Cabin Three

Old Familiar Places

2009-09-17T00:31:00.000-07:00

The trip Mom, Jeff, Ross, and I took to Texas back in July was a great time to reconnect. And not only with people, but places.

It has been decades since these homes, church houses, and other places ceased playing any direct role in our lives, but it still meant a lot to be able to stand on my two feet in front of them, walk across their green lawns, and breathe the air of those places...again.

They have all changed, and some have passed away.

4915 Love Road El Paso, TX.

6639 Country Club Circle Dallas, TX

Former site of the Turtle Creek L.D.S. Chapel, Turtle Creek Blvd Dallas, TX.

The Turtle Creek Chapel parking lot now...

...and then.

The Turtle Creek building. I scanned this from an old Sunday School program dated September 7, 1969. Back in the days when Sunday School was in the morning and Sacrament mtg. was in the afternoon. Looking at the above photo, my best estimation of the vantage point for the program photo would be at the treeline in the center of the photo, maybe a little left, and aiming towards you.

Some Helpful Rules For Survival Should You Find Yourself in a Mafia movie.

2009-09-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

1. Don't take the toll road.

2. If Ace Rothstein asks you to take your feet off the table, do it.

3. Take a raincheck when someone suggests a relaxing drive through a corn field.

4. Never sit in front of Peter Clemenza in a car, or in front of Al Neri in a boat.

5. When dining out with Michael Corleone, insist he use the bathroom before you pick him up.

6. Don't ever broach the subject of the great game of baseball with Capone.

Could Bloom County Have Earned Me A Beatin' ?

2009-07-04T22:57:00.000-07:00

Back in my junior or senior year of high school I was over at the home of the Galloway family. They were church and school friends. I looked up to Paul who was a couple years older, and I once had had a massive crush on Ruby who was my age. I'd been over the crush for a couple of years at the time of the incident I am about to describe.

I was at their house, for what reason I do not remember. Anyway, on the coffee table was a book collection of a very popular 80's comic strip called Bloom County. The strip was characterized by some of the most biting, stinging, yet cleverly cloaked political commentary of any medium, let alone comic strips. It also happened to be funny as heck apart from it's keen political satire. Some of the main characters were Binkley, Steve Dallas, Cutter John, Bill the Cat, and the chief protagonist (he was my favorite anyway) Opus - a chubby penguin. So, I picked up the book and started thumbing through it.

Also at the Galloway house that day was Anthony, a fellow whom Ruby was dating at the time. He was a pretty big dude and was a starting lineman on the San Angelo Central High Bobcats football team. He had come over and was sitting with Ruby on the couch across from me. Anthony seemed upset. From what I could overhear as I read through the comic strip, he had managed to get his pickup truck (or whatever vehicle he drove at the time) bogged down in some mud.

During what must have been a suspenseful part of his tale I burst out laughing at one of the strips, and Anthony thought it was directed at him. I assured him that in no way was I laughing at his misfortune.

I continued looking through the book and had at least a couple more laugh bursts, and each time Anthony broke off his mud narrative to pointedly ask me if I was laughing at him. I again promised him I was not laughing at him.

Now, when I say that I was not laughing at Anthony but at Bloom County, I am telling you the absolute truth. But, what is also true is that I didn't mind too much having him think (or wonder if) I was laughing at him. I suppose, despite having gotten over my crush on Ruby, that I still had some occasional phantom twinges of jealousy. And so, it turned out to be a convenient and sufficiently veiled form of revenge.

I can now concede that Anthony was probably an allright guy. After all, I did not end up with a beatin'. But maybe to be on the safe side one should avoid reading Bloom County in the presence of a Bobcat. They don't seem to like being laughed at.

"Injured by a Mongoose," or "Gravity Works."

2009-06-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

It was a feat of engineering exquisite in it's simplicity. A 6' x 1' board, leaned against an old trunk which we'd drug from Peter Alvarez's garage.

The location: The alley behind Peter's house on Glennox Lane, which ran parallel to and just south of Lover's Lane in Dallas, TX.

The cast of characters: Myself, my friend Peter Alvarez, and John Sawyer, who lived about midway between Peter and I on Glennox.

The launch vehicles: Peter and I both rode the BMX Mongoose, and I don't remember what kind John had. Perhaps a Red Line?

It was a calm morning. The sun was out, and the breeze was scented with Mimosa blossoms. There was certainly nothing to indicate any imminent disaster, but it soon became a day I would never forget.

We had all built the classic "board leaning on a cinderblock" ramp before, but we were no longer satisfied. When Peter proposed the trunk, we all were for it. Or pretended to be. It takes courage to be a ramp builder, and the courage of many a ramp tester has been left behind in pavement and asphalt all across this great land in the form of scraped epidermis.

Was it ethical to go from a one-foot cinderblock to a three-foot trunk? Just because we could, did that mean we should? History will decide.

The ramp was ready, and (by means which I do not recall) John was picked to go first. He was about fifty feet away when he started pedaling. The ramp held, and John achieved an altitude of about four feet, landing seven or eight feet from the end of the ramp. Good form, landed on his rear tire, a successful trial.

After checking and re-setting the ramp, it was my turn. I started from about the same spot John had. As I looked at the ramp ahead, my thoughts could be summed up thusly, "Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, bad idea..." However, the die was cast and I was committed. Could I endure losing face in the eyes of peers such as Peter Alvarez and John Sawyer? I submit to you that I could not.

I started. I was pedaling much faster than John had, perhaps from adrenaline. The ramp approached. I hit the board and felt myself going airborne. Something was wrong. The bike and I began pitching forward. I landed on my front tire and my body, which wanted to stay in motion - did so. The momentum carried me forward over my handlebars, the ends of which (due to worn handgrips which had slid up the bars a couple inches) were exposed metal tubes. My chest raked over the end of my left handlebar (I believe), ripping my shirt and giving me a nasty deep scratch from mid-sternum to about three inches above my belly-button. The Mongoose had landed.

I lay there with my eyes squeezed shut, my body completely clinched as it tried to comprehend the incredible pain and shame it was feeling. My paramedics (Peter and John) ran over, Peter exclaiming, "Dude, you went FAR!!" A tiny node deep inside the recesses of my brain took some small, momentary satisfaction from that. Other than that I was using all my will to shrug it off, convince Peter and John that I was in no pain, and above all to not start crying.

They each took an arm and hustled me inside Peter's house (somehow avoiding his parents) for "medical treatment," i.e. - dumping me on the couch in his upstairs game room. I lay there for about an hour trying to recover and get myself to a mental state where I could nonchalantly enter my own house without provoking any questions. I don't remember how I concealed the rip in my shirt.

Peter and I rode those BMX Mongeese all over our part of Dallas, one saturday riding nearly out to Love Field to visit an acquaintance. But I never built a ramp again

A Blog About Nothing

2009-02-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

I told you.

My NYC Trip - December 8-11, 2008

2008-12-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, All. Finally a few noteworthy things have happened, not the least of which were a hospital stay, Thanksgiving, Becky's and my birthday, and then Christmas, of course.
However, sandwiched among those was a getaway up to New York City which took place from the eighth to the eleventh of December.
I found out several months ago that an old San Angelo, TX friend - Daniel Devereaux, was living and working up there. So, with the combination of unused vacation time and relatively open flights, I decided to go up and visit him for a few days. And, Daniel offered to let me stay at his place while there. I flew up on the 8th, arriving at JFK airport at around five pm. Hoisting my duffle and backpack, I made my way to the Howard Beach Station, taking the A train into Manhattan. I disembarked at the 59th St/Columbus Circle Station and began walking down Broadway, eventually turning east at 50th St. and arriving at Daniel's place of employment - 30 Rockefeller Center, where he works for NBC as a programming engineer.

We met in the lobby and he got me a visitor clearance at the security desk. It dawned on me at that moment that it'd been nearly ten years since our last meeting.
After stowing my bags in his office, we went on a brief tour of the place.
He first took me to the main control room. It was a little daunting thinking that here was the nerve center, essentially all of NBC - right there, the little man behind the curtain. A pretty big curtain, though, with rows upon rows of monitors and control boards.

