A WALK IN THE PARK: Chance meeting changed a life

— We spent a recent evening attending a meeting for members and guests of the Ozark Highlands Trail Association. A highlight of the evening was a slide show presented by Terry Boyd, featuring some amazing photographs he has taken of Alaska landscapes over the past several years.

Although this could easily be another write up about a terrific nature photographer, that is not what I have in mind this time. I have great appreciation for this young man’s photography, no doubt, but it is the fact that he went to Alaska in the first place that makes me so grateful.

The story began almost a decade ago when our adventurous son Zack, a college student at that time, decided to spend his summer break in Alaska.He arranged for a job just outside Denali National Park and, although I didn’t feel totally at ease with his decision to travel so far from home, it was the fact that he was planning to drive there all alone in his little Ford Ranger that concerned me the most. He wasn’t worried, of course, and didn’t seem phased at the thought of traveling unaccompanied for over three thousand miles through some very remote territory.

As the spring semester wrapped up, preparations for the lone travels continued and so did my concern. Just three days before departure, by chance encounter, Zack and Terry met at a bike shop in Russellville where Terry worked. Zack was selling his mountain bike and mentioned that he would be leaving soon todrive to Alaska and the bike money would help him buy extra supplies he needed.

Terry, a budding photographer in his late twenties at the time, was yearning for adventure, especially if it meant traveling to a place with as many photo opportunities as Alaska. He overheard the conversation and when the transaction was complete, he followed Zack outside to ask about riding along. Zack called home that evening and reported the welcomed news that he now had a passenger.

Within a couple of days, the two showed up at our home in Gentry as they prepared to head north. We were glad to meet Terry and to be able to thank him in person for his willingness, on such short notice, to travel with Zack to Alaska. He was excited about what he considered a lucky opportunity. As the guys rearranged their belongings to fit everything into the truck, Terry brought out a flat cardboard box with printsof some of his best photographs up to that date. We purchased a couple that I still have hanging in the hallway of our home.

It was obvious then, as Terry talked excitedly about f-stops and lighting conditions, that the understanding of photography concepts came naturally for this young man who hadpicked up his first 35mm camera at a pawn shop not long before. He couldn’t wait to photograph Alaska!

By the end of the summer, Terry had decided to stay a while longer, and Zack made the long drive home by himself and without any problems. Terry told us during our recent conversation that he has spent every summer in Alaska since that year, migrating back to spend winters in Arkansas, then heading north again when the weather warms.During his months in Alaska each year, he works as a river fishing guide and is now developing a business that offers photo tours to tourists. His photography work continues to be spectacular and we saw some of his winning photographs a few months back in an "Alaska" magazine.

He credits his chance encounter with Zack Rowe at a bike shop in Russellville as changing the course of his life.

I think Terry would havefound a way to live out his dreams, no matter what, but I am glad it worked out the way it did. I will always be grateful that he took the ride.

See Terry’s work at www.terr yboydphotography.com.

Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 5 on 03/14/2012