40 years ago, when I was 20, my dad and I spent a week in Kansas City, Missouri. Dad and I went there to a place called “Calvin Productions”.. according to Wikipedia: “The Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Company)
There was a Star Trek once that has stuck w me for years.. where Worff came back from a contest and his little travel ship hit a bump, which caused an anomaly and every time he was around Jordi’s eye thing, he’d be living another of his lives. At the end of the show, he looked out the wind shield of the Enterprise and there were a thousand other ships facing them, all with one of his lives being lived in them.
That’s sort of been what my life has been like.. I have see the branch in the trail and have physically set my steps to go onto one of them.
This branch has always haunted me.
When we were in school, we all went someplace to go eat (remember, this is about 40 years ago, I’m 61 now and I find it hard to remember what I ate for lunch, so remembering exact details about that week so long ago sort of escapes me..) and I somehow always got to sit next to Courtney. He was a bright red-headed kid with big dreams and I loved listening to him, looking at his bright eyes and his lush red beard and sparkling white teeth.
We got very close in that week.. I don’t think I ever went to his room w him, as my dad would have spun in his grave with thinking that I might be ‘doing something’ on his dime.. LOL.. But Courtney and I got pretty close. And after that, when he’d gotten back home, there were phone calls, him wanting me to come and be with him and see where he lived and each time, I’d wimp out.
Oh, yeah, after reading the rest of my memoirs, I DID have some ‘wimp out’ moments. This, sadly, was a major one.
I've gone on with my living paycheck to paycheck, blah work, unrewarding work.. my doing nothing to make a mark or help someone or something make the world better and that continues today.
Being brought into the lives of 3 amazing photographers and artists, you’d think something great would rub off on me. Now, two of them have died this year alone.. Bob Shephard, who brought me back to photography about 6 years ago. He and my good friend Bob Stoner and I (all of us w the initals B.S.. so I called us “B.S. to the third power” and I would load up in Bob Stoner’s van and go around the city shooting sunsets on the water.. they were beautiful. Bob Shephard also set up a website for me to feature my photos on.. although now, I can’t get into it and the $3,000 program that he installed on my one computer is long gone since that computer crashed, never to be revived again. He had big dreams, would get a lot of people excited about them and then just wander off. He was also very ill and ended up dying in Washington state several months ago. He passed on 9/15/10.. Courtney passed at the end of August.. they were just days apart with their departures. Here is his beautiful and amazing website.. please consider purchasing one of his calendars.. they’re amazing.. http://www.courtneymilne.com/
Courtney roamed the world taking amazing photos, having many causes that he championed and lived a life of freedom and beauty. Bob did the same, with the exception of having to be more circumspect with his activities because of his unhealthy heart. The last B.S. guy is my Dad... Bob Shanklin, 86, photographer extraordinaire.. and thank heaven he's still here. Still producing amazing work and I hope to follow in his footsteps and make him proud.
Here is all about Courtney’s life:
Courtney Milne
October 3, 1943 – August 29, 2010
Courtney Milne, cherished by so many, passed peacefully at home surrounded by nature. He was renowned for his photography and for his passionate spirit, recorded in 12 books and numerous slide sound presentations and exhibitions. After photographing on all seven continents, he came home to his acreage in Grandora and discovered the whole world reflected in his pool, which he called The Pool of Possibilities. This work will be featured in a solo exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery in the summer of 2011.
Courtney was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2009, becoming paraplegic as a result of the disease in his spine. But this did not slow him down – it gave him an opportunity to continue working with thousands of images, creating some of his most stunning new work. The loving and skilled care of his Home Care team fostered his ability to continue his work and to love his life. He spent every day with grace and verve, sharing his exuberance with everyone who came his way. Lung and brain complications interfered with continuing this passion. Courtney was truly an ambassador of the land, inviting everyone to find their own sacred place in nature, to feel a connection with the Divine Mystery; a place to honor and care for, whether in your own back yard, in the park down the street, or a piece of wilderness.
It is unfathomable to think of a world without Courtney: he is monumentally missed by his wife Sherrill Miller, sister Bonnie, sisters-in-law Lorraine and Evelyne, brothers-in -law Eric, Bill and Dennis, precious nieces, nephews, cousins and hundreds of friends, students and colleagues.
Please consider a donation in his name to Meewasin Valley Authority, caretakers of Courtney's beloved riverbank in Saskatoon; or to SaskAbilities -- for many years Courtney donated his images for their fundraising projects, which came full circle when they provided everything he needed to live with a disability. Or, share a year of inspiration with a subscription to the Pool of Possibilities ecalendar -- and keep the beauty he created and his spirit and wisdom alive and circulating around the world. He would be so delighted to know that people are experiencing the world anew through his eyes and heart -- see the Gift Shop
A joyful Tribute to Courtney will be held Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 1:30 pm, St Anne’s Catholic Church, 217 Lenore Drive, Saskatoon.
CBC News Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Listen to Courtney on the Pool of Possibilities
...This, I believe, is my core ideology — to reveal life’s unfolding mystery — not to try to solve it. In so doing, I not only help myself but also others to connect to their joy and passion. I believe that for each of us, the presence of our being is the greatest gift we can give. Truly accepting and loving ourselves has a ripple effect beyond comprehension...
He was the spirit that I live today, with all the thoughts, love of art and nature and desires for adventure to bring beauty to the world and the back up and push to get it to the world.