He then tried to take me into Conan O'Brien's studio, but they were filming. I knew this because of the hand-written note in marker taped to the studio door. Then we went up a few floors and began turning down various corridors which soon began to look familiar. I soon realized we were headed for the SNL studios via those familiar hallways lined with framed photos from past seasons. We didn't actually go inside, but I was able to look down on the SNL set from a window near the set entrance. It is much, much smaller than I'd anticipated. Nearby, I noticed the following photo op.

These costumes are on display just outside the entrance to the studio set. Left to right are Prymaat the "Mom" Conehead, the Church Lady, and Mary Katherine Gallagher.
Daniel and I then left 30 Rock and ventured over to a place called Ted's Montana Grill at W. 51st and 6th Ave. It's one of a chain owned by Ted Turner. It was nice to sit down to a good meal and conversation with an old friend, particularly after the flight and then my trek into the city. It felt great reconnecting with Daniel after such a long time, and it was pleasing to be able to pick it back up with out any awkwardness. I never had much fear of there being any, nevertheless it was a relief.
The food really hit the spot. Being a grill, they had a menu of mostly burgers and steaks. I went with a burger and fries as did Dan. One unexpected bonus was a complimentary dish of very lightly pickled cucumber slices which were brought out before our burgers. They were quite a refreshing start to the meal.
Afterwards we went back out to Times Square, and Dan took me into that gigantic Virgin Megastore which can be seen in most shots of Times Square. It is composed of about four levels. Among the many diplays of Beatles memorabilia to which my eye was naturally drawn was an incredible sight: several brand-new LP copies of Abbey Road. I was amazed and seriously tempted to buy one, but then I realized it would mean having to look around for a turntable. And honestly where does one buy a turntable these days?

Here is a picture of Dan and I in the middle of Times Square. These self-portrait shots generally don't work out for me. This one came out allright, though.

We went back to collect my bags, then made our way to Grand Central Station to take the train up to Yonkers, where Dan lives. The ride took about forty minutes. Dan's apartment is in one of quite a nice looking new row of apartment building which, I would realize fully the next day, are right on the Hudson shore. Another plus is that the train station is just a couple hundred yards from the lobby of his building. Also convenient is Pete's Waterfront Market, a small grocery and deli on the ground floor and mere steps from the lobby door.

His apartment is quite nice. We flopped on the couch and broke out the guitars as if no time had passed. Soon he had to retire for the night as he had work the next day. He broke out a sturdy air mattress for me and I was quite comfortable. He left the next morning, December 9th, at around eight after speaking to me and leaving me a key. The plan was for me to call him around five, then hang out assuming he was done by then.

Morning of December 9th. This is a picture taken just across the street from Dan's building. You are looking south along the Hudson River. There is Manhattan in the hazy distance, and you can just see the tip-top of the Empire State Building peeking over the tops of the other buildings.

This is basically the same shot only zoomed in.

The train journey was enjoyable. The tracks run right along the shore for about the first ten minutes. I was actually looking forward to finally enjoying a day of sightseeing following a good night's rest and a shower for a change, as all my previous days in Manhattan have been preceded by flying all night to get there.

Grand Central Station. I was quite impressed. There are well over a hundred tracks by which throngs of commuters are simultaneously deposited and whisked away.

Here is the equally impressive GCS exterior which, as you can see by the signs, is at East 42nd and Park Ave.

Here is the United Nations building, at E. 42nd and 1st Ave.
I wanted to stop by and see it in person, just because. Now I can check it off, I guess. What kept flashing through my mind was that South African diplomat in Lethal Weapon 2 saying, "Diplomatic immunity!" just before being shot by Danny Glover. There were just a few people on line to take the tour. I couldn't help but think of all the nations who hate the United States with their representatives residing comfortably here. That's right, in the U.S. you can live here and hate it. You can even talk all you want about just how much you hate it. And you will still be free.

Here are some of the flags flying along 1st Ave in front of the UN complex.

As I made my way from the UN area, I noticed that many of the surrounding buildings house the consulates of the different nations. I passed those of Turkey and Peru as I walked.

This is "The Amish Market" at 240 E. 45th St, just a couple blocks over from the UN.
I dug the yellow painted brick. As I passed by there happened to be four or five Arab-looking types out front passing out flyers and saying versions of "Be careful if you get your lunch at The Amish Market" to passersby. I don't know what it could've been, but apparently there was some sort of beef between these fellows and "The Amish Market."

The cost of parking in Manhattan, apparently.

This is one of the buildings which comprise Yeshiva University, or "YU."
According to the website, this must be part of the Beren Campus, since it is located in the Murray Hill area, which conveniently was where I happened to be when I took this photo. I don't remember the exact address, but it has to be at around E. 35th or 36th streets at or around Lexington or 3rd Avenue.

Any DaVinci code fans out there? Then this building, at the corner of E. 34th and Lexington Ave should be of interest.
This is the U.S. headquarters of Opus Dei. The book "DaVinci Code" states that the building is the Opus Dei world headquarters, which is not the case according to the Opus Dei official website. The building itself is unmarked, and, though well-kept and stately in appearance, not in any way ornate.

At this point, by now early afternoon on the 9th, I began to gradually make my way north and west towards Times Square and 30 Rockefeller.

Here is the famous Macy's Department Store, located at Herald Square. I did not go in. Honestly, it never occurred to me to do so.

This is the New York Public Library, whose front has been seen in many a movie.
The Ghostbusters fled in a panic down these steps after being spooked by the spectral librarian. This library, according to one Cosmo Kramer, is full of a bunch of cheapskates "trying to save a quarter."

This skating rink is located at Bryant Park, which is located on the other side of the NY Public Library.
You are actually looking at the back of it there beyond the Christmas Tree. This was the perfect location, at this point of my day, to sit down and rest my feet and legs, listen to the Christmas music playing over the speakers, and enjoy observing people enjoying themselves. It was fun watching the skaters, among whome were several gentlemen in full business attire out there skating with their kids. The holiday vibe was palpable and wonderful. It would get better later that day, however. Located around the rink were numerous temporary shops selling all kinds of craft items, clothing, Christmas decorations, etc. I bought my friend Melissa's Christmas present here - a knit cap which I had observed was quite the fashion among NY women.

Radio City Music Hall.
The three nights I spent in NY I observed the huge line of people waiting to get in here. They appeared to be in the thousands. "It must be pretty big inside," I thought. It's size was later confirmed by my Mom, who said that it is e-normous inside. "Cavernous," she said.

The entrance to 30 Rockefeller Center.

"The" Tree. And it was every bit as impressive as I thought it would be.
Here again the holiday vibe got to me, but on a much larger scale. First of all, on the plaza surrounding the ice rink, it was wall-to-wall people. Everyone was so festive and cheerful. Folks were invariably obliging whenever asked to snap a picture for someone else. I was no exception. I think I took two or three.

Luckily one of them reciprocated and snapped this one of me.

A couple more shots of the skating rink.

By this time it was around 6pm and I was seriously gassed. I called Daniel and told him. He said he would be at it for a while yet, and for me to head on back to Yonkers if I wanted and he would be coming later. So I caught the train and stopped at Pete's for something to eat. I grabbed a Diet Coke and some Doritos. Something familiar, you know? Then I approached the deli counter and ordered a 1/2 pound of a salad that looked tasty. Turned out to be calamari salad, and it was good. At the cash register, I noticed a container of cookies. But not just any cookies. These were the infamous "Black & White" cookies featured prominently in the Seinfeld episode entitled "The Dinner Party."

"Oh look Elaine, the black and white cookie...the trick is to get some black and some white in each bite...nothing mixes better than Vanilla and Chocolate. And yet somehow racial harmony eludes us...Look to the cookie, Elaine, look to the cookie."

So I bought a couple, intending to bring them back as souvenirs - one for my nephew Stanley (a huge Seinfeld fan) and one for my sister Judy (fond of Seinfeld).

