STILL HURTS

   As a kid in school or later sitting in an office or newsroom I always wanted to be outside. I could satisfy that urge in my reporting days, though was stifled when I got to the executive suite. 
   A day with a good portion of it spent under the sky is a good day.

    But when I see something like this I begin muttering about the intelligence and even parenting of those responsible. 

     This is under a bridge on a trail to the coast near Harmony California. It's a state park and a magnificent trail, so how a slob ends up there dumping trash is beyond me. And I wonder how anyone can be that arrogant and disrespectful!

it broke the nation

    Watching The Vietnam War, the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary series on PBS has been rough because it evokes old wounds, though it is important we do so.

      Analysts have observed that Vietnam fractured the nation as much as the Civil War did. The divide remains a half a century later and many live in and with residual pain.

     Novick and Burns tell the story on a human scale and it is expansive. We see and experience it personally; North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, and Americans. We are immersed into the political machinations of all of the governments, military organizations and the battle field. And we see the insanity of war and its dehumanizing and evil impact. 

    Our generation fought the war and fought against it and we  lived with nightly television news that was graphic, painful and dangerous to gather. 

    Over the years there have been many thorough historic volumes and accounts. I've read a lot of them and have talked with the authors; soldiers, journalists, intelligence operators, politicians and anti war activists. But most Americans have not. And even those of age during the war have tried to put it all out of mind and move on. It just hurt that badly. Living through it was emotionally searing.

     Despite the intentional avoidance most of us have experienced those moments or an occasion when something said or done would move us to the fault line fissure the war created. It was politic or polite to avoid going there. It was a way to avoid the pain and anger. But no longer.

     Novick and Burns give us a history we must address, national sins and errors we must confront. There is time for the generation of the war to square it in our hearts before we are gone. If we will but do that. There is much to learn about ourselves and our national experience in the Vietnam war and our response to the vets. 

     It is not courageous to face the truth, it is wise. Wisdom comes with a price, and that price has been paid so we must  remember the accounting. This documentary series does that. It also leaves a telling for our heirs. 

     See you down the trail.

HOPING FOR THE BEST

   Dominica is one of my favorite places. The little volcano mount rising out of the eastern Caribbean in the Leeward Islands is one of the more untouched places in our hemisphere. It has now been crushingly touched by Hurricane Maria. 

   Structures like this cannot fare well in a Category 5 storm.

Dominica appeals to me for its lack of development. It is natural, native, local and unpretentious.  It is the "Nature Island" and great place to immerse in nature and away from commercialism.

    Documentary and news assignments allowed me to spend a lot of time in the Caribbean. The people of Dominica were among the most genuine and hardworking I've encountered. 
     Fishing is a major source of income and the small boats and harbors the Dominicans workout have been seriously assaulted. 

       Awaiting casualty reports and other news I reviewed memories and shots taken during an assignment on Dominica.

       Late one evening my colleagues and I were having dinner at a local family restaurant on the main street when we heard a cacophony below. Car horns, drums and other percussion sounds. It was late and we were the only people in the place when the waitress and cook began a nervous dialogue rich in patois. 

       What is it I asked?

       "Oh my, it tis Lapo Kabwit" she said, "not allowed now."

      It was a growing crowd of dancers and chanters moving through the darkened street. They were led by a drummer playing a tambou le'le' and they were dancing backwards.

       Someone had connected a car horn to a battery and others were banging sticks creating an African-Caribbean rhythm.

     At the time of this assignment Lapo Kabwit-an hypnotic sort of Carnival dance was forbidden because there had been outbreaks of knife fighting and violence.

      We left our dinner on the table and took gear in hand to join the snaking crowd under a clear star field and to record the event.

      Our hostess was pleased we returned safely and she warmed our meal. Eventually Lapo Kabwit was allowed to return to a formal Carnival celebration, but authorities frowned on the spontaneous late night eruptions. I could never square the idea of Dominicans fighting with each other as they are people who seem to appreciate the rare peace and beauty they enjoy.

      Now I worry about their well being and their long road back.

     See you down the trail.

     

INSPIRATION LIVES HERE and MIND BLOWING TALENT

OLMSTED POINT

     Olmsted Point, one of America's iconic locations, offers a view of the north side of Half Dome, one of the planet's most incredible spots.

   It seems appropriate this powerful view is named for a family that exerted powerful influence over how we live with nature.

   Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. who designed New York's Central Park is considered the father of American landscape architecture.  His son Frederick Jr. followed his path. Jr designed Biltmore and worked on Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite. They understood the importance of nature,  setting and the quality of timelessness.

  Now generations come to this high spot in Yosemite and inspire their own muse.

Photo by Lana Cochrun
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

     Millard Fillmore, a Whig, was President when the Onyx Store opened in 1851. Today the store gets high ratings for its sandwiches, though there are not many places around this Kern County establishment in the town of 475.  

     The Onyx Store opened two years after the California Gold Rush began.  As an historical footnote, it was the year Moby Dick was published, the Yacht America, from the New York Yacht Club, won the first Americas Cup race and Virginia decided that all white males had the right to vote.

      A piece of the old west survives. What stories it could to tell.

A GREAT PERFORMANCE

     Michael Keaton in Birdman is one of the all time great performances. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu weaves a quirky comedic tale powered by incredible acting all around. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifinakas and the rest of cast are all simply superb. But Keaton leaves us with a theatrical work of art.  In fact the film is very much like excellent theatre and coincidentally is shot at and around the St. James theatre, all of which adds texture and nuance to what we see. Seeing Keaton work is a joy.  

     There is a scene where Norton is trying for a role in the play Keaton is staging. The two do an audition rehearsal and as characters they realize there is a magic in the way they interact. Fact is, you get that same pop and awareness from your seat watching the play in the film and realize there is some talent at work, in combine.

      If you get to see this work, pay particularly close attention to Keaton's eyes. Masterful work. Hope the politics of the Academy work in such a way he gets a nomination for this performance.

      See you down the trail.

     

THE WEEKENDER-ANOTHER WONDER

AMAZING

     Full disclosure here-I am a lover of Yosemite National Park and believe it is one of the truly amazing places on this planet.

     We are fascinated and thrilled by every visit. I wish everyone could spend time in this cathedral of nature.

      In the meantime, they provide marvelous videos that inform and provide their own wonder.  Enjoy this seasonal offering

      See you down the trail.

CONTEMPLATIVE AT YEARS END

MOMENTS AT THE SHORE

As a high school kid I'd take this holiday break 

week to evaluate. What about the year ending

and how would I do things differently in the 

new year?  It's akin to making resolutions, but 

the point is the time to ponder.

It is a habit that stuck. Back then I'd hike

off through a field behind the house between

corn or soybean fields to a little copse of trees

where an old tractor bridge crossed a creek.

Quiet, solitary and a great place to contemplate.

Today, the nearby big blue of the Pacific with

its sound, smell and energy serves the purpose.

 From personal experience, this is a great spot to watch the whales in their winter migration south.

South of here, off Rancho Palos Verde, large pods of
Gray whales have been sighted already. This is
earlier than normal.
Regardless of where on the planet you find yourself,
I urge you to spend a few quiet minutes outside,
in nature, working on your emotional, psychological
and/or spiritual balance sheet. Or just relaxing
looking at something that is not of human hands.
See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) A CHUCKLE & A WONDER

NOT THE LIKE THE OLD DAYS

Nothing too heavy since this is a weekend, but

things in the media have changed and gotten very silly.

Jon Stewart's Daily Show often shows how

there is a parrot like mindlessness to what is

said on TV.  Suffice it to say, before huge cutbacks

and before people with seniority were let go because

their pay checks were what they were, it 

didn't used to happen.  You know, the good old days.

Enough!  Just click on this and "enjoy(?)" the

vapid.

By the way despite the disclaimer

at the beginning-it is simply laziness,

  and not editing the copy that was sent to the

smaller news stations rather than some kind of control issue that led to "pushing the envelope."

NOW FOR ANOTHER KIND OF SHILL,

BUT WHAT WONDER

See you down the trail.

SAFE FROM THE DEER

LUCKY BLOOMS

      Frequent readers know of our travail with the over populated and savage deer in the
area.  In the post, linked above, you will recall I was worried about maintaining the Lily of the Nile and Orchid Cactus blooms.  Well, so far they've made it and here they are.

       Last time, the blooms were rapidly consumed as a deer appetizer. So far, so good!

       I hope you enjoy seeing these shots of exquisite nature.  I am grateful for the opportunity to the spend the time capturing the images and being so close to such stunning and intricate beauty.

       See you down the trail.