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  Welcome Center — Your Information Source For Realitycheckers.comA Butterfly Named NatashaThe Making Of A MascotA True Story
A predominant image on my website is that of a butterfly I've named Natasha. Some of you may be curious about "her" significance, so I'll explain. To many, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation because it passes through several grotesque stages before becoming a delicate, airborne thing of great beauty. Transformation is also the theme of Realitycheckers.com — to help people transform their lives through introspection and by challenging self-doubt, negativity and other grotesque states of mind. Since its beginning in 1999, I've been looking to capture an original image of a Monarch Butterfly to symbolize my vision for this website. In late summer, 2001, I was on tour in the USA with The Rick Justice Band and we'd just arrived for a return engagement at Little Falls, Minnesota. This time around we'd chosen to stay at a different motel on the other side of town. I'm glad we did for it led to this adventure. As was my custom upon arriving anywhere, I hopped on my bicycle to see the sights and find the nearest grocery store. While pedalling along the highway, I saw a road leading to a nun's convent. Something drew me nearer and so I cautiously pedalled my bike onto the grounds. After severeal hundred yards and nervously weaving between some old majestic buildings I came upon a clearing and found myself surrounded by literally hundreds of Monarch Butterflies. They were fluttering amongst the evergreens of a beautifully maintained garden; a convenient rest stop on their migration route south. "Wow, this is amazing!" I thought to myself. Two resident nuns, both in their nineties, told me that they'd never seen such an event at this before at their convent. Whatever drew me there, the timing of my arrival was perfect. I asked their permission and soon returned with my camera. Unfortunately, getting a good still shot of a butterfly proved to be difficult. For one thing, I'm not a professional photographer. Furthermore, butterflies are nervous little creatures, so they're constantly flying off at the slightest disturbance.
My solution was to "borrow" two butterflies, by catching them and bringing them back to my room. (No, not for a good time — just some naked wildlife photography). And that's how I befriended Boris and Natasha, the two butterflies I named after characters in a cartoon series from my childhood. I took a lot of photos but they didn't come out well. So I took Boris and Natasha with me to the next gig, which was in St. Cloud, MN. There they dined on the finest sugar water and basked in a climate-controlled habitat (aka The Thrifty Motel). Here I was able to get some good pictures, the best of which was of Natasha, the smaller butterfly with the more delicate striping. Three days later, at the end of our photoshoot, I took both Boris and Natasha outside where we shared a little small talk before they flew off to Mexico for the winter. They didn't write, but I assume they made it home alright. And that's my true life butterfly story. So when you see Natasha anywhere on Realitycheckers.com, just picture me running around a nun's convent, trying to coax two innocent butterflies into a motel room with the promise of internet fame and fortune. With a nun's blessing, of course. Hope you enjoyed that one,  Subscribe to free newsletter
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