Before I move on to my newsletters directly related to my efforts as a first-time author to write and publish two books on Jimmy Buffett from polar opposite perspectives , I think it makes sense to introduce myself…
Inspired by Jimmy Buffett when I was just 20, after a 3-concert, 5-day hitchhiking adventure, I have since pursued three “Labors of Love” in my work life: Freelance Photographer, Jet Ski Promoter, and Marathon Race Director.
Each of those unique endeavors allowed me to control my own destiny, often determined by how hard I worked, a streak of creativity, and determination to accomplish what I set out to do.
Photography is a combination of creativity, technical aptitude, understanding the subject matter, and the ability to pull those elements together. For about 20 years, I specialized in sports and special events.
I now find it ironic that I have lived my life inspired by so many of Jimmy’s words from so many different songs, but especially these words from “Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude.”
“Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder
So I can’t look back for too long
There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can’t go wrong…”
The essence of photography is looking back over our shoulders.
Photographers freeze fractions of time in the present, so that in the future, we can share with others those frozen moments from the past - the “yesterdays” that Jimmy describes.
On the flip side, my primary occupations required a huge amount of “I know that I just can’t go wrong” optimism.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, when I first saw a possible Jet Ski race venue, I would lay things out in my head, starting with a serpentine course marked with buoys right off the beach within 100 yards.
I envisioned a bright, sunny day at a beautiful beach packed with racers, spectators, and everything else that went into making a fun race take place.
Staging Jet Ski races for 20 years allowed me to hone my skills at event planning, which allowed me to later create two different marathons in local cities, along with other road races of varying distances.
Creating a marathon begins with locating a suitable start and finish line area that can host thousands of athletes, their families, spectators, and all the necessary equipment.
Once a marathon’s start/finish line area was deemed acceptable, then the real fun begins: reviewing maps on a computer, identifying vehicular traffic trouble spots, and figuring out how I would close county roads and state highways for the 26.2 mile course.
All roads to be affected require permits from government agencies and they are all intertwined, meaning you can’t get the state permit until you have the city permits.
To create road races, there are thousands of details. Just about any of them can really trip up a race director, regardless of how many races he or she has staged.
Like any other outdoor event, weather is ALWAYS a factor and required pre-planning!
So those were my three “Labors of Love” which I pursued tirelessly.
But wait, this newsletter is supposed to be focused on writing books about Jimmy Buffett.
Well, as I stated at the outset, I took Jimmy’s many words to heart, like he was speaking directly to me, counseling me on how I should live my life as an awesome adventure. Be willing to take chances as we venture through our days, weeks, and years.
This was all intended to be done while having FUN and providing an avenue for so many others to have FUN. I think Jimmy would approve, if he knew how I followed his words of wisdom.
That last optimistic line in “Changes” became my mantra when life threw me curveballs and knuckleballs: “And I know that I just can’t go wrong…”
When preparing for more than 120 Jet Ski races and about 75 road races over the years, the only way to approach these endeavors was with 100% optimism, and knowing I couldn’t go wrong.
Did I “go wrong” at times?
Of course, but my overall approach to life always remained the same: find a way through the hard, challenging times. If I ran into a wall, I would go over it, around it, or through it.
If all that failed, it just wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes the effort just wasn’t worth the aggravation.
“Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On!”
Eventually, I walked away from Jet Ski racing after 20 years, then started over with a single, annual road race in Clearwater. Over the next decade, I had increased the number of our road races to 5 each season, hosting a total of more than 8,000 athletes per year.
The damndemic really threw a monkey wrench into our business, as county permits were pulled from us. Our Shamrock Distance Classic was canceled just two days before our scheduled date. We had over 1,400 runners pre-registered. Nightmare! “Breathe In! Breathe Out…”
Again, you might be wondering why I am sharing all this with you.
Simply because, my wife and I were burnt out after the damndemic, so we sold 4 of our 5 road races to another race director.
We held onto our St. Petersburg Distance Classic as it is still in its formative years, but with tons of potential once further developed.
During the damndemic, my “hobby” became posting regularly at Jimmy’s fan pages about my 5-day hitchhiking adventure in 1978 to see him perform 3 concerts in Buffalo, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
Based on the enthusiastic response I received from other fans and Parrotheads, I decided I needed to make one final attempt to share my story to as many people as possible.
I decided to write my memoir about that hitching adventure, loaded with my own photos, but also significantly expanded to share exactly HOW Jimmy’s words changed the direction of my life, as partially explained above.
Recently semi-retired from race management, I am now pursuing my first LABOR OF LOVE, photography, and also focused on my last LABOR OF LOVE: writing.
Hence the name of this Substack newsletter.
COMING SOON: #2 My 5-Day Hitching Adventure: Dramatic AND Cinematic!
Love the intro…and the word “damndemic”!
Love it!!