We have a great neighbor. He has been helpful and friendly ever since we moved in next door to him about a decade ago.

We have him over for dinner and he is sorta’ straight-laced Canadian, so I like to tease him.

Our daughter and her husband, Sam the geek, came to visit and he brought a new high-end drone to show us. He took pictures and I sent one that included our neighbors’ home.

I first showed our neighbor the view from a distance, with his home in the center of the picture.

Then a close-up photo of his home.

He wrote, “Where did this come from?”

I replied, “The Canadian Witness Protection program.”

He said, “Get outta here.”

I then told him it was from Sam’s new drone.

He said, “Wow, sounds cool.” Then he subtlety says, “I would love to get a shot higher up a bit showing the water and the house at high tide.” Then diplomatically adds, “That is if he is taking another flight with it.”

Since he asked, in a subtle manner, as to desiring not only a photo of his home but at high tide, so I replied in kind, in my own subtle way…

I wrote, “I mentioned to Sam that if at 5:13am, only on the optimal azimuth dates between July 5th and July 6th, with a minimum of solar lumens at 93.44, he could perform his first run commencing from the tip of Kala Point, with the camera first focused eastward on the sunrise peeking over the top of Mt Baker.

“Then skillfully, artfully and gracefully, the drone pans towards the west, while Ride Of The Valkyries music…

“slowly crescendos in the background, the drone elegantly (under the expert control of Sam) rises at a fixed rate of 1.45m per 10 second interval, following your new trail upward, and then proceeds to not only imitate the dawn of mankind scene from the movie 2001, but exceed the power and hidden messages of that iconic shot…

“finally, slowly, sweetly, cinematically, arrives at your home, finally tilting downward to show you, naked, in your hot tub, reading the wall street journal (Canadian edition) enjoying a cigar, with a final zoom out showing thousands and thousands of Port Townsend locals gathered on the street to cheer along with every other Canadian witness protection person living on the peninsula.”

Fade to black…”

I concluded by saying, “Sam is working on the storyboard layouts as I type.

Can you say Sundance Film Festival?”

Sam offered to do the shot, gratis.