Introduction

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

          I saw the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in 1986 when I was 15 years old. It was the defining movie of my teenage years, a cultural phenomenon at the top of the great ‘80’s teenage coming-of-age films, and Ferris Bueller immediately became my hero.
          The comedy revolves around Ferris, a charismatic teenager who crafts an elaborate plan to skip a day of high school right before he graduates with his best friend and girlfriend. They spend their ‘day off’ having the time of their life in Chicago while evading the principal – and Ferris’ sister – who are out to prove he is not home sick – he is skipping school!
          I adopted Ferris’ just-go-for-it-and-screw-the-consequences attitude towards life. I took his catch phrase to heart and added to his immortal words of wisdom my own twist: If you are taking the time to stop and look around while enjoying your life, you should take a picture too, so you can share it and always remember that moment.

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          Sixteen years before Ferris came into my life, I came into the lives of Lynn and Jim Rundstrom on November 4, 1971. I was born in Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska, and I was their first child. Two sisters eventually joined our family, Tracy in 1974 and Tammy in 1980. Growing up, I was curious, shy, sensitive and artistic. I loved to read, spending countless hours in the school library during the school year, and during the summer, in Kearney’s public library.
          In school, Art was my favorite subject. In Junior High and High School, when we were allowed to begin choosing our classes, I loaded up on as many art classes as I could fit into my schedule. Drawing, painting, pottery - it didn’t matter, I took them all.
          When I was 15, around the time I saw “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” I became insanely addicted to the idea of being a foreign exchange student. I had dreams of going to France, and, among other things, painting watercolor masterpieces on the banks of the Seine in Paris. I applied and was accepted into the Rotary Exchange Program.
          I was thrilled when the official letter arrived. I can remember vividly sitting on my bed in my bedroom with my Mom, hands shaking as I opened the letter. I let out a “YES!” as I read I had been accepted. I let out a “WHAT?!?” to read I’d been accepted by a Rotary club in --- Australia.
          I felt shock and disappointment in my heart because I had developed a crush on a French exchange student who was spending her year in Nebraska. My dreams of having a passionate romance with her, or at the very least a kiss, were crushed. The tears welled up in my eyes, my stomach churned, and sadness overcame me as I realized I may never see her again. I threw my new French cassette tapes that promised to teach me to become fluent in three weeks against the wall in frustration.
          Thankfully, about two hours later, my mood had increased considerably as I realized I was still going to be an exchange student! I was still going to be able to get out of my small town that I felt trapped in, and I began to get incredibly excited knowing I was going to FREAKING AUSTRALIA!!!
          In the mid-1980’s, Australia was having a zeitgeist moment on the world stage. In popular music, INXS ruled the global pop charts, followed closely by ACDC and Men at Work singing about their ‘Land Down Under’.
          Olivia Newton-John, a global music and movie star, was a household name from her role opposite John Travolta in Grease, and her songs about getting ‘physical’ and asking about ‘a little more love.’
          Paul Hogan was Crocodile Dundee, star of another insanely popular 80’s movie. Foster’s Beer was gaining a foothold in America, and it seemed like Australia was quite possibly the coolest country in the world.
          And I was going there!
          I was being sponsored by Rotary District 5630 and the Rotary Club in Kearney, Nebraska. My acceptance letter said I was going to Rotary District 964, and would be hosted by a club in Alstonville, New South Wales. Without the internet, it took a little longer than it does today to figure out where Alstonville was. I did though, by looking in a world atlas, and when I learned it was a small town of about 1,500 people that was only 20 miles from the ocean, my heart began to beat faster.
          I was going to be living by the ocean! I was going to learn how to surf! I was going to get an Australian accent! I might even get to kiss an Australian girl!
          I also learned that Oliva Newton John had a home and farm in Byron Bay, a town very close to Alstonville. I quickly forgot all about the girl from France and just as quickly began learning all I could about my new home “Down Under.”
          I bought a new camera, a Vivitar PS 135 35 mm camera. The PS stood for ‘point and shoot’. It had a fixed-focus lens, had a built-in flash, and considering the inexpensive price point, was actually a really great camera that I still have sitting on my shelf today.
          I knew I was seeing places and meeting people I might not see again, and I used my camera as a diary, a journal to help me remember these amazing experiences I was having.
          It was in Australia that my love of and my passion for photography was born.

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2024-05-27