It's baaaaack!

The camera. The memory card. And, most importantly, the pictures.

They all arrived (safe and sound) in the mail this afternoon. No surprises. I still can't believe it, but am glad to have the photos and movies which had almost been lost forever.

On a side note, I saw a young woman (24 years old) nearly die right in front of me this morning. She is a diabetic who relies on an insulin pump to help keep her sugar levels in check. Anyway, she hadn't eaten for several hours in the morning (around 11am) and was under a little bit of stress (buying a new car), and she simply tanked. . . FAST! Actually, she began convulsing first, then she stopped breathing (turning her lips and face first blue, then ashen gray.)

I thought she was going to die.

She didn't. . . and responded very rapidly to very intensive and immediate treatment. But man, it was scary to see.

An Update

It seems that the nice people at Hershey Park may have found my previously lost (read: stolen) camera (see previous post). They called today for a more specific description of the pictures conatained on the memory card, mainly because the card itself was still in the camera. It also matched the brand and size which I stated in my initial report.

You see, when you submit a report on the item lost, all the information is entered into a computer database and is cross-referenced with items logged into a database of found items. When they get a hit on this referenced search, someone examines the items and their descriptions to see if the item found is indeed the same as the one which had been lost.

It's a simple, but apparently effective method. And, based on the conversation I had with one of the "Lost & Found Dept." personnel, the pictures on the memory card appear to have been taken by me. If the story ended there, I'd be happy. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Some of the pictures described to me didn't sound familiar at all. So now I wonder silently, "Could it be that the person who had my camera during the past two weeks left additional pictures on my card? Could it simply be the wrong camera? Or maybe it had been stolen, as I suspected, and somehow found its way to the lost and found in spite of the fact? What additional clues will the camera offer?"

It's a mystery.

I had written-off the camera and its contents the day after it vanished. Other family members held out hope a bit longer, including my mother -- a sure sign of eternal optimism and unwavering faith in mankind. I had no such illusions; clearly, the camera had been stolen, and the culprits had gotten away with it.

I have to admit -- they were probably right. But I'm still wondering what those 'other' photos could be. . . ?

Summertime

My brain seems to have taken a break to soak in the sun. Either that, or my life just isn't interesting enough to blog about lately. Maybe it's a bit of both. . .

About the only real news in my life, is that some slimeball stole my digital camera last weekend during my return trip to Hershey Park. It was a family outing we had planned for several months after I visited the park during their winter festival. In true amusement-park style, the place was crowded with families, school groups, and rogue teens. It was also unusually hot, which made for excellent weather for the water rides, too.

I was sitting down on a bench, trusty camera by my side, waiting for my youngest cousins to return from their ride on the Skyway. Then, the fatal mistake. . . I left my seat (don't ever do this if you have stuff on the bench) to consult the park map. It was only a few seconds, but it was all the thief needed to carry out his/her dirty deed.

As if by magic, the camera had vanished into thin air. The scoundrels were kind enough, however, to leave my souvenir mug in its place. Perhaps they are nostalgic and wanted me to have a memento of the occasion.

Now, the camera is just a camera. In fact, it's only one of several that I own. But the photos and movies from the family trip which were on the memory card are irreplaceable.

My heart sank.

Sensing my distress, cousin Diane summed it up thusly: "Well, you lost your pictures that were in the camera, but you still have the pictures in your memory. And you'll have those forever!" Leave it to a ten-year-old to put things in perspective for you. In that instant, I was freed from the prison of my own negative thoughts, and was free to enjoy the rest of the trip unaffected.

All in all, everyone had a really fun weekend. Besides, I still had my spare camera in the car!