I have the privilege of meeting and getting to know many interesting and inspiring people through my work. One of the most rewarding assignments I have is when I get to shoot the San Diego Triathlon Challenge to benefit the Challenged Athletes Foundation. "Established in 1997, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) is a unique organization that recognizes the athletic greatness inherent in all people with physical challenges and supports their athletic endeavors by providing grants for training, competition and equipment needs."
Among the many stories and personal triumphs I saw, this one struck me the most. I was photographing kids at the expo sliding down an inflatable. I would see a tiny face poke out from the opening and some of the kids sliding down were wearing prosthetics and some were not. It was a blur. The common thread was that they were all having fun together. I remember back when I was a kid, you didn't see kids with disabilities much. They were locked away somewhere. Now, it is different and it was wonderful to see. I looked over and a saw a lady on the park bench who, like me was enjoying the site of kids having fun. I could see she was tearing up. She told me two weeks earlier she'd had a stroke and nearly died. She was doing much better and said she was "happy to be alive". Watching those kids having fun made her heart sing- Mine too! I gave her a hug.