Daniel arrived home around eight and we again relaxed and watched television, talked about stuff and played his guitars. And the next morning was a replay of the previous one. Daniel took off to head into the city around 8am, and I followed suit a couple of hours later.

My agenda for December 10th was to spend the first few hours in Central Park, scouting photo ops.

Here is a picture of Old Yankee Stadium which I took from the train on the way into the city.
The new stadium is out of frame to the left. I was a bit annoyed, frankly, at how well this picture turned out. I was on a moving train, and I had about three seconds to frame and take the picture. I had the previous night tried about thirty times to take a non-blurred shot of the neon sign at the 30 Rock entrance. I was standing still on solid ground and couldn't seem to manage it.

This, O Man, is the Grand Central Market - about one hundred yards of the tastiest looking produce, baked goods, and other eatables that you'll ever see.
There were about a bajillion things I would've liked to have sampled, but I limited myself to a half-pound of salmon salad - the cashier obliged by handing me a fork and a napkin.

Back in Times Square.
Here are some faithful theatre afficionados braving the elements to line up at the TKTS kiosk, some perhaps hoping to score tickets for...

GREASE! Remember this guy? Yeah, it's that guy from "Idol." I'm sorry but that is not 50's hair. Perhaps Ace has a "Sampson" complex.

At this point, to hasten my way to the Park, I hopped a train up to W. 72nd St., where the Dakota is located. More specifically, W. 72nd and Central Park West.

This is the infamous entryway on W. 72nd where John Lennon was ambushed upon arriving home from a photo shoot.

To date I have done many of the things which comprise my "New Yorky things to do" checklist. Some of which were: ride a subway, use a subway station restroom, eat a hotdog from a sidewalk vendor, eat a NY slice, wander around the Port Authority Bus Terminal, etc. I had not yet checked off "Eat a pretzel from a sidewalk vendor." And, since there was a pretzel vendor across the street from the Dakota, right at the entrance to the park, I took the opportunity to get one, along with a soda.

This is a shot of the Dakota Building, taken from the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park.

At the heart of Strawberry Fields is the mosaic pictured below.

This is the "Imagine" mosaic which, like the entire Strawberry Fields area, is dedicated to the memory of John Lennon.
The mosaic itself is located just a few steps into the park. I took a seat on one of the many benches along the path, and began to eat my pretzel along with my salmon salad.

As I sat there I observed the people trickling down the path to the mosaic for picture taking. There were no throngs of people, just a steady trickle. Every five minutes or so an individual, a couple, or a small group would happen along, stand for a bit looking at the mosaic, then take their photos. I heard several different languages being spoken by the various groups.

The next several shots were taken as I made my way through the Park, first eastward to Bethesda Terrace/Fountain, then southward through the Mall, then westward again as I made my way eventually to Columbus Circle.

The Lake

In the Park, there is always a bench handy.

The Bow Bridge, seen in many movies, most recently in "Enchanted," I believe.

Bethesda Terrace. The Fountain is just out of frame to the left.
Like Bow Bridge and many other areas of the Park, the Terrace and Fountain have been featured in lots of movies. Enchanted, Home Alone 2, Ransom, and Godspell are just a few that come to mind.

The Fountain. Empty. Perhaps to prevent folks from trying to skate on it.

This is a shot from underneath the Terrace with the Fountain visible through the arches. I like this one.

The Park in a rainy haze.

This is the section of the Park known as The Mall. If you were to walk in the other direction from the way you are facing, you'd end up back at Bethesda Terrace.

Another view of The Mall.

Some berries on a tree.
A zoomed-in shot of berries on a tree.

Tavern on the Green, which is the only restaurant located in the park, unless you want to count the hot dog stands at the Central Park Zoo.

Columbus Circle in the rain.
Before I had exited The Park, it had begun to rain for real. There was also wind strong enough to blow my umbrella wrong side out. The above shot was taken from under the awning at the entrance to Time/Warner Center - an office building with a kind of high-end shopping mall making up the first three floors. The building and mall incidentally are also featured in 'Enchanted.' Many other people had also taken shelter in the lobby. Near the entrance was an "umbrella bag dispenser," a concept unheard of in the Valley of the Sun. Apparently you put your umbrella in it so that the floor does not get dripped on.

One practicality to be dealt with while walking around Manhattan all day is finding a bathroom. Here is a tip: Time/Warner Center, third floor. Magnificent facilities.

"Shrek, The Musical - Bringing Ugly Back." This was the one show I was tempted to see while in NYC.

The Hello Deli. It is located on the side street which runs just south of the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
Owned and operated by Rupert Gee who became, and remains, a fixture on Letterman ever since the show moved into the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Though I did not on this trip, I have previously gone in to order food. The space inside is enought for about five people to stand. Tiny.

The Ed Sullivan Theatre.
I didn't intend for this to be in b&w. I must've inadvertently set it that way. Looks cool, though.

The same shot in color.
I took both shots while in the standby line to get in to see Dave. I actually tried on both tuesday and wednesday to get in. The ushers would from time to time pass by and offer encouragements such as "Stay positive! You've still got a chance!" only to dash our hopes moments later by bluntly declaring, "Sorry folks, theatre's full. Enjoy New York."
After failing on Wednesday, I wandered down around the corner. As I was passing the Hello Deli, a black Suburban passed by, stopping at the curb next to the Theatre's side entrance. I then began seeing camera flashes and hearing voices shouting. As I neared, I saw that the person causing all the commotion was Keanu Reeves, who was arriving for his guest spot. I was not able to get a shot of him before he ducked inside. Some of the folks crowding there clearly made it a routine to show up every day to try for pictures and/or autographs. One or two old ladies knew the security men by name. After I had returned to Arizona I became retroactively bummed upon finding out that Amy Adams had been the other guest on that taping. I would've liked to have seen her.

This is, as the sign says, Mendy's - a kosher deli. It is one of many shops and eateries located in a kind of mini-mall one floor down from the lobby of 30 Rock.
Any who consider themselves Seinfeld fans are free to comment and tell how Mendy's relates to the show.

Well, it was a very enjoyable trip. An exhausting one. I walked probably four or five miles on both full days I was there. I'd always wanted to have a stay in NYC longer than seven or eight hours, and thanks to the hospitality of my friend Daniel, I was able to. Plus I got to reconnect with Daniel who, as I said previously, I had not seen for several years.

If you ever get the chance to be in NYC during the holidays, even if only for a day or two, take it! You'll love it.
Peace out.

Always Be Fully Prepared To Improvise

2008-09-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Not much going on lately. I haven't flown anywhere in a good while. My airline as a result of the fuel prices has scaled back some flights on certain routes. One casualty was the 10pm red-eye which I used to take to NYC whenever I felt like a day-trip. Also the flights to Santa Barbara were cut back, so a calming day on Goleta Beach is much more difficult these days.

On the plus side, flights to Philadelphia were unaffected, so a day-trip there is now in the works. I can't wait to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, etc. And yes, I also plan on visiting some of the "Rocky" sites like the Museum, and the Italian Market. Another plan is go eat a Philly cheesesteak at "Geno's", then carefully wipe my mouth, walk across the street and eat a Philly cheesesteak at "Pat's." I should probably make my attempt at running up the museum steps before eating two cheesesteaks in succession.

I've been going onto the Wikipedia site lately, for the most part to look up certain of my favorite old-school Dallas Cowboys and see what they are up to these days, if they're dead yet, etc.

One of my favorite old-schooler was and is Walt Garrison. Walt was a real cowboy, a competitor on the rodeo circuit. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the mid-sixties and part of his signing bonus was a new horse-trailer. He played fullback and he was tough and strong. Don Meredith once said the following about Walt: "If it was third down, and you needed four yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, he'd get ya five. And if was third down and ya needed 20 yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, by God, he'd get you five."

During Hurricane Ike (the approach, the landfall, and the aftermath) Mom and I talked often about our visit to Galveston back in late February. The verdict was, "I guess we picked the right time to go." Watching some of the video of the storm was pretty daunting. While we were there Mom took a picture of me down on the beach. It was strange to realize that had I been in that same spot during Ike's approach, I would've been under about fifteen feet of water. Gaido's, the seafood restaurant we ate at while there, provided catered meals for all of the first responders. They had several hundred tables set up outside, complete with clean, white tablecloths. I found that to be rather touching. Considering the circumstances, they could've just made the guys line up while the food was slung at 'em. But for the police and fireman, they went the extra mile, which I thought was pretty cool.

