Backpacking through Europe in 1994

Day 103 • December 18, 1994
Home! Back in Omaha, Nebraska

I made it home.

After one hundred days, eleven countries, and more trains, ferries, and goodbyes than I could count, I finally stepped back onto American soil. But before I could fully return to my old life, there was one more important stop — Kyle’s parents’ house in Omaha.

Kyle was there to greet me, just like he had been the day before I left. Pam and John welcomed me back into their home the same way they had on the night before my departure. In many ways, it felt like the trip had come full circle. The same people who had supported me when I was at my lowest were now there to welcome me back after I had climbed out of it.

I was exhausted, unshaven, and carrying a bag full of dirty clothes and dozens of rolls of unexposed film, but I was finally able to say the words: “I’m home!”

I made it home for the Christmas Symphony with the Dome Crew. The first thing I needed was a shower, shave and haircut!

Kyle took these pictures of me, and I laugh because he wasn’t able to focus the lens correctly.

Ever since Skratch introduced us and we became roommates at the Dome during our final two years at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kyle has been a brother to me. His mom Pam and stepdad John have been adopted parents to me in every way that matters.

The morning after my suicide attempt in August 1993, Kyle was the first one who noticed the bandages on my wrists. He was the one who immediately took me to my parents’ house to talk with them about what had happened. He was also one of the very few people who fully supported my decision to go to Europe. He took me to the camping store in Omaha to buy my backpack and sleeping bag, and along with Skratch and my family, he wrote me letters while I was gone.

To this day, Kyle, Pam, and John have remained by my side through both the good and difficult years since 1993. I’m grateful that there have been far more good days than bad.

It feels only fitting that Pam and John hosted me when I returned from Europe, just as they did on the night before I left. And it feels equally right that Kyle was there too — just like he had been the day before I took off on this journey.

After I came home, and before they each got married, I lived with both Tim and Curt in an apartment building we jokingly called “The Quiet Living Zone.” Tim and I continued running our photography business, T&T Photography.

More than thirty years after college, the Dome Crew is still together and stronger than ever. We talk almost daily, and every fall we play fantasy football in our private league, the DFL (Dome Football League), which we started in 1997. We’ve now played 27 consecutive seasons. Kyle remains our all-time commissioner and keeper of the stats.

We’ve grown up together through the real stuff of life — weddings and divorces, funerals and babies, graduations, and now, watching some of our kids have kids of their own.

Kyle and his first wife had three daughters. After they divorced, he found happiness again with a new wife and her three children. All six kids are now grown. Kyle and his wife live near Omaha, and I’m still “Uncle Todd” to his three daughters.

Curt built a long and respected career in law enforcement. I stood beside him as a groomsman at his wedding, along with the rest of the Dome Crew. He and his wife raised two sons, and I’ve always been “Uncle Todd” to them. Sadly, Curt passed away on March 18, 2025. His loss still hits hard. He was one of the best men I’ve ever known.

Doug served honorably in Operation Desert Storm as a commander of a Patriot missile battery. He married in 2001, and the Dome Crew was there for his wedding. He and his wife had two sons before divorcing. Doug and his boys now live in Houston, Texas.

Tim, better known as Skratch, married De in 1996. I was his Best Man, and the rest of the Dome Crew stood up with him. Tim followed Kyle to South Florida for a short time before returning to photography and settling in Colorado for good. He and De run a successful photography studio in Colorado Springs and raised two daughters who still call me “Uncle Todd.” Their oldest daughter is now married and has a baby girl of her own. The Dome Crew was there to celebrate with them, along with Tim’s parents and Kyle’s parents, Pam and John.

Over in France, Olivier and Rachel got married and had a daughter, Elise. Olivier visited Kearney in 1998, and Elise came to visit in 2015.

In Finland, Siru and Jussi got married and had a daughter. Sadly, Jussi passed away a few years ago.

In Norway, Katrine and Per Christian are still married. Their daughter Karoline is now 24.

In Denmark, Pernille is married and serves as a pastor.

My friend Gitte now lives in Lilongwe, Malawi, in Africa.

My sister Tracy’s old roommate Julie still lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and she and Tracy remain close.

My buddy Jeff served his country honorably in the Marines. Although he and Vicky eventually divorced, he remarried and now lives with his family in Dallas, Texas.

I am deeply blessed. I have relationships that have lasted decades, and I’ve built a meaningful life and career doing what I love most — traveling and taking pictures.

I thank God every day for the life I’ve been given and for the doors that have opened because of my passion for photography. After returning from Europe, I continued working at Bob’s Superstore while shooting with Tim. When Tim moved to Florida in 1996, I took his position as a staff photographer at the Kearney Hub. Two years later I followed Kyle and Tim to South Florida, earned my degree in Commercial Photography from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, and worked as a studio manager for a successful commercial photographer.

From 1999 to 2004, I worked as a commercial photographer for The Kansas City Star. I later started my own business, Todd Rundstrom Photography, spent a year in Denver, and eventually moved back to Kearney — the town I once couldn’t wait to leave.

Between 1992 and 2015, Tim and I photographed over 100 weddings and thousands of portraits and commercial assignments together. Those years, along with the short time we worked with our friend Arlen under AT&T Photography, helped shape the photographer — and the man — I am today.

In 2016, at age 45, I re-enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. On May 5, 2017 — twenty-three years after I dropped out and left for Europe — I finally graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology and a minor in Media Production.

In 2018 I began working with News Link in Lincoln. Through them, I now photograph for some of America’s largest companies, including BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, Kellogg’s, Kellanova, and Conagra. I travel across the country capturing portraits of everyone from frontline workers to plant managers and executives.

I also maintain The Todd Rundstrom Gallery, and my photographs hang in homes and businesses across the country.

For nearly twenty years now, I’ve lived in Kearney — the same town I once tried so hard to escape. I’ve come to love it here. I’m proud to represent both Kearney and Nebraska every time I travel for work.

As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I couldn’t agree more. And I’ll add this: while you’re looking around, take a picture. You’ll be glad you did.

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