This Guy

I came across this photo, the other night. I was just rummaging through old photos and it came up.

Even though it was taken by DW, in 1997, I look at this picture of yours truly, in Beijing, in Tiananmen Square, and I think that not much has changed. Oh, sure, I've packed on several kilos and my hair now has some grey, but it's clearly me.

My wardrobe hasn't changed much in the 27 years (my Thor, it's been nearly three decades!): I still wear jeans on most days, still wear a t-shirt under a button shirt. Heck, there are still times when I wear the outer shirt unbuttoned! And I still wear practical walking shoes.

Just as always, when travelling, I had a camera on me. Back then, it was my Minolta X-700, which I still have but I don't know when I'll pull it out again.

I still have a passion for exploration, for experiencing whatever life throws at me. I like to think that in the ensuing decades, where I've become a dad, twice-over, where I've been a responsible homeowner, and have nurtured a career, that I'm wiser.

This guy, crouched in front of the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong—in a square that, less than a decade earlier, had seen brave students and an ensuing, horrible massacre—had no idea where his life was about to take him.

It took him down a good path.

Happy Thursday!