Digital Blasphemy: Thank you - A Soldier's Story
Thank you - A Soldier's Story
I've gotten a lot of emails over the years from people who enjoy my work. It never gets old really, but every once in a while one comes along that really touches me. This was one such email and I thought I would share it with you all.
I received it this morning. It is from Alecia, a soldier stationed somewhere in Iraq.
Dear Ryan,
I would first like to sincerely thank you for the work that you do, it is absolutely spectacular. I stumbled across your captivating work in my attempt to find that “perfect” wallpaper to gaze at when I felt like I “just needed to get away”. I am currently deployed in a very remote region of Iraq and recently got a new laptop; needless to say the large, fancy screen was in desperate need of a facelift. My exhaustive search to find just the right image landed me at your site. I must say, initially I found myself wondering why in the world would someone pay to download images when there are literally thousands to chose from right at your fingertips on the internet. One look at your preview page immediately prompted me to dig in my bag to find the means to join your site. I was pleasantly surprised when I gained access to the rest of your gallery.
Customizing my computer with the quality of artwork that you produce may not seem like much of a reason to celebrate for most people, but when you have been away from home for so long, the yearning for all of those comforting, familiar things that remind you of home is impossible to put into words. At the end of the day, all you have here is the ability to dream and hope for the future. Your work is so captivating that one can’t help but to gaze into it and imagine the possibilities. Thanks to your unbelievable imagination, in this hot, dusty region of the world, I now have a portal for which my mind can escape and dream the unimaginable.
Sincerely,
alecia
This really made my morning. As I told Alecia, I cannot imagine being where she is (since I sit behind a computer all day in nice safe central Illinois) and if I can ease her burden even in the slightest then I consider myself honored.
I received it this morning. It is from Alecia, a soldier stationed somewhere in Iraq.
Dear Ryan,
I would first like to sincerely thank you for the work that you do, it is absolutely spectacular. I stumbled across your captivating work in my attempt to find that “perfect” wallpaper to gaze at when I felt like I “just needed to get away”. I am currently deployed in a very remote region of Iraq and recently got a new laptop; needless to say the large, fancy screen was in desperate need of a facelift. My exhaustive search to find just the right image landed me at your site. I must say, initially I found myself wondering why in the world would someone pay to download images when there are literally thousands to chose from right at your fingertips on the internet. One look at your preview page immediately prompted me to dig in my bag to find the means to join your site. I was pleasantly surprised when I gained access to the rest of your gallery.
Customizing my computer with the quality of artwork that you produce may not seem like much of a reason to celebrate for most people, but when you have been away from home for so long, the yearning for all of those comforting, familiar things that remind you of home is impossible to put into words. At the end of the day, all you have here is the ability to dream and hope for the future. Your work is so captivating that one can’t help but to gaze into it and imagine the possibilities. Thanks to your unbelievable imagination, in this hot, dusty region of the world, I now have a portal for which my mind can escape and dream the unimaginable.
Sincerely,
alecia
This really made my morning. As I told Alecia, I cannot imagine being where she is (since I sit behind a computer all day in nice safe central Illinois) and if I can ease her burden even in the slightest then I consider myself honored.