2011-10-19: Doug and Tommy

Yesterday was a nice fall day, and for a change, I decided to head out exploring at lunch. Usually I just eat at my desk and work through lunch. I headed over to Tilton to the Island Park. I've driven by it a number of times, and know there is a river and a raildroad trestle that could make for some interesting shots. First I Googled Mapped it to get familiar with the surroundings and to figure a back way in. (I love Google)...Found it, set my coordinates on the GPS, and off I went. Arriving at my destination, I had to walk through some woods to get to the railroad tracks. Walked a little ways to get over the river and started taking pictures when I heard some voices. I turned to see a couple of disheveled characters and I got a bit nervous. One of them had two teeth, eyes obviously glazed, and looked quite homeless. The other looked not quite as bad, but still made me apprehensive. I said, "Hey Guys. What's up?" And started to plan my escape if the need arose. Figuring that it wasn't that far down to the water. I've jumped a lot farther (Quincy Quarrys to be specific), but knew that would be the end of my cameras. Then I realized my Monopod had a good sharp spike on the bottom that could be used as a weapon if need be. Anyway, these 2 guys said they were just out in the woods sitting around a campfire. So, again, I'm thinking homeless. Then they introduced themselves as Doug and Tommy. Doug said, that's a nice camera you have there. "Eh, it's a low end one", I tried to convince the guy. Then he said, " You can get some beautiful pictures of the park at this time of year. And he started to tell me,  "I hope you have a polarizing lens on that, taking pictures had high noon".  I said I sure did. Starting to feel a bit more comfortable.Then Doug started to tell me that he's known as TBK... "The Bass Killer" as he loves to fish at this river. But can't now because the seaon is over, and his fishing permit expired. He had on a hunting jacket so I asked him if he hunted. "No, I can't have a gun anymore", he replied. "I'm a veteran, and can't carry a gun. That just isn't right. Besides, I never did like hunting. I like to fish". Well that made me feel better, I guess. Tommy meanwhile said, "If you guys are talking about hunting, I'm going home. That just bores me. See ya later fellas". And off he went. So Doug and I chatted a bit more. He told me about some good spots around Tilton where he goes to get some spectacular sunset shots.  He said he was a night cook and had to head home and get ready for work. Hmm. Not homeless. And decent guys. Whew.. "Good to meet you",  I said as we shook hands.. Same here Emery, he replied. And off he trotted. Can't judge a book by its cover, can you? This one's for you Doug and Tommy.

And this one's for me.

All in all, an interesting lunch time. Much better than just sitting at my desk. But in the future, it probably would be a good idea to let someone know where I'm heading.
See you tomorrow
Em