I need your vote!

Awhile back I mentioned the photos I’d submitted for a Florida State Parks photo contest. You can click here for that post (or see the pics below). There are a few categories so maybe some of my photos are being considered by the judges. Fingers crossed, but there are some GREAT photos from other photographers so I’m not holding my breath. This is where you come in… I need your vote! There’s a “fan favorite” award for each category (birds, night sky, adventure, etc) and I would be so grateful if you’d check out the photos below and vote for one. Or come back each day to submit another vote, it’s not like you have anything else to do, right!??? 🤪

The prize I want the most is a Florida State Park inflatable paddle board, which is included for fan favorite winners. Here are the photos I submitted… if you like any of them, please vote!!

Sunset Surfer

Waving Hello

Hang On

Running with the Birds

A Leg to Stand On

Light Waves

Grazing

Even if you can’t or don’t have time to vote, you’re cool. Hope you have a great week!

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol – Another Season, Another Sob Story

Hello and welcome to my American Idol rant! The show’s new season is set to air next weekend so you know what that means: Sob stories galore… I sound jaded, don’t I? Forgive me, I’m still upset Julia Davo’s audition was hijacked. One of the biggest mistakes of last season.

In the weeks following Julia’s departure, she expressed interest in auditioning again so maybe this season she’ll get her rightful spot back! And she has some ammo, a sob story (ie. her relationship with Alyssa- the contestant who claimed to be a friend but put herself above the friendship). Everyone knows a tragic backstory is enough to win over the judges (especially since Simon isn’t there 😭). The addition of the very talented Carrie Underwood, while she’s bound to offer great advice, won’t fill the void created when Simon Cowell left. Someone’s gotta tell contestants their performances are abysmal! Who’s it gonna be?

This next season is about to begin and here we go again with the sob stories. The show recently uploaded a sneak peak; Why don’t they just say this guy’s story is what got him to the next round? His voice is OK, nothing super original but because of the set up, he’s going to get 3 “yes” votes.

He’s kind of like a mix of Jason Isbell and Oliver Anthony, so OK I might be underplaying his voice but aside from his performance, it’s the way he’s presented that irks me. Maybe don’t appeal to the audience’s (and judges’) emotions so we can all make our decisions with a clear mind and settled heart!

Of course, I’ll be watching because it’s a fun show. I just hope the judges are willing to be brutally honest with the contestants who have no reason to be there at all. And for Heaven’s sake, if Julia returns… give her a ticket to Hollywood mmmmk?

-Out of the Wilderness

Why are they doing this to trucks?

Have you seen one of the more recent trends with pick-up truck owners? I hope it’s not your teenage kid doing this. If it is, just take a deep breath. Curl up in fetal position. Then let yourself weep. But thank goodness it’s not your son, it’s neighbor’s boy making a fool of himself. The first generation of boys who have mommy issues AND daddy issues. That’s why they did this to their truck…

Guess where I saw this hideous pick-up…. yep, Target. I’m sure my generation did some dumb things but I’m *so* glad I’m not 18 in 2025. This fella (and anyone who dares to try the squatted truck thing) is an embarrassment to his family, his town, his country. Just imagine aliens coming to earth and this is the first thing they see. Or guys out there picking up women for a date in this? 👀 Well, that’s factually untrue. I know gay guys who are less gay than these squatted truck guys. The video below pretty much nails it in less than a minute.

-Out of the Wilderness

Hand in Hand Again…

It’s so funny to me when a certain line from a song is what sticks with me. Actually, it happens a lot and I’m guessing maybe it happens to you, too. This week, because of certain circumstances, the lyrics I keep coming back to are “Someday when we meet up yonder, we’ll stroll hand in hand again.” Can you guess which song it is? Hint: It was made famous by Willie Nelson.

It was also on this list of lesser known (if that’s even possible) Elvis performances.

But this week has been a hard one, something I didn’t see coming. A family at the church I attend is in the midst of incredible loss and, honestly, I’m barely connected to them and yet I feel deeply about what they’re facing. So the line from this song about walking hand in hand again just makes me so emotional even though I cannot really relate at all to what this family is feeling. A bitter loss with a lot more questions than answers. It’s easy to say God is in control, and I believe that they believe that, but what’s happening still really, really sucks. I’ve had on repeat the version from UB40 (because of my recent UB40 binge) and I’ll be playing it over and over the for the near-future.

Looking forward to that land that knows no parting…

-Out of the Wilderness