MY BIRTHDAY PRESENT...

 

Hey y'all, it's me. This pic from "Before the Fall."
Still, it me on the inside cuz nothing can break that, right?
This blog all about guinea pigs but I wanna tell ya a little 
sumpin-sumpin about myself cuz I gonna ask you for 
a little sumpin-sumpin in a minute and I want you to 
understand what it means to me and why.


You might say in some ways I led a "charmed life."
My birthday is April 21, same as John Muir.
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings,"
he said.
So I did.
And I've been blessed to enjoy an amazing career as
a freelance wildlife photographer, writer, and environmental
educator with mentors the likes of Ansel Adams! Yupper!
And a funny, funny staff photographer from NEWSWEEK
magazine who was mortified the first time he saw me walk into
an important editor's office with my photographs (portfolio) all
shoved into a J.C. Penney's bag!
Travelled around the country, got to know lots of amazing,
famous people who felt it was a privilege to mentor a 20-something upstart with chutzpah who was too stupid to think she couldn't possibly succeed (gotta say, not many wimmins back then!)
 The more burly-Game&Fish-Outdoor Life men-men who
told me I would never make it were the best teachers of all, they
only made me work harder and harder. 
In 1986, I was on the verge of producing my first television documentary for a Conservation Foundation and planned to break out later with a series about outdoor women making a difference.
This was still back in the 1980's, remember...I was also a full-time student at the University of Iowa School of Journalism (wasn't fair the writers got all the $ so was gonna do that, too!) and pulling 3 jobs to support myself, all photography, art, and natural history related.
 I became incurably ill. At the age of 30. People said, if ya
can't travel far, you'd love the Pacific Northwest. 
~~~
Moved out here to a wildlife refuge but smashed my head 
pretty good a few years ago then did an encore six weeks later.
Couldn't stand, walk, talk, or think crooked-or-straight after that!

Now I seek out guinea pigs to get their good
tidings but I'm a happy girl who wouldn't change a thing
except for wishing all the piggies were still here with Bhindi,
Vinni-Valli, and YumYum...


Not bad for a lifetime though, huh? AND 
THE BEST FRIENDS ANYONE COULD ASK FOR
IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!
WU-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!


Every year, my bff comes up from Seattle.
Her birthday is on April 19 and mine's the 21st
but her car broke and my head feeling broke
so figured I'd ask YOU TO CELEBRATE FOR US:


PLEASE CONSIDER SEEING THIS CHIMPANZEE
FILM OPENING FRIDAY OR ANY OF THE FILMS
ABOUT THREATENED, ENDANGERED, OR
POTENTIALLY EXTINCT WILDLIFE.


THEY WERE/ARE MY LIFE'S WORK, MY PASSION, MY LOVE. BUT THERE'S VERY LITTLE OF "ME" ANYMORE. SO...


PLEASE LIGHT MY BIRTHDAY CANDLES WITH 
THE FLAME IN YOUR HEARTS!


Thanks.
love,
Chana


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