getting used to the Griso - there's a nice review of it (with a cover photo) in the March 2007 issue of Rider Magazine.
A good friends father passed away on January 2 - Donald Elroy Rardin.
I had the pleasure of taking Mr. Rardin to the doctor a few times while his son, Greg was out of town. He reminded me a lot of my own father who passed away on 2/22/2000 (amazing to think that it's been nearly seven years . . .) in that he was educated far beyond his formal school years. Mr Rardin was one of those men who could look at something that was broken and figure out a way to fix it . . . and then do it.
When he couldn't pass some of the physical requirements to be a pilot - he made his career fixing aircraft (he worked for Braniff till they went belly up and then continued to work for compaines that serviced aircraft) and building radio controlled aircraft. He wasn't one to let something stand in the way of doing what he loved to do.
It's a new year and Fit By Design (Lisa's business) continues to flourish. I don't suspect that we'll ever get rich with material things from this venture . . . but the relationships that have been built as a result of following this path are ones to treasure for a lifetime.
My work at TWL continues to take interesting twists and turns. Even while we continue to struggle as a company - I haven't felt this positive about the future in a long while (that will likely jinx it now . . . so sue me). It's got a long way to go and I hope to be able to make a contribution to succesfully turning it around. There's over 200 employees with lives, families, responsibilties, obligations that would suffer if it was to go under - that would be a shame and I will do my part to keep it going.
Loud Loft Media - my little editing venture continues to plug along. It will likely taper off a bit but it's been an incredible ride the pass year and a half with it.
Mike Gwartney and I are making the arrangements to go back to Africa this summer. If you remember from last summer - on my last full day in Yei I was asked about coming back to teach video production. We've made some preliminary plans to go back and have been in discussion with the folks at ALARM about when, where and how to pull it off. It looks like we may go to Rwanda this time and have several some folks come in from Kenya, Burundi and Sudan to take the class.
Here's the shameless plug - we need money to buy computers, software, camera and other gear to take with us . . . to teach with . . . and then leave behind. At a minimum we will need about $8000 for the equipment. It will cost $3500 to get me there and back and I'm about half way to that amount.
So - If you want to send money. Write a check to Irving Bible Church and in the memo put "Bill Buchanan Africa 2007/equipment". Send the check to Irving Bible Church 2435 Kinwest Parkway, Irving TX 75063.
You will not be put on a list. You will not recieve a phone call. You will not get flyers in the mail. You will not be prayed for - well, unless you ask for it or something, but really people, if you need prayers you should find someone who will bow with you, put their hand on your shoulder and pray with you in person.
Oh - so why would it be important to send money to a couple of schmucks to take computers and cameras to Africa and teach someone how to use it? WAKE UP!!!
Telling stories with images and sounds is the chief means of communication these days if you haven't noticed. Yes, we blog and yes we write our little stories and send them in emails (but not letters, that's sooooo last century) but the best I can do as a writer is help you imagine in your mind what life is like in Yei, or Rwanda or Kenya - and having a white man drop in once in awhile, shotgun some images of what looks interesting to him at that moment and then tell a story from "his" perspective . . . doesn't do the story justice, it can't and it never will.
What makes a difference is putting the tools and skills in the hands of the storytellers who are living the story and "that's" the story to be told and "those" are the men and women who need to tell it.
Just like in war - it's a matter of who gets there first with the most. In this case the war is for the minds and souls as well as for the land and resources.
Well - anyway - that is what has been going on the last month or so. A new motorcycle, a passing of a father, work . . . and planning for Africa this summer.
Pray for me.
Send money for equipment.
More to come . . .
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