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THE SILVER THREAD


25 years ago, Skip Hunt died in an mud Indian hut in the Oaxaca, Mexico mountains. This is his story.

The Silver Thread begins with a train heading South through Copper Canyon, traveling free with no destination as you're transported deep within Mexican interior and high up into the mountains of Oaxaca.

After a few strange twists of fate, the author finds himself collapsing in a thatch hut while participating in an ancient Mazatecan indian mushroom ceremony. As the indigenous hosts try to get his heart beating again, experience a most incredible and transcendent journey beyond. (Based on a true story)





FILE INFO:

Kind - MPEG-4 Audio
File Size - 40.6MB
Duration - 55:52

SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTER DISCUSSED. PARENTAL GUIDANCE IS SUGGESTED.

© 2014 SKIP HUNT :: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

An Audio Book

Continuation #8 of the "By Chance" Series:

New rule for myself with regard to this new series. When happening past the display by chance and catching a nice composition of images, I'm tempted to take a quick snap to reference.

Making it a rule that the composition has to be strong enough to stick in my memory long enough to recompose the images.

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

Noticed this combination of my images "Coven" and "Door of Perception" and "Yesteryear"



This #8 offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 8: Door to Yesteryear Coven"

© 2014 Skip Hunt

The mannequin torsos were in a Tlacotalpan, Mexico market. The painted door was an abandoned beach amphitheater in Daytona, Florida. And, the cracked glass abstract was at a closed down shop in Cape Town, South Africa.

Continuation #7 of the "By Chance" Series:

New rule for myself with regard to this new series. When listening to music, or just happening past the display by chance and catching a nice composition of images, I'm tempted to take a quick snap to reference.

Instead, I'm making it a rule that the composition has to be strong enough to stick in my memory long enough to recompose the images.

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

Noticed this combination of my images "Guat Pots" and "A Good Read" and "Shoe"



This #7 offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 7: Potted Reading Shoe"

© 2014 Skip Hunt

The ceramic pots were in a Guatemalan market. The fellow reading was on the Zocalo plaza in Mexico City. And, the shoe thingy was in an antique shop window of Wimberly, Texas

Continuation #6 of the "By Chance" Series:

New rule for myself with regard to this new series. When listening to music, or just happening past the display by chance and catching a nice composition of images, I'm tempted to take a quick snap to reference. Instead, I'm making it a rule that the composition has to be strong enough to stick in my memory long enough to recompose the images.

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.
Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

Noticed this combination of my images "Ganga Dream" and "Heaven's Gate"



This #6 offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 6: Ganga Heaven"

© 2014 Skip Hunt

The meditating Hindu pilgrim was in Varanasi, India. The translucent fabric with sky showing through was made in Magnolia, Texas

New rule for myself with regard to this new series. When listening to music, or just happening past the display by chance and catching a nice composition of images, I'm tempted to take a quick snap to reference. Instead, I'm making it a rule that the composition has to be strong enough to stick in my memory long enough to recompose the images.

Continuation #5 of the "By Chance" Series:

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

Noticed this combination of my images "Primary 1" and Fragile"



This #5 offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 5: Primary Fragile"

© 2014 Skip Hunt

The paint splatter was from the side of a dumpster in an alley here in Austin, Texas. The landscape is from Arches National Park, Utah

I've added a new rule for myself with regard to this new series. When listening to music, or just happening past the display by chance and catching a nice composition of images, I'm tempted to take a quick snap to reference.

Instead, I'm making it a rule that the composition has to be strong enough to stick in my memory long enough to recompose the images.
Continuation #4 of the "By Chance" Series:

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.
Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

This morning I noticed this combination of my images "Ghost" and "The Sound of Silence"



This offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 4: Ghost of Silence"

© 2014 Skip Hunt

The stone wall detail abstract was made in a partial cave at the Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah. The flutist was inside a ruined cathedral in Antigua, Guatemala.

Continuation #3 of the "By Chance" Series:

AppleTV hooked up to main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from my 1750+ image Flickr account. The screensaver setting is "origami" and either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

This morning I noticed this combination of my images "Krishna" and "Belize View" and "Jedediah"



Third offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 3: Jedediah Krishna Belize"

The tree image I made in Austin, Texas. The Caribbean view was made in Caye Caulker, Belize. And, the landscape was made in Joshua Tree National Park, California.

