Fifteen Minutes of Fame

I've heard that during their lifetime most people experience an event that could be considered their "15 minutes of fame." Of course, for most of us, our "fame" would not be on the same scale of the overnight fame enjoyed by Susan Boyle in recent weeks, or the instant fame Sarah Palin received during her campaign for vice president ... but that is not to diminish the excitement and pride we feel as a result of being honored or singled out for an accomplishment or a job well done.

Sometimes our "claim to fame" is shared only by our families ... or a close circle of friends. It could be graduating from college summa cum laude, or having a book published, or writing a song and having it recorded by a well known performer.

I've never really experienced anything that would qualify as my 15 minutes of fame (unless it was having my babies) ... but something exciting happened recently that made me feel good, and it's probably as close as I'll ever get to being "famous," if only for 15 minutes. I'd like to share it with you:

A couple of months ago I received an e-mail note from a writer in The Netherlands, who is an editor for a Dutch magazine for professional gardeners called Tuin & Landschap. While searching the Web, he came across one of my pictures and asked if I would sell the picture to him for use in the magazine, which has 6,000 subscribers.

Here is the photo, which is a close up of grave markers resting among the roots of a huge old magnolia tree in the Vicksburg National Military Park Cemetery.

Of course, I was thrilled, and honored, that they wanted to use my picture, and I gladly sold it to him and sent it to him in an e-mail.

He wrote me after he received it and said the picture would be published in the next issue and he would send me a copy of the magazine.

We were out of town this past weekend, but when we got home yesterday, the magazine was in our mailbox. I was so excited as I opened the package, and inside I found two publications ... one was the current issue of Tuin & Landschap, and the other was a beautiful supplement entitled Magnolia.

I found my picture on the inside back cover page of the Magnolia magazine, and I'm delighted with it ...

Of course, the text is in Dutch, but I could loosely translate the caption under the picture, and was also pleased to see my name in the credit for the photo on the corresponding page.

Here are some of the other photos featured in the magazine:

Isn't it incredible, and wonderful, too, how the "World Wide Web" has united people from all walks of life, from literally all over the world, and enabled a magazine editor in The Netherlands to find a photograph of a magnolia tree in Vicksburg, Mississippi. I'd like to thank that editor (who will remain anonymous for privacy's sake) for the part he played in giving me my "15 minutes of fame," and invite you to share your 15 minutes of fame with us.

Sweet Magnolias -- One of God's Masterpieces

Midday rain, wind, and thunderstorms swept through Vicksburg yesterday, but they moved through quickly leaving bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. It was so nice after the rain that I couldn't resist grabbing my camera and going over to the National Military Park, which is about ten minutes from my house.

I had a plan in mind ... to take some pictures of the magnificent old Grandiflora magnolia trees in the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The magnolias are blooming now and as I walked among the trees, there was a light breeze blowing and the sweet, heavenly scent of the blossoms surrounded me.

I love the old moss-covered limbs, gnarly trunks, and twisted roots of the trees, and captured some of them with my camera (to see the amazing details of these trees, please click on the pictures to enlarge them) ...

Notice how the grave markers have been embraced by the roots of this tree ...

I wanted to get some close up pictures of the magnolia blossoms, but all of the trees are huge, and most of the flowers were way above my head. However, "where there's a will, there's a way," and I did manage (thanks to my telephoto lens) to get a few interesting pictures.

I think magnolia blossoms are beautiful, no matter what stage of their "bloom life" they're in. Just look at the elegance of this blossom which is way past its "prime" ...

One of God's masterpieces ...

These are the blossoms I captured "from a distance." I hope to add some "close up and personal" pictures of magnolia blossoms soon. In fact, after I returned home yesterday afternoon, I noticed a bud that may open today on a lower branch of one of our Gem Magnolias. I am going to keep an eye on it to try to catch it in the different stages of blooming.

I hope you have magnolias where you live and can take time to enjoy their elegant blossoms and their heavenly perfume. They are truly awe-inspiring.