Scattered to the Four Winds

2008-07-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Becky is in San Francisco, Mom & Judy are in Calgary, Jennifer is in South Phoenix, and Jeff is in Queen Creek. It been a while since our family has been separated by such distances. My routine has been pretty simple: come home from work, browse the cupboards and freezer and make plans for dinner (tonight was sloppy joes), take a nice couch nap, get the mail, eat dinner, and above all police my own kitchen messes. Caitlin and Ben came over for Sunday dinner (Kraft Spaghetti/Salad) and then Monday night we went to see "Dark Knight." Maybe not the most mild choice for Family Home Evening, but we were together.

So, Becky gets home tommorrow, and Mom & Judy are home on Sunday. It's been kinda nice having a stretch of quiet time at the house. But, of course it will be nice to have them home again.

Take it away, Beaker.

4th of July at The Grand Canyon

2008-07-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

We'd been wondering what to do for the Fourth in the week or two leading up to it. Our extended clan were all going off to Colorado for a family reunion. So, whatever events took place would only involve our household (sans Beck, who was doing freelance nanny-work in North Dakota) and perhaps Jennifer.

Early that week Judy came up with the idea of driving up to Williams, AZ (about 30 miles west of Flagstaff) and taking the train up to the Grand Canyon. I thought it was a great idea and cast an affirmative vote since I'd never been. I was then reminded that yes, I had - when I was six months old. I still wanted to go, even though I'd just been.

We hit the road the afternoon of the third, picking up Jennifer at her office. I think we arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel at around 8:30pm. We were bent on getting there in time for the dinner buffet since the meal vouchers had already been paid for. We made it just in time to Max and Thelma's, the restaurant at which the hotel guests are compelled to eat. Judy wondered later if anyone would choose to eat there who didn't have a pre-paid voucher. The food wasn't too inspiring. Judy coined a phrase describing the contents of a mostly empty steam tray - Rice Scrapings. But, we were filled.

The next morning we got up for the breakfast buffet. It was much better than dinner. Breakfast is hard to botch. As long as there's eggs, bacon, fruit, pancakes etc, you can't go wrong.

We then walked over to the depot, browsed the gift shop, then walked down to the end of the depot where there was a kind of wild west shootout show being put on by some ex-policemen in old west garb. It ate up about fifteen minutes.

And, we got to sit down for awhile. Finally it was time to board. Our car was really nice: comfy chairs, air conditioning, and we were even able to spread out across the aisle since the car was only about half full. There was complimentary fruit, juice, pastries, and sodas.

It took about two hours to actually get to the Canyon. We got out at the Village and were promptly herded onto the tour bus which would take us along the canyon rim, making several stops for viewing and photo ops. First though, they took us to the lodge where we were having lunch - another buffet. It was called the Migwip Lodge or something like that.

We finally got back on the bus and started on our way along the rim. The first lookout point really summed it all up for me. If one has never been to the Grand Canyon, no description will ever suffice. I was astounded at how dizzyingly far down the floor of the Canyon is. Amazing, amazing. At one point the bus driver pulled the bus right up to the edge so that I only had to lean my head a little to the right and I was looking down about five thousand feet. Judy and Mom were on the other side of the bus and neither came over to look down. I think Jennifer did, though.

We made about five stops total and I was able to get some really nice pics. While waiting for the train back to Williams we saw a California Condor gliding overhead. I waited with my camera for it to fly by again, which it did. I don't recall ever seeing it flap it's wings - it just glided.

So, we boarded the return train - it had actually started raining by then, which added a nice element to the scenery and the ride home. On the return trip they offered complimentary veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, lemonade, and sodas. Judy and Jennifer played cards with a deck they'd gottem at the GC gift shop.

About thirty minutes out from Williams, those same guys from the "shootout" staged a "train robbery." The "bandits" entered our car, did the whole "reach for the sky" bit, and essentially were asking for tips. It was cheesy, but there were two married couples from England who were enjoying themselves and whooping it up. When the "sheriff" passed through our car in pursuit of the robbers, one of the English wives blurted out,"They went thatta way! Oh, I've always wanted to say that!"

Back at Williams we rested a bit in our rooms. We were gearing ourselves for the hurdle of the last evening meal at M & T's. We faced it and endured. "Ok, we thought, then we just have breakfast tommorrow and we're outta here." I get the feeling that if we ever do this again we're gonna stay largely out of the Grand Canyon Railroad network, ie. stay somewhere else, eat somewhere else, and just use them for the train ride. I wonder if that'll get us blacklisted?

Anyway, it was a great way to pass the 4th of July Holiday. We had a fun time, and I'm glad I can now appreciate what an amazing natural wonder the Grand Canyon is.

"Honey, don't you want to see the Grand Canyon?" from Zachary Taylor on Vimeo.

David Archuleta! Dr. McDreamy!! The Hills!!! YEE-HAW!!!

2008-06-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

This one's for you, Suzie. I tried to make the title as eye-catching as possible.

Suzie, a friend at work, asked me today when I was going to post something new on my blog. I dunno, I guess she was getting tired of reading about Ross and I going to San Diego to watch dolphins.

I explained to her that not much of note has been happening in my life - hence no new blog postings. I've been meaning for a while to post some pics from the play I did last fall at MCC.

Here's something: If you are ever in our neighborhood, go eat at Peking Garden - quite a decent sit-down Chinese restaurant. Peruse the menu. If you look closely at the items included in the Pu-Pu platter, you will see the following unusual choice: Steamed Dumpings.

Oh, and here is a clip to look at. It should be of interest to all fans of soccer and philosophy.

San Diego clips, 3-19-2008

2008-04-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of video clips from the trip Ross and I took to San Diego a few weeks ago. We went on a whale-watching cruise minus the whales. But it was a fun time anyway because, although there were no whale sightings, we were treated to a visit from some smaller marine mammals.

We'd been out for a couple of hours when we saw a large group of dolphins about a hundred yards off our port side. Four or five then broke off towards us and in the blink of an eye they were racing along in front of our boat - just like that scene at the beginning of the movie "Titanic."
During the clip below you can actually hear one of the dolphins squeak as it leaps out of the water.

3-19-2008 Dolphins from Zachary Taylor on Vimeo.

I am also including the clip below, just because I find it funny. Ross is trying to maintain his balance on the deck of the boat, which was no easy task - we had four-foot swells that day. Anyway, as Ross is staggering around, you can see glimpses of folks in the background teetering and spazzing out. Also check out the forward-most bench. You'll see a pair of feet belonging to a teenage kid who couldn't cope with the motion and decided to lie down.

3-19-2008, Ross on the whale-watching boat from Zachary Taylor on Vimeo.

Moses finally made it to the promised land

2008-04-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

"Rest in Peace, Judah Ben-Hur.

Those damn dirty apes will never put their hands on you again."

Nicknames

2008-04-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Can't really say why I felt compelled to make this list, but here are some of my favorite sports nicknames:

BASKETBALL:

"Pistol" Pete Maravich

Julius Erving, "Dr J"

FOOTBALL:

Dick "Night Train" Lane

Ed "Too Tall" Jones

Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski

Red Grange, "The Galloping Ghost"

Daryl "Moose" Johnston

BASEBALL:

George Herman "Babe" Ruth, "The Bambino"

Henry "Hank" Aaron, "Hammerin' Hank"

BOXING:

Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Duran

Chuck Wepner, "The Bayonne Bleeder"

Tommy "The Hit Man" Hearns

"Gentleman" Jim Corbett

"Iron" Mike Tyson

Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield

"Jersey Joe" Walcott

"Smokin" Joe Frazier

Please feel free to comment with nicknames you like that aren't on my list

A Cold El Paso Morning

2008-03-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Being in El Paso on a cold crisp morning always makes me feel nostalgic. Sometimes I wonder why or how. My visits to El Paso have been few, and my extended visits occurred mostly before I was five years old. Still there is an undeniable emotional tie to the place.

