[Leica] Bitter Pill

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

I'm literally overwhelmed with messages--

I have received well over a hundred responses to my "Bitter Pill" post,
mostly in private, and collectively they've been worth getting burned by
all the flames. Of all those, only one (posted in public, obviously for
the benefit of his own friends) was negative, provocative, and unkind.
It's quite possible that despite my best intentions, I won't get to
answer everybody personally, so a grateful THANK YOU to the many, many
people who wrote in support--and all of you who offered to send me
Leicas! There were even a few people who dislike me who wrote thoughtful
comments in private offering their perspective, and I thank them along
with the rest. I've read every single message carefully and I'm
enlightened by your thoughts, moved by the life stories some of you
shared, and instructed by your counsel.

I've learned something from all this. The strong contrast between what I
see as an angry, vindictive, pompous, or lecturing LUG mafia (you know
who you are) and the many participants who actually take pictures and
put them up for others to see (Stephen Hollway, Kyle Cassidy, Tina
Manley, B. D., Gib R., Dan, many others who I apologize for not
mentioning) have convinced me that I would prefer to belong, or should
aspire to belong, to the latter group (even as my disputations with the
former group made it appear as if I belonged with them. I confess to a
guilty pleasure in the battle). So my next exercise in learning
photography will be to find myself a cheap, common camera (perhaps even
a point-and-shoot, although I'm not certain I can take it that far) and
make a print a day for a year.

That's what I aspire to, anyway. A big challenge for me, since I'm a
busy guy and constancy is, er, not my best thing.

Thanks again to all who wrote (especially my good friend and
brother-in-arms Ed Buziak, ya big lug!

..._double entendre_ not intended!)

- --Mike