Email: brqyvn@gmail.com
Hi Photographer friends,
My reunion with my friend Pierre went as planned and even better. Firstly, you know, it’s been thirty four years since we have seen each other, and that’s a long time by any standard. That's more than half my life and his as well.
I imagined what he would look like after all these years, and I'm sure he did the same. Well, our physiques have changed, but our craziness hasn't. Of course, our brains now make promises that our body can't fulfill...but we try anyway.
I was hoping that all would go well between Pierre's wife "Marie" and my wife "Anne" added to the mix, and it did. Both wives got along really well and that made the weekend an even more enjoyable and wonderful experience. All four of us felt like we were all old friends. Their dog, "Jinny", a full size female Poodle was also part of our weekend. What a great dog.
Hi Photographer friends,
My reunion with my friend Pierre went as planned and even better. Firstly, you know, it’s been thirty four years since we have seen each other, and that’s a long time by any standard. That's more than half my life and his as well.
I imagined what he would look like after all these years, and I'm sure he did the same. Well, our physiques have changed, but our craziness hasn't. Of course, our brains now make promises that our body can't fulfill...but we try anyway.
I was hoping that all would go well between Pierre's wife "Marie" and my wife "Anne" added to the mix, and it did. Both wives got along really well and that made the weekend an even more enjoyable and wonderful experience. All four of us felt like we were all old friends. Their dog, "Jinny", a full size female Poodle was also part of our weekend. What a great dog.
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| A lone palm tree along the Colorado River. |
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| The view on the River is spectacular. |
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| Tthe Jet Boat Pierre brought with them for the winter. |
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| A baby Burros in Oatman, Arizona. |
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| They come in the Town everyday to get their share of food. |
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| It rained on the way back home, but even the rain was beautiful. |
The first day, aside of reminiscing, we went for
a long boat trip along the Colorado River, between Needles and Lake Havasu. I
didn't know that the Colorado River was that nice along that stretch. We closed
the first day with a good steak at the "Outback".
We were going to go boating the next day, but as it turned out, it was a little cold and windy. We went for a long drive in the area, on the old Route 66. We ended up in the small town of Oatman, Arizona. This used to be a gold mining town. When the gold rush was over, the burros that were used to carry materials in and out of the mines were abandoned. They survived in the wild, and still today, they come to town to get fed by the local people and tourists.
We spent a day in Lake Havasu City, and were surprised at how much it has grown over the years. That's where the old London Bridge was moved to and reassembled one stone at a time, like a gigantic puzzle. Lake Havasu is known for its boat racing and Pierre has been there often during his career as a power boat owner and racer. He owned many racing boats and won major races through the years. He broke some bones at one time or another, but racing was in his blood, and still is. His eyes light up when the conversation includes boats and racing.
We were going to go boating the next day, but as it turned out, it was a little cold and windy. We went for a long drive in the area, on the old Route 66. We ended up in the small town of Oatman, Arizona. This used to be a gold mining town. When the gold rush was over, the burros that were used to carry materials in and out of the mines were abandoned. They survived in the wild, and still today, they come to town to get fed by the local people and tourists.
We spent a day in Lake Havasu City, and were surprised at how much it has grown over the years. That's where the old London Bridge was moved to and reassembled one stone at a time, like a gigantic puzzle. Lake Havasu is known for its boat racing and Pierre has been there often during his career as a power boat owner and racer. He owned many racing boats and won major races through the years. He broke some bones at one time or another, but racing was in his blood, and still is. His eyes light up when the conversation includes boats and racing.
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| I believe Mr. Cognac was his first sponsored race boat, about thirty some years ago. |
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| This is the last boat he raced with...scary! |
That was the reunion on the surface. The other part of our reunion was one that few people get to experience. Pierre and I were best friends from the day we could walk through our primary school years. We were both dreamers from the "get-go" and dreamed of building all kinds of revolutionary stuff, and God knows...we tried. My wife Anne, realized quickly why we were such good friends...we're both alike, yakking away about technical stuff, things we did as young boys, and wondering how we made it thus far, etc. For me, it was sort of a bitter sweet reunion. Sweet because we started right where we had left off, just like we had never gone on a different path in life. Bitter, or more like a little sad, because looking at our older selves, it made me think of how fast life goes by and that we should never take anything for granted. We likely have more years behind us than ahead of us, and I intend to live each day like it was my last. It won't be another thirty four years before we get together again. We're already planning to get together in the near future. This time around, I plan to stay in touch. Like I said in the previous blog, you have a lot of acquaintances in life, but very few true friends. I feel blessed that Pierre and I are true friends.
Thanks for reading,
Yvon Bourque
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| Pierre and Marie |
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| Me and Anne |
P.S. This article, being on a photography blog, I would like to mention that all the pictures were taken with my trusty Pentax K-5, the K-r and the new Q.
4 comments:
Wow! Que de souvenirs...Je n'aurais pas reconnu Pierre!
Je suis contente pour toi! Bisous à vous!
I am thrilled to hear that the reunion was everything, and more than you had hoped. You've traveled so much in your life that it must have been hard to make (and keep) connections, (as I am finding out as I get older.) Cheers to many more reunions for you and Pierre.
Allo Noella,
Ce fut une bien belle fin de semaine.Dit a Gilles que je me suis finallement procurer un Apple iMac, deux iPad 2 et deux iPhone. Je suis maintenant completement Apple.
Thanks Marisa.
Not too many people get that chance.
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