Here is 4915 Love Rd. as of 2-27-2008. I remember staying in the house long ago. It may have been the occasion of Mama Taylor's funeral. I remember going out early one morning and, as many had done before me, I walked over to the ditch and began to explore along it.

It wasn't long, though, until my Dad came out and scolded me. To my three year old eyes it was a definite overreaction. I have memories of certain rooms of the house, such as the round room with all the pictures, or the breakfast room with the glass-topped table. I remember the grounds, and the interesting layout of the place.

So, as I stood in front of the house on the morning of February 27, a Wednesday, I felt once again the little tug in my heart as I looked at it.

Mom had been talking for several months prior about wanting to make the drive to Texas. I asked her if as part of the trip if we could take time to visit some parts of the state which I had not yet seen. So, we planned and mapped out a daily itinerary.

We set out as soon as I got home from work on February 26th. Our goal was to reach El Paso that night. I had prepared much in the way of cd's and even dvd's (to which we would've had to be content to merely listen). But they proved unnecessary. We just talked to pass the miles. One subject I've asked Mom about often is her first impressions of El Paso. I've always been curious about how El Paso and Mama & Daddy T. must've seemed to a young lady from Salt Lake.

The next morning was Feb 27th and we set out on our next leg after visiting Love Rd. Our plan was to make it to San Angelo by the afternoon. We watched the desolate stretch of West Texas passing by. Eventually the terrain became dotted with the ever-toiling pumpjacks, signaling our entry into the Permian Basin region. We stopped at the old Town & Country at the Garden City/San Angelo exit. I got what I usually get at the T&C: a chimi and a Mrs Baird's cherry fruit pie.

We arrived at San Angelo around 4pm. To me it felt strange. I've never hid from Mom my feelings about visiting San Angelo now that I have no family there, and no friends to speak of. It was an emotional experience packing Mom up back in the spring of '03. We emptied that house at 2713 Tanglewood and the ties were severed. No home in San Angelo. We spent that night in a motel out on South Bryant. The following morning Stanley and I pulled away in a Ryder truck loaded to the gills and headed back to AZ.

So, I have no roots left there and just a tiny bit of nostalgia for the place. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to what we had planned for that night: The San Angelo Championship Rodeo.

I have some fun memories of the fair and rodeo. Top among them has to be when Tom T. Hall was the musical act at intermission and got heckled...by Dad. He just wanted the rodeo to start up again. Then on the ride home that night he kept making up sarcastic versions of TTH's "I Love..etc." song.

Our seats were on the second row, so we had a pretty good view. We were close enough to the action to have one of the barrel racers kick up a few dirt clods into my lap. The rodeo has become quite commercial. Everything is sponsored. The scoreboard has a sponsor. Each chute had an ad posted. There were a couple of drunk fellows behind us trading witticisms as only San Angelo country-types can do. The one behind me had quite the obnoxious hyena laugh. Anyway, it was fun despite it all.

Next morning before getting out on the highway we stopped to take just a couple of pictures. The first is of the main building at John Glenn Jr High, where I attended grades 7-9. The second is of the LDS Chapel out on Old Christoval Rd.

Our plan was to meander southeast from San Angelo, eventually ending up somewhere between Brenham and Galveston. We stopped briefly in Eden, TX, mainly so that I could get a pic or two of an establishment called "Venison World."

They're on the web at www.venisonworld.com. I bought some venison jerky. Spicy. Our route took us through San Saba, where we stopped again so I could get a shot of the courthouse. For some reason these West Texas courthouses interest me. Sometimes I wonder if they represent a surviving cultural/spritual remnant of the city planning of the ancients (and not so ancient) where the Temple is at the center of the community. I wonder what Hugh Nibley would've had to say on the subject.

So, I snapped a picture of the San Saba courthouse and a voice said "Oh, you takin' a picture of our courthouse?"

My questioner was a smiling fellow in a baseball cap who apparently worked at the furniture store in front of which I was standing. I answered that yes, I was from the area and have always found them interesting. He seemed pleased, then he asked me where I was from. When I answered "San Angelo" he asked, "What high school, what year?" I quickly said, "Central High, class of '87."

Then he got excited.

"Wow, that's when Shea Morenz was the quarterback!"

It was my unfortunate duty to disappoint.

"No, no Shea Morenz was after my time."

"Yeah, Shea Morenz was the quarterback that year."

"No, actually Doug Bonds was the name of our QB. We beat Permian and made the playoffs that year." (It would've actually been the '86 football season)

"Well, maybe it was the year before I was thinking of."

I could've argued, but then I thought "OK, fine."

"Yeah, that could be it," I answered.

Somehow the ignorant yet utterly certain demeanor of the fellow succeeded in irking me the rest of the day.

Mom pointed out the G&R grocery store in San Saba and mentioned that it was where the family used to go if supplies ran low while at Gorman Falls. I have no memory of it myself, but for those who do, here is a picture.

We took a detour outside of San Saba to drive through Bend, the nearest "town" to Gorman Falls, where we spent many, many idyllic vacations ages ago. Look at the picture below. Congratulations, you've now seen about 75 percent of the town.

Back in the day this was where Mom & Dad would stock up on bubble-gum to pass out to their kids and whatever other nieces and nephews there were. So, to commemorate this, Mom entered the store and bought 25 pieces of bubble-gum, five for each of her kids.

We pressed on through Lampasas. Storm's, a popular drive in burger place, is still there and going strong.

We then continued on to Austin, where we stopped and took a nice while to revisit and explore the Texas State Capitol building. I'd forgotten what an impressive structure it is. One can't help but reconnect with one's inner Texan when seeing the large paintings of David Crockett and also of the surrender of Santa Ana to Sam Houston following the Battle of San Jacinto. Or when gazing up at the rotunda ceiling from the inside. The grounds are very nice and well kept. And quite expansive.

As I said before, our goal was to make it to somewhere beyond Brenham. That afternoon, however, I started to feel a little queasy, and so I asked Mom how she felt about stopping in Brenham itself. Brenham was one of our sightseeing goals, because it is the birthplace of Bluebell Ice Cream. We decided to visit the Bluebell Creamery next morning on the way out of town. We stopped at a nearby HEB grocery store for a few supplies and then found a motel. We even made it in time to see that week's American Idol results show.

Next morning (friday Feb 29th) we found our way to the Bluebell Creamery. We didn't have time to take the tour, so we instead browsed the giftshop and bought some souvenirs.

Then it was on to Galveston. I'd been there before, but have virtually no memory of the experience. When we got onto the island and turned onto Seawall Blvd I could not help but compare it with driving along the Kamehameha highway on Oahu. There the water was blue and the sand was light. In Galveston the water was greyish brown and the sand was greyish brown.

Still, it was impressive. The constancy of the waves crashing on the beach never fails to mesmerize, wherever it is. We ate dinner at a place called Gaido's.

It's a really nice place. A tall, distinguished black man greeted us in a deep voice. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with black slacks and vest, and a black bowtie. All the waiters were similarly dressed. Their attire, combined with the sight of the stemmed glasses and fine silverware on the tables almost made me suggest to Mom that we go change into our Sunday wear. But then I saw that other tables were filled with casually dressed patrons, which put me more at ease. The food was delicious. If you're ever in Galveston, I recommend it.

The next morning (saturday, March 1st) we dressed in our Sunday attire because the plan was to make our way through Houston, stopping there to attend a session at the Houston Temple. It is actually a ways out of town to the northwest. It, like the Dallas Temple, is located in a residential area and is not visible until you are almost upon it. It's a beautiful building. The session was very peaceful and uplifting as most sessions are, wherever the temple. Ask Mom to tell you about her impressions of the Celestial Room sometime. She was quite overwhelmed by it.

Our ultimate goal for the day was to make it to Dallas, where we'd be staying at Ed & Julie's. There were a few things we wanted to see along the way, however. First we stopped in the Bryan/College station area. We found and looked at the outside of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library.