Continuation of my new "By Chance" Series:

At home, I've got an AppleTV hooked up to our main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from the 1750+ images from my Flickr account. The screensaver setting is the "origami" one that either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them.

This morning I noticed this combination of my images "Defiance" and "Bicicleta Amarilla" and "Gila 520208"



So this second offering in the series is called, "By Chance Series 2: Defiance Gila Bicicleta"

The cone from an image I made in Lisbon, Portugal. The boy on the bicycle was made in Antigua, Guatemala. And, the abandoned gas station was made in Gila Bend, Arizona.

At home, I've got an AppleTV hooked up to our main display, and the screensaver is set to randomly pull images from the 1750+ images from my Flickr account. The screensaver setting is the "origami" one that either displays one image on the screen or it picks and assortment to arrange. Usually between 2 and 5 images at the most.

Every now and then, I'll look over and see images it chose to put together and go, "Oh wow! That's a really nice combo. I should make a note of that and sometime I'll do an ongoing series of them. Maybe I'll call it 'Twofer' or something."

Never got around to doing it, but this morning I noticed this combination of my images "Tortuga Sonrisa" and "Edge of the Cosmos"
So this first in the series is called, "Twofer Series 1: Edge of the Tortuga Sonrisa"



The turtle was from an image I made in Mazunte, Mexico and the sand dune was made in Port Alfred, South Africa.





I thought about cropping it down to fit the same way it had to be cropped to fit the 16x9 aspect ratio of the TV as part of the series, but I think I'll just decide on each combination how it should be cropped. For this one, I prefer to see all of both original images.

On paper, it seemed like a good idea. I’d take the ferry over from the port in Cancun, Mexico to Isla Mujeres, start off at one end of the island and spend the whole day just meandering the entire shoreline to the opposite end while while making casual images along the way.

If I made good time, I’d loop back all along the other side of the island on a return loop to the ferry port. Have a cold cerveza or three, and catch a late ferry back.

Figured if the sun got too intense, or the promise of an early cerveza got too strong to resist, I could just hitch a ride with one of the dozens of other tourist’s perpetually making the same loop in rented golf carts.

What I hadn’t counted on, was that these other tourists would not be so keen in giving a lift to a stranger in a foreign country, no matter if he was a fellow gringo. I mean, “Really?! That guy looks harmless, with his sandals and camera dangling around is neck… but that could be his disguise! He could be some serial killer hiding out from the law for all we know. No thank you mister!”

So, that’s the way it went. The sun beat me down hard, and there was no ride to be had for this sad ol’ hombre. No one would even make friendly eye contact once they caught a glimpse of my lowly thumb potentially blocking their view of the delightful Caribbean Sea vistas.

I could have hired a taxi, but to them I was obviously a tourist with a giant, fat gringo wallet just leaking out hundreds of dollars everywhere I went. Right.

It was also the end of a month-long trip and I was trying to stretch those last lonely pesos to the brink, and ended up having to put a few more miles on my tired sun and sandal beaten feet.



There was a shack to my left with some beat up old tables hosting an assortment of seashells for sale. The woman looked bohemian with a lost hippy vibe about her. Hair all matted and basically tied back with twine. She looked a little forlorn from lack of seashell sales, but she also appeared to be utterly relaxed without a single care in the world.

I saw the sort of make shift mobile signage hanging off a piece of driftwood with the turquoise sea providing a perfect backdrop and readied my camera. I looked back at her to see if she minded. She could tell I wasn’t shopping for seashells and she’d watched a half dozen tourists pass me by without even a glance.

She looked out toward the shot I was about to make, smiled, then nodded with approval. I smiled and nodded back before making this shot. Then just stood there watching the sea treasures magically clinking in the warm tropical breeze. All the pain in my abused feet, burned skin, and frustration just melted away.

For this one image, and those few precious minutes communing with the breeze and sea that felt like they could have been a glimpse of eternal bliss, it was all worthwhile.