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Showing posts from March, 2010

A Lifetime of Learning

"What you want to do that for?" Lincoln, an old acquaintance, said when I told him I was thinking of taking a class in photography. I explained that I'd bought a new camera and wanted to know how to take professional quality photographs. "Are you thinking of becoming a professional photographer?" he asked. "No, I just want to learn to take better pictures." "I'll show you how," he said. "Shouldn't take more than five minutes. Just point at the person or object, make sure your back is to the sun and press the shutter. Simple." He didn't see any reason to spend time in a class to learn something that would be of little use. "You can't make any money from it. Besides, you're retired. Why waste your time?" He and I have argued about other things. Like me, he's been retired for a number of years. He spends his time watching TV,  complaining about the state of the world and finding ways to kill time.