Tony took this flower photograph in Hawaii which is one of our favorite places.

Valentine’s Day is coming!  Flowers will be bought and delivered to express emotions of “Love”.  This is probably one of the busiest times for florists.Unfortunately, flowers are temporary.  They die.  But with a picture we can remember them at their peak of perfection and beauty.  This is one reason why we love photographs.  They can capture moments in time to remember after the physical object or person is gone.  When we look at this photograph, we can remember this flower, and it’s lingering fragrance.

When we encounter people whether on a personal, business or chance encounter, what is the impression we leave behind?  Do we make other people feel comfortable?  Did we encourage someone who was going through a problem?  Can we patiently listen to someone?

Or are we too busy with our business?  Do I give the impression that it is all about me?

Lastly, can we leave a lingering fragrance with others that is sweet so they were glad they encountered us.  Were they better in some way after being with us?

Source: Lingering Fragrance

This is an old photograph of Candlestick Park stadium in San Francisco.  It is the exterior on the level between the upper and lower concourse level.

Do you see the woman at a “Pay Phone“?

Both the pay phone and Candlestick Park are long gone and are memories of the past.I’m sure there are many people who have never seen a “Pay Phone“.

Once upon a time, people did not use cell phones, text, stream TV, videos or movies and do business online.  If people had to talk to someone, they had to use the pay phone to make a quick call, otherwise you would be require to add more money to continue talking.

Are we more connected now to one another by carrying a cell phone, so we can communicate anytime?

When I am on public transportation, the majority of the riders are looking at their cell phones.  They are focused on their own world.

I do not bring out my device unless I need to call someone due to scheduling conflict.  I enjoy people watching. So I noticed a woman who looked very sad.  She dropped her money on the ground on the bus and did not seem to notice what she dropped.  No one next to her noticed she dropped her money.  I was sitting a little bit away from her.  Since she did not pick up her money, I got up and went to her to point out her dropped money.  She picked up the bills.  But during the next 5-10 minutes, she kept dropping her money.  A woman who sat near her repeated assisted her to pick her money, and finally she helped the woman put the money in a zippered pocket.

It’s interesting how we can be so preoccupied with out cell phones and our world, that we do not see the needs of other people around us.  It was also interesting to see how when I noticed someone needing help, someone else noticed too and proceeded to help that woman.

Helping others can be contagious.

Source: What’s a Phone Booth?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This is a Takin from the San Diego Zoo.  Happy Chinese New Year to Mr. Takin!  The takins are considered national treasures in China.  They can share the giant panda’s habitat in the forests of China.What is a Takin.  It has nose like a moose, a tail like a bear, horns of a gnu, hindquarters of a hyena, and a body like a bison.  It is often referred to as a goat antelope, since it has things in common with both goats and antelopes.  But is more closely related to sheep.  Though they can be heavy and large, they are nimble in moving up, down and around mountains. Not only are they are great mountain climbers, they can leap over 6 feet.

Since we are Chinese, we are proud of Mr. Takin.  The takin may be an “interesting and strange” looking animal.  They generally move slow but can react quickly if angered or frightened.

They are a great example for us.  We all have interesting internal or external features which could be considered “strange”.  Our “strange” attributes should not hinder us but can be our assets.

Whatever problems we are facing, we should not ignore them.  But with patience, we can face and analyze our trials in wisdom to consider solutions.  Can we learn to be nimble to climb or leap to heights to overcome our adversity?

You can see a few more photos from our website at untouchedtcphotos.com

Source: Face Adversity Head On Like Mr. Takin

These are 2 flamingos at the San Diego Zoo.  We stood around and watched the flock of flamingos.  We love the colors and their interaction.  It looks like one flamingo was feeding the other.

Flamingos are very social and thrive in their interactions with one another.  They are dependent on one another.  They fly together and follow each other closely.  They can live in small or very large groups – up to tens of thousands.

Shouldn’t we strive to “feed” one another?  It is not good for a person to be alone on an ongoing basis.  We can strive to feed others whether with actual physical, spiritual, emotional or intellectual nourishment.  People do thrive with interaction.  Do we ever notice anyone whether at work, school, or social gatherings that perhaps needs us to “feed” them in some way?

Source: Feed One Another

This is a Big Horn Sheep at the Living Desert in Palm Desert, California.  We felt the sheep was grinning at us and loved the pearly whites!

The Living Desert has a nice zoo and wonderful garden!

This photograph is a good reminder for us.  Even if we are facing rugged terrain or a rough patch in life, we need to sit down, relax and smile.  If we try to relax and smile in the midst of our troubles, maybe we can get a better perspective of our situation.  Worrying and stress will not be productive.  But a smile can help us focus better to find solutions to our dilemnas and problems.

Source: Smile and Show Your Teeth!

Tony took this photograph of the Death Star II model.  He could spend hours looking at this model, and took many photographs of it.

It is a symbol how relentless the Galactic Empire was to destroy planets who opposed them.  After the destruction of the original Death Star, the Galactic Empire sought to build this new battle station to be more powerful than the original.

Fortunately, the Rebel Alliance destroyed the 2nd Death Star.  Within a year, the Empire formally surrendered to the New Republic.

We love to watch the struggle and victories of the righteous against those who were a part of the “Dark” side.

Isn’t this a picture of our individual internal struggle we each face with our good and bad tendencies?  As we started 2017, what do we want to change for ourselves?  Ongoing goals are important.  Deadlines are nice, but we need to be realistic.  Can we strive to take small progressive steps to reach the finish line?  That is my goal for the new year.

Source: Victory & Defeat – Death Star II