We drove around a bit of the Texas A&M campus. Mom took me by the apts where she and Dad lived while he was working at the A&M clinic,

and even pointed out the location of the big bonfire disaster from a few years back. From there we proceeded up to Waco, where we took the cutoff down to Crawford, the site of the "Western White House," otherwise known as "Dubya's" ranch. The town is literally one stoplight.

There is a restaurant, a small convenience store, and an antique shop. Driving there Mom and I began to appreciate how it must infuriate members of the press to have to drag themselves to such a remote location. We at first thought we'd try to find the ranch itself, possibly by trying to spot Cindy Sheehan and her rabble, but we were pressed for time and we had no idea which cardinal direction to take from the center of town.

Dusk had arrived as we left Crawford to make our way up to Dallas.

Sunday, March 2nd we attended Sacrament meeting with Ed & Julie at the Meandering Way Chapel, then we drove to Jesse & Mary's place out in McKinney.

We did do a few things during our time in Dallas, but in large part it served as a few days' rest from our sightseeing and in preparation for the journey home. Monday morning (March 3rd) we drove around some places in Dallas to take pictures. We stopped at Lakehill Prep first of all. This was where I attended grades 1-6, and where Mom taught kindergarten for a few years.

We then went to Kuby's and stayed just long enough to buy some polish and wurst salad. Here is how Kuby's currently appears:

And here's what it used to look like:
I believe we were in and out in under 10 minutes. Then, on the way back out to McKinney, we stopped at Elke's Market Cafe. Elke is a Kuby daughter and has begun her own very successful eatery in Allen, TX. We ordered some deli sandwiches and salads to take out to Mary & Jesse's. Sloan's little blond boy was there, and Sloan himelf showed up later with his older boys. I took a ride into downtown McKinney with him to stock up on the various feeds one needs when one has a menagerie of horses, cows, goats, and chickens. Oh, and a donkey. Sloan's billy goat makes the funniest noises. First I kept hearing it making a sound like laughing. "Wah-hah-hah-hah." Then later, when one of the cows was crowding him, he made a noise sounding like "Whoa-whoa. Whoa-whoa-whoa!" See it for yourself in the video clip below.

3-3-2008 Sloan's billy goat from Zachary Taylor on Vimeo.

Monday during the night it snowed, which is pretty rare for Dallas in March. We actually had to scrape snow and ice off the car before we could set out.

The last shot I took before hitting the interstate west was this one of Texas Stadium while I was doing about 70mph on the 183.

Pretty well focused and centered, I think.

The goal for the day (March 4th) was to make it all the way to Marfa, home of the mysterious "Marfa Lights." Look on YouTube. Mom & Dad have seen them, so we put Marfa on our places to go list. We set out from Dallas, taking a brief detour through Abilene. It had been fifteen years since I'd been in that town, and absence had not made my heart grow fonder. We stopped in Big Spring so I could get one final chimi-burro at Town & Country,

then pressed on to Pecos, where we took the road south to Marfa.

Marfa is a little town. The films "No Country For Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood" had reportedly both done some filming in the area, and of course the movie "Giant" was filmed there decades ago. We ate dinner at the Adobe Moon, a great little place opened fairly recently by a family from Austin. The brisket sandwich was awesome. Smoky and spicy. We checked into our motel and passed the time till dark by watching that week's performance episode of American Idol. Once dark, we got in the car and drove a few miles out of town to the viewing area. No lights that night. While waiting I asked Mom, "What if it's just a couple of guys with those chinese lanterns on poles, walking back and forth and waving them around?" We gave it a good try though, staying nearly 2 hours. We've vowed to go back.

The final day (March 5th) we drove back up and caught the interstate at Van Horn. Mom took the wheel for a few hours, then I took it on into Chandler. I believe we pulled in at around 4-5pm. It was a memorable journey. Mom and I found it amusing to recall in order where we ended up each night: El Paso, San Angelo, Brenham, Galveston, Dallas, Dallas, Dallas, Marfa, home.

I'm glad I got to take the trip and spend the time with Mom.

San Diego Whale Watching, 2-6-08. Arr!!!

2008-02-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, Feb 6th. I went on a whale-watching excursion in San Diego. I'd been on one once before a couple of years ago. Some friends from work and I took a day trip out there. The outfit is called Hornblower. Just google Hornblower Cruises. I was really excited to go on that first trip because I'd never been on a boat in the open sea before. So I was quite psyched. BTW, the above photo is of downtown San Diego as we were leaving port. The USS Midway can be seen on the right.

On that first trip we'd been out for a couple of hours without seeing anything when the captain announced that the sailboat which was a couple miles off our bow as the "spotter" had seen numerous blowhole puffs. So, we headed in that direction and, in a rather Hollywood gesture, the captain began playing "Flight of the Valkyries" over the speakers. Hollywood-ish but effective. I felt all of a sudden like some old sea-dog, scanning the horizon with piercing eyes. Eyes which I once heard described in a book whose title I can't recall as "impregnated with distance."

Once we arrived at the general area where the puffs were, we began seeing the grey whales surfacing quite near the vessel. There was nothing dramatic like one breaching the surface or a tail flip, but it was awesome nevetheless to have them so near. One whale's back quietly arced above the surface not thirty feet off our port side. What a day. A funny post-script occurred as we were heading back into the harbor. Karen, one of my co-workers was sitting by herself on the upper deck, enjoying the view. "Where's Don (her husband)," I asked? "Oh, he's down below being sick. And he's a Navy man."

Anyway, I went again two weeks ago - hoping to have more sightings, and hoping to capture some images on my digital camera, which I didn't have last time.

Alas, we only had one sighting, and that was after nearly three hours out. On the previous outing we got out to sea and then turned north, sailing parallel to the coast, I'd say between 5-10 miles from shore. Don't hold me to that. I am not used to judging distances at sea. Anyway, this time we began heading straight out to sea once we cleared the bay. Quite a feeling, heading out to the open sea.

I had no trouble with sea-sickness the previous trip, and I had none this time either. It was put to a stricter test this time, though. You see, once on board I realized I had not yet had any breakfast. So, I went into the little snack bar to see what they had. I selected a salami sandwich, which sounded good right then for some reason, and a snack box which contained a selection of cheeses, some crackers, and grapes. I also chose gatorade to drink. So, I made my way to the upper deck and sat on the starboard side, nearly to the bow. And, as the front of the boat rose and fell, I munched my salami sandwich and ate my cheese, crackers, and grapes - just as if I'd been on the couch at home, watching tv and eating.

Anyway, despite the single sighting, I did get a couple of pretty neat shots. One was of a tail flip. My timing was off, but still it turned out to be a pretty good tail shot. Here are some more of the photos:

This recreation of the famous LIFE magazine photo can be found just south of the USS Midway. I have rarely found anything as creepy as I did this. You can get the scale from the trees and from the little fellow on the left. I was afraid that once they were done smooching they were gonna start rampaging around.

The following are the four clearest shots of the whale. I was actually pretty pleased with the tail shot, all things considered. I might've gotten a better angle from a lower deck, but I think they came out allright.

It was a fun and invigorating trip which I will likely be repeating in a month or so. I recommend it.

Our Old House / Dallas - January 16, 2008

2008-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

This past week I went over to Dallas for just a brief visit. My days off for the next several weeks are on Wed/Thurs, which is a bummer except for the fact that those are good days to fly. Mom was already over there and Uncle Ed kindly allowed me to stay in their other spare bedroom. I got there tues evening with wednesday being the only full day I would spend there.

This, dear friends, is our old house as it appears today. As you can see, the current owners are really hard core into adding balconies everywhere. They also have a passion for brown paneling - and for superflous tower/lookout station type deals on top. I suppose it isn't superflous to them. Those who remember the house will also note that the two magnolia trees which stood in the foreground on the driveway side are gone - I believe the mimosa tree over on the left is gone too, although that part of the yard is out of view. They've added a lamppost to the porch, and allowed the hedge in front to almost completely cover the large window.
If I didn't know better, I'd say that the Weasleys must have moved in there because the house is turning into The Burrow.

