Someone Has Been Good To Me

10/10/10 1:38 AM


“Someone has been good to me.”

I give attribution to James Taylor for this truthful line.

Recently I have been doing a lot of traveling. I have been on the road photographing new genres, interacting with people who are familiar with my artistic work. Chatting with people who have not seen or aware of my artwork.

Recent events come to mind when I think of what James penned many years ago……………

Thank you to the group of friends, all in their 20s,  who gave me a lift in their white pickup truck, on the sand fire road, in  the High Head area of the Cape Cod National Seashore Park.

Mom. Dad. Do  not read this…………..I had my thumb out. I was hitchhiking—and I am alive to tell the story.

What delightful truck mates. One, a lobster-man, told me to “hold on…..it is going to be a bumpy ride.” The voice of Betty Davis past resonated in my mind.  And it was  a bumpy ride. Sort of like being in Cody, Wyoming, at the rodeo grounds,  riding “Kiss-of-Death” or “Killer” or “Side-O-Beef” all 3 famous rodeo bulls.

As we approached what was to be the rise over the sand dune, and the gateway to the beach—there was a wire fence closing access to the beach. We made the best of an unfortunate situation. I took a series of photographs of my truck mates, standing in the back of their parked truck.  I informed them I would process the images and send them “snail mail.” One replied…”What is snail mail? …… sort  of  some slower e-mail?”

Ah, the techo gap …………”The Baby Boom/Cold War” generation gap merges with the “Ipod/I-Phone/Text Messaging” generation.  The encounter ended with  hearty laughter.

I receive a ride to take my photographs. When we parted, we all smiled and laughed some more.  I hopped off the back  of the truck as they turned around on the sand road.

I lingered on the beach, snapping images of how the reseeding tide makes vein-like impressions and patterns in the sand. It was a quiet  moment in time for me. Nature photography to me is  zen-like.

Later in the evening, I stopped on the benches in front of Town Hall, Provincetown, MA. My wallet fell out of my pants pocket. I noticed no wallet when reaching for money to treat myself to a Lewis Brothers ice cream cone. No wallet. No ice cream. Unhappy BBF……….So I raced back to the bench to where I left the wallet and here were the most kind and delightful couple from the Boston area calling out my name…..BRENDAN FEENEY!!!!  BRENDAN FEENEY!!!

Had I won a prize????

They had a plan. If no one responded they would turn my wallet into the Chamber of Commerce or the police. When I, the real Brendan Ben Feeney came racing up Commercial Street, with a Cannon camera— the size of Texas—hanging from my neck, the true owner of the lost wallet arrived—- breathless.

Do not think for a moment that there are no kind people left on planet earth. These two educators, whom I struck up a wonderful conversation with, were benovelent  to track me down. And they insisted on no reward.

Kindness begets kindness. I truly appreciated the lift to the beach in the back of a pickup truck. I feel blessed that there are people out there who were so concerned about my lost wallet and were so nice to return it in a delightful way. They wanted NO reward. But the reward they receive came in the form of a bright orange parking ticket. I paid it. They insisted I not. I did.

So do not let moments of kindness pass. Savor the world as it is……..and often not portrayed.

Brendan Ben Feeney

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