Cape au Moine (1941m), Alpes Vaudoises, Suisse by Samuel Bitton.

Like many people my age, I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. John Glenn orbited the earth around the time I was born and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon when I was 7. However, unlike most, I never really grew out of that desire. Well into high school, astronaut was still my top career choice. Until, that is, reality reared it's ugly head in the form of several inconvenient facts. The Apollo program was finished and the shuttle not yet a reality meaning that astronauts were not in great demand. Most astronauts (perhaps all at that time) came out of the military which was not a path I was willing to pursue. And, perhaps most troubling, I don't like roller coasters so how was I supposed to get through astronaut training and actual space flights? (This point was brought home quite plainly when, years later, I went on the NASA ride at EPCOT. My equilibrium was off for hours.)

Everyone goes through similar realizations. At some point we understand that we'll never be the next Hank Aaron; we'll never catch the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl or sink a putt to win the Master's. We realize that despite that most American of cliches, we'll never be president (later, we begin to wonder why anyone would want that job). At some point we stop waiting for the call from the Nobel committee. Some people seek greatness, others have it thrust upon them. The rest of us have to be happy with living good lives, loving our families, raising our children well, helping others when we can.

For me at least, the realizations haven't yet stopped. Last week, for example, I realized that I'll never be the next Samuel Bitton. You've probably never heard of him -- I hadn't until Friday. Throughout the facility where my wife works, are displays of art. On a monthly basis, the displays are changed from one artist to another. Often the works are paintings, currently they are panoramic landscape photographs by a photographer named Samuel Bitton. I haven't viewed the photos in person but on his website they are spectacular.

Perhaps I am predisposed to like his photos because many of them were shot locally and I am familiar with more than a few of the places depicted. However, I think that I like them primarily because they are astoundingly good. It might be depressing except for the fact that I'm old enough to have made peace with who and what I am, and who and what I am not. Of course, that won't stop me from trying to recreate a few of his photos but it should help salve my ego when I'm not able to achieve his beautiful results.

To see more of Samuel Bitton's photos, visit www.samuelbitton.com