This is a house about 1/2 mile away across Gaston Ave. It was built on the same plans as ours, only reversed. Their porch is open, not glassed in as we did with ours. I took this picture and include it here just as a means of showing and remembering the house as it used to be.

This is our old neighborhood cinema - the Lakewood Theatre. It has just one screen! Life was hard in olden times. But we coped. We had come here to see the movie 'California Suite' when the manager stopped the film and announced to the house that John Wayne had died.

This is a house which fascinated me as a child. It is on Gaston Ave about halfway between our house and Hamilton House (I believe the complex is now known as Shangri-La) where Granny and Gramps had their apartment. There is a high wall along Gaston, so this was the best angle I was able to get. It looks like I am focusing more on the trees than the house. I loved the castle-like towers and battlements. I seem to remember this as being a pretty well-known house in Dallas and being commonly referred to as "The Castle."

This is Aunt Mary and Uncle Jesse's little farmhouse out near McKinney. Sloan's house lies over the hill to the rear. They have a barnyard with numerous chickens. Other residents include three horses, two cows, a goat, and a little donkey named Wild Bill. It is quite a peaceful and idyllic place. As I was giving Uncle Jesse a goodbye hug I told him "this place will be for your grandchildren what Love Road was for us." Those little kids will have a place to come and explore, play, learn, interact with the animals, ride the horses, have pretend and real experiences, and above all create memories.

Ben & Caitlin Miller December 28, 2007

2007-12-30T11:33:00.001-08:00

Ben & Caitlin were sealed on friday the 28th of December, 2007 at the Mesa Arizona Temple. The sealing took place at 9am, and was performed by Brother Milo LeBaron - a longtime family friend.

L to R - Jeffrey D. Taylor, Alisha Taylor, Jillian Taylor (held by Alisha), Jeffrey C. Taylor, Jeanette Taylor, Emma Kay Wright, Caitlin and Ben Miller, Ross Taylor, Sarah Wright, Chloe Wright (held by Sarah), Sadee Joanne Wright (in front of Stanley), Stanley R. Taylor

The reception was to take place that night at around 6:30pm at the home of Carol Crane, Caitlin's grandma. The decorating crew (family) did a great job and the backyard looked wonderful. The planning wisely took into account some practical needs as well as the aesthetic. You see, 12-28-2007 turned out to be one of the coldest days so far this winter. We'd had a hard freeze the night before. So, being good planners, those in charge provided four or five of those standup heaters, which as you'll see, people understandably gravitated towards. Also the food was all of the hot and warming variety - cheese & potato soup served in bread bowls. Richard Crane manned a crepe station, which Ross Taylor patronized at least three times. I myself stuck with the hot chocolate. The cocoa station was equipped with the essential cocoa accesories such as marshmallows and peppermint sticks, as well as chocolate dipped spoons - which also recieved kudos from Ross.

Big Bro Jeffrey Dayton Taylor takes the opportunity to celebrate Caitlin and Ben's sealing as well as the UT victory over ASU the night before.

Papa Jeff and little Bro Ross join Big Bro Jeffrey Dayton in celebrating Caitlin & Ben's sealing as well as the UT victory over ASU the night before. You can't really tell, but Ross is also wearing a UT cap.

Aunt Becky with a well bundled Chloe, who peeped out for the photo op.

Aunt Judy and Grandma Joanne huddle by one of the aforementioned heaters, sipping some of the aforementioned cocoa.

Uncle Zack and his third cup of cocoa. No one wanted to tell him he'd had enough.
Notice the heat from the cocoa fogging his glasses.

Ben and Caitlin (looking cute in her wedding parka).

It was a memorable day and quite a festive, enjoyable reception. Somehow the cold wasn't too much of a problem. If anything it added to the coziness and fun of it.

It Was a Year Ago

2007-12-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

Sigh.....

Kwik-E-Mart

2007-12-19T19:37:00.001-08:00

These are some pics I took back in July. Like my Potter story, it just never occurred to me to post them. These actually were taken the Monday prior to the reunion.

I had heard that as a means of promoting the Simpsons Movie all 7-Elevens were going to sell Simpsons Merchandise. But, they were also going to take about a dozen 7-Eleven stores throughout the US and completely convert them to Kwik-E-Marts - the convenience store on the Simpsons tv show. Instead of Slurpees - Squishees, etc.
It was funny to see people (myself included) wandering around a convenience store as though in a museum.

The store pictured in the shots is at 12ll W. Olive in Burbank, CA. My reason for going was sort of a dare. But really I made it into more of a dare than my friend Traci intended. She said something like, "I bet since you work for an airline that you could just take off and go see one of these made over 7-Elevens, couldn't you?"

I didn't really respond. Our conversation happened on Sunday afternoon. At the time I had mondays off, so I thought, "why the heck not?" I flew out to Burbank the following morning, told the cab driver to take me to the Kwik-E-Mart at 12ll W. Olive, got there, took my fill of pictures in and around the store, bought and ate one of the large cartoony donuts, then left the store and made my way back to the airport and came home.

Upon arriving home I quickly emailed the pics to Traci who replied that her boyfriend was dying of jealousy. Big Simpsons fan. Sorry Dude.

"Potter" Fan Fiction

2007-11-26T21:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I haven't posted this yet. This past summer, not long after book 7 came out, we had an extremely slow day at work with very long stretches between calls. As a way of combating the extreme boredom, I wrote the following. It has been edited here and there, but about 95% of the story below is what I wrote that day.

I'd always been curious, starting at about book 3, about what a Hogwarts graduation ceremony would be like. What would it consist of? And I'd always hoped, knowing it was not in any way crucial to the overall story, that JKR would describe a Hogwarts graduation in one of the later books. And so, since that never did happen, I decided to write about it myself.

So here it is, my first and (so far) only attempt at a Harry Potter "fic."

HARRY POTTER'S GRADUATION

Hogwarts Castle stood triumphant and whole once more on the day of Harry Potter’s graduation.

A week after You-Know-Who’s defeat, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall - along with Heads of House Sprout, Flitwick, and Slughorn held a meeting with the board of governors during which they unanimously voted to grant full class credit to Hermione Jean Granger, Ronald Bilius Weasley, and Harold James Potter – despite having attended no classes their final year. This decision received overwhelming support from the wizarding community in light of the direct roles the three played in the victory over Voldemort and his minions during the Second Wizard War.

The underclassmen were the first to file into the Great Hall on the morning of the ceremony. Although they seated themselves by houses as usual, they all wore identical black robes decorated only with the Hogwarts coat of arms, which featured the emblems of each of the four houses surrounding a large “H.”
The faculty were seated in a semi-circle at the rear of the dais. Standing front and center on the dais were McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn – their hands clasped behind their backs, each wearing a happy yet solemn expression.
Nervous whisperings which had commenced once the underclassmen had been seated were emphatically quashed by three booming knocks on the giant entrance doors. Several first-years squeaked in fright, with the boys trying to disguise theirs by coughing.

“WHO KNOCKS?” asked McGonagall, her voice amplified with the sonorous charm.

“TIS MESELF, PER-FESSER HAGRID,” answered Hagrid with no magical amplification whatsoever.

“WHAT BRING YOU, PROFESSOR HAGRID?”

“I RUDDY WELL BRING THE CANDIDATES.”

“THEN LET THEM RUDDY.…LET THEM COME IN.”

