Hella's finally getting a spare!

David Moore hand crafts custom wheels using original Budd centers so that guys like me with a resto-mod vintage vehicle can use modern tubeless tires. He made the wheels Hella is rolling on right now. He is donating a significant percentage of the cost of making another wheel for me so I can mount a spare. You rock man!

Rolling home arts and crafts time...

I've finally settled on what will be painted on Hella's front bumper. So, it was stencil production time this morning! Hopefully it will be warm enough to paint soon!

Sorting through a life...

This weekend is dedicated to the task of sorting everything I own that will not be in the truck and deciding what I will store, sell and give away. Five apple boxes of records have been reduced to one. Onward!

First Jackdaw community portrait day is set up!

Over the weekend I secured permission to shoot for a local community! I am very excited to have the first Jackdaw shoot on the books. The one I booked this weekend is one of two shoot days in April. I'm not providing date and location details here or on my social media because I don't want any press showing up. But don't worry, I will share behind the scenes images and stories after each Jackdaw shoot day! WooHoo!

Hella's previous life

After her honorable discharge from the Canadian Armed Forces, Hella was purchased by G&H Steel in Ontario Canada.  She served as a crew transport vehicle on the mill. This pic is dated 1978. It's really fun to have this piece of history. Wish I had a photo of her from her CAF days!

First official Jackdaw interview!

Jackdaw is about to get it's first official press! I couldn't feel more honored that it will come via Pulse, the CWU student produced magazine. Ryan and Miles came up with very thoughtful questions. I was impressed! I look forward to seeing their work. Thanks guys!

Hella's charging again! Road ready.

Our girl has been waiting about a month for her rebuilt generator. I can't just run to the local NAPA for parts like this since her 24V electrical system is all original. Thankfully, there are a few great military vehicle parts sources in North America that stock most everything I could ever need. This is largely thanks to the endless popularity of the classic civilian Dodge Power Wagons from the 1940-1960's from which the military M Series trucks are derived.

Sincere thanks for your support!

I can't adequately express how moving your support of this outreach is. It is the most humbling experience of my life! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am honored by the myriad ways you are all supporting my efforts. Thank you for lifting me up! I will pay it forward with all my energy to the families we bless together.

Namaste,

Richard

Photographer unknown. Image sourced from a Google image search of the word 'Humility'. I could not find a photo credit for it.

Simply begin...

Having been given the dream of this venture nearly two and a half years ago, I can attest to the truth of Mr. Nightingale's quote. Back then it seemed insurmountable and impractical to even proceed. But, the dream was too meaningful to let it go. So, I did everything I possibly could, from little steps to big ones. It did not matter that I didn't have it all figured out. The path kept revealing itself like magic as I poured my energy into the purpose I had been given. Time did indeed pass and amazing things manifested in my life as I faithfully poured my energy into this outreach. Dreams came true that I had long forgotten I even had. The moral of the story is that you should never assume you have time. Begin passionately with what fires your soul. Begin now, in whatever way you can and from wherever you are. Namaste.

Where did the name Jackdaw come from?

The original name I came up with for this outreach was Familia Nomad. The winged heart logo came along shortly after the name. As time went on, I was struggling with the two-word name that used two different languages. It was also difficult for people to remember. When it was time to claim a domain for my website and paint it on Hella, Familia Nomad just wasn't working for me. I was frustrated about it and none of the new names I was coming up with were flipping my switch. A few days into the new name brainstorming, I had a dream in which I closed the driver's side door and saw the name 'Jackdaw' painted above the winged heart logo. It was just a brief glimpse, but enough that I remembered it when I woke up. I had never heard of a Jackdaw, so I googled it. Was I ever shocked when it turned out to be a small crow with grey plumage on it's head! This was significant to me because I have always had a deep connection with Corvids. The little crow with grey plumage matched perfectly with the grey that is overtaking my crown as well. Without hesitation I searched the domains available. All the usual .com, .org, .whatever were taken for Jackdaw. But, there were some new extensions available, one being .love. From the second I saw jackdaw.love I knew I'd been given the name! I bought it then and there and went to work on completing the site I had been building. Within a week I painted jackdaw.love on three sides of Hella. There was never a moment's doubt it was the right name for the outreach. Even the logo, which I had created a year before the name came along, is a perfect match to the name. Just more evidence of the beautiful magic at work in this outreach. I am greatly blessed to be a part of it!   Jackdaw bird info here-  http://www.discoverwildlife.com/blog/7-jackdaw-facts-you-need-know  Jackdaw photo from the Wikipedia page for Western Jackdaw'. The photo credit is 'Birds of Sweden'.

Why no family pics on your website?

A few of my followers and patrons have suggested that I should have family portraits on the Jackdaw website  There are good reasons why I have elected not to put examples of family portraits there and here's why-

The vast majority of the families I am photographing desire to remain anonymous or actually need to. This is not a campaign for social change or a cause beyond blessing people with portraits of their families and children. None of the people I photograph have to give me any identification or documentation. I keep no records of them beyond archiving their shots. No names are written down, only their shoot day portrait number so that I can deliver their images to them the day after the shoot. I am sure there will ultimately be families that would like for their portraits to be shared and I will do so on my blog and social media. I feel it is important  that when potential clients land on this website for the first time, they don't see it populated with family portraits which could make them nervous about their images being posted on the web or used to promote this outreach. I have been part of the commercial marketing machine my entire career and that's the last thing I want this gift to be perceived as. Jackdaw is a completely open offering to bless. One that gives to these individuals and families without condition. And since I am serving communities that often live on the margins of society, and even immigration law in some cases, I take preserving their anonymity very seriously. The only client portraits I will ever share will be from families that expressly want to share their experience on my social media. I will however share patron portraits and all kinds of photos of the journey including behind the scenes images to give a feel for the kind of environments I am working in. I will extensively share my experience in words and images along the way, but never at the expense of my clients.

Feel free to share your thoughts with me about this. I always appreciate your feedback!

Revised postcard copy...

Terrific feedback regarding the copy of my 5x7 cards has inspired copy revision. I like it much better now. Thank you all those who helped me out!