When the muse strikes, sometimes it's when you least expect.

If a picture is worth a thousand words—this one speaks a million. My Daughter-in-law saw this photo and proclaimed it the most unflattering photo ever. I don’t think so.


Let me explain why.

I just got back from my son’s Marine homecoming in North Carolina. He’d been deployed to Afghanistan with the 2/8 Marine Infantry for eight months. We stood in 106 degree temperatures for five hours waiting for the buses. Cate was so nervous—the longer it took, the more nervous she became. When one of the mothers climbed up on a bench and yelled out into the crowd she saw buses, everyone went wild, screaming, whistling and yelling. The buses came around the block and disappeared behind a building and reappeared in the spaces between them. My daughter-in-law caught a glimpse between buildings, and this photo was snapped.

The raw emotion on her face is powerful—you can see how much she loves her Marine. It brings tears to my eyes just looking at it.

Then I thought, can I capture that in my stories? And then I decided I needed to try. That is my goal for the next year, to capture what you see, the emotion on her face in a story. Wish me luck.

Have a great Saturday,

D L Jackson