Jamaica's own headless horseman

It was the last day of a whirlwind adventure-travel trip to Jamaica. The sun was on its way west. Fast. And I still didn't have that special photo of that special someone: me.

Now, wait, I'm not one of these folks who has to be in every frame of every shot, in front of every fountain in Rome, or grinning from behind every palm tree in the West Indies.

I'm a little less self-centered than that. (I've heard a few colleagues argue this affirmation of modesty.)

Nevertheless, ever since I started traveling, I've returned with at least one shot for the historical record that, yes, Uncle John did, in fact, climb the pyramids at Giza, dive with great white sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, and make it down the Zambezi River in a raft in no more than one piece.

This trip to Jamaica had some great photo ops: biking down the Blue Mountains; ripping up the countryside in an all-terrain vehicle, and now, horseback riding through the surf on a secluded beach at sundown. Great stuff. But still no photo to prove that I, John Edward Young, was there.

Then, on the final moments of our ride, one kindly gentleman in our group, Bill Hoffman, asked if I would take his photo and send it to him later.

"Of course," I obliged.

Click.

"OK, get back on your horse and I'll take one of you," Bill reciprocated.

Now was my chance.

"Smile," he said.

I smiled.

Click.

"Turn your horse around, and I'll take one more."

"Smile."

I smiled.

Click.

"OK, there's only one shot left. Turn your horse around again, and this time wave to all the folks at home. And smile."

I waved. I smiled.

Bill moved in for a close shot.

Click.

Here was "Save It on Kodak" evidence that I did, in fact, gallop through the waves on a white stallion. Just like Fabio on the cover of a steamy romance novel, I thought.

And I had the proof for friends, family, and fans in hand. Now all I had to do was have the photos developed.

I could hardly wait....

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society