The doors slowly opened…

Early that morning Harry had been roused by a deep bullfroggy voice. “Master must wake or he’ll be late for his own graduation. Wake, Master Harry, wake - here are soap, hot water and towel for washing.” “Thanks, Kreacher” yawned Harry. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were already sluggishly going about their washing and dressing. Ron was the last to wake.
Prior instructions to the graduates consisted of being told to gather in their respective common-rooms for further guidance. Accordingly, the Gryffindors were soon seated about the fireplace in the common room with Ron on the verge of falling asleep again when Sir Nicholas, their house ghost, drifted in.
A hush fell as for several heartbeats Sir Nick merely hovered before them, letting his gaze slowly pass back and forth over them – luminous ghostly tears welling in his eyes as he smiled upon them.
“Oi, Nick. Are you gonna let us in on the procedure?” asked a bleary-eyed Ron.
“Follow me,” answered the proud ghost.
Escorted by Sir Nicholas, they descended Gryffindor Tower and made their way down the Grand Staircase. Personal landmarks from their years at the school seemed to bid them farewell as they went. There were so many memories. There was the bit of swamp left by Flitwick in tribute to the Weasley twins. They glimpsed the hallway leading to the bathroom where they had rescued Hermione from the troll. There was the spot of wall where the door to the Room of Requirement waited for a person in need. They thought as they passed the third floor of their encounter with Fluffy the giant three-headed dog. That occasion marked their first of countless brushes with death at Hogwarts.
Moaning Myrtle, secret chambers, basilisks, a werewolf for a teacher, educational decrees, large black dogs, shining silver stags, occlumency lessons, pensieves, mistletoe, nargles, Dumbledore falling…falling – all these passed through Harry’s mind during the trek through the castle.
It was a moment before Harry realized they were standing outside the castle with several thestral-drawn carriages before them. Silence fell. The winged, skeletal horses were visible to one and all.

“Up you go,” said Nick, “they know where to take you.”

Nobody felt like talking much as the carriages bore them away down the path.

“But this is the way to Hogsmeade Station,” said Ron, “What’s up d’you reckon?”
“I dunno,” said Harry, though he was beginning to have suspicions of what and who awaited them.
The gleaming Hogwarts Express loomed in front of them as the thestrals halted at the train station. There was no one in sight.
“Is this a joke?” asked Seamus. No one answered.

“Seventh years! Seventh years over here!” called a bear of a voice they all knew. Harry, Ron, and Hermione got to him first.

Hagrid led them down a familiar footpath to a familiar quay where a number of familiar boats were moored. “Entray-voo” said their large friend with a sweep of his hand. “Yer gonna leave Hogwarts jus’ like you got there that first day all them years ago – give yeh time to remember and think how far yeh’ve come since then.”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione rode in Hagrid’s boat.

“Just look at yeh. Harry, Hermione, when you two took this ride that first time yeh’d barely found out yeh were magical folk. And you, Ron, you was afraid of not measurin’ up to yer brothers. No more need to worry about that, I reckon.”

They nodded in response. It was too emotional for words. They gazed across the vast lake as their school loomed larger and larger.

Hagrid opened the doors and preceded them into the Great Hall. He took his place with the rest of the faculty as McGonagall stepped forward.
“Please be seated,” she said, directing them to a semi-circular row of chairs at the front of the hall which mirrored those of the faculty. The Headmistress then brought forward a familiar looking stool, upon which she placed the Sorting Hat. All eyes were on the hat as it began singing its farewell to them.

“Seven years ago I sorted you
by what I sensed within,
Today that sorting is undone
that another may begin.

The gifts you have are gifts indeed,
Freely share them, freely give them
For by sharing them your gifts increase
and happiness along with them

As I sort you now into the world
To choose your own life’s lot,
I say be charitable to your fellow men
Be they magical or not.”

The hat had scarcely finished before it opened its “mouth” again.

“HARRY POTTER!”

For an instant Harry thought he was somehow in trouble again, but then he saw McGonagall kindly beckoning to him. He ascended the dais and approached her. She then waved her wand in the air above him, causing sparks to burst forth spelling the words HARRY POTTER – WIZARD, WITH HONORS. Cheers broke forth from his classmates as a silken cap of red and gold appeared in the air and descended until it rested on his head. He looked McGonagall in the eye as he switched the red tassel to the other side. “Your wand, Potter, if you please,” said McGonagall. As he produced his wand she said, laying her wand across his: “May this wand in your hand always be ready for whatever needs may arise, and Heaven willing may they from now on consist mostly of things no more serious than a broken vase, a child’s scraped knee, or a family meal prepared to give a tired wife a break.”
As she shook his hand she leaned towards him and quietly said in his ear, her other hand placed warmly on his shoulder, “Potter, you know as well as I do that there is not honor enough.”
“Thank you, Professor, but I think there is. It’s called getting to experience a world without Voldemort in it.”
“Well said,” she answered.
She gave him a quick embrace, and then he shook hands with the beaming Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn.
“My dear boy,” Horace said,” you’ve done Lily proud.”

The hat called up the rest of the students in turn, each to receive their own cap and to recieve their wand’s benediction. For the rest of his life Harry always meant to ask Ron and Hermione what McGonagall had whispered to them when their names were called, but whenever the chance arose he forgot about it.

The house elves gladly prepared a feast for the ages that night at the graduation party.
Kreacher, however, would let no other elf so much as refill Harry’s glass or pepper his salad.

Once the feast ended, the dance began. Harry and Ginny embraced to the music for the duration of the evening. Close together, no ominous cloud of any kind hanging over them, they looked into each others eyes. Eyes that had found what they were looking for, yet could never gaze deeply enough. Afterwards neither of them could tell what else had occurred or who else was there during that evening.
“So,” Harry said during a break as they sipped punch together, “one more year at Hogwarts for you.”
“Actually,” Ginny replied – seated on Harry’s lap with her head on his shoulder, “they gave me the option of graduating this year if I wanted to. Luna as well, she tells me. You know, being active members of the DA, aiding in the defeat of You-Know-Who and all. Or, maybe they just wanted a few Weasley-free years. Anyway, I’ve decided to stay…for the Quidditch.”
Then, fixing him with that spellbinding, blazing look of hers, she added, “I just don’t think I’d be able to stomach leaving this place with one less Cup than you.”
Harry looked at her in mock-indignation, then threw his arms around her and held her as they laughed.

Latest Effort

2007-11-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is a potrait I did of Courtney Tramundanas, Andy and Michelle T's oldest. I've been working on it intermittently over the past several weeks. I drew it from a photo taken on her b-day 2006.
It was done on gray paper, the paper color serving for the middle tones. When blocking the outlines of the face and features I used vine charcoal - a very delicate charcoal which erases effortlessly. For the highlights and shadows I used a white and a black Conte Crayon - and on occasion a charcoal pencil.
I was very happy with how it turned out, particularly the hair - which is something I've been impatient with in the past.
I framed it and took it over to their house this past saturday evening, partly hoping it would make up for not having gotten any b-day presents for them this year (and hoping it's close enough calendar-wise to serve as their Christmas present).

Day Tripper - Vegas

2007-11-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Well, during this past week I was pondering a saturday excursion. I had not flown anywhere in a while and was pondering some ponderables. Choices were New York (I wanted to get some photos of the writer's strike), Santa Barbara (to relax at Goleta Beach/Pier) and Las Vegas (just to see what oddities there were to be seen along the Strip). I guess the title of this posting is a pretty blatant spoiler alert. I went to Las Vegas. One reason was basically professional. Working for an airline it helps to have a certain amount of first-hand knowledge of a given airport.
So, what first-hand info did I gain about Las Vegas McCarran Airport? First, I had heard that the airport itself was not that far from the Strip itself. While pulling into our gate I discovered the truth of that statement.

This was taken from my window just after we came to a stop at the gate. There's Mandalay Bay and you can just see the tip of the Luxor.
Second? Well, I already knew that it had slot machines, but was not aware that they can be found in:

The baggage claim area

The food court/shopping area

And the boarding area

I took a Gray Line coach to the Strip and de-coached at the MGM Grand. I had heard that there used to be some pretty neat Hollywood themed attractions there, but I did not see any. I then ventured back out onto the strip, crossing the street to check out New York, New York.

It looks pretty awesome from the outside. I liked the little NYPD fireboats in the "harbor" around Lady Liberty.

It's kind of jarring to see a photo of her with palm leaves in the foreground.

NY NY had a pretzel stand inside which smelled incredible, but I did not end up getting one. For a while I sat in the shade under one of the over the street walkways and people-watched. As one walks down the strip there are many people who accost one with condo-deals, flyers for nightclubs and the like. But, not one of these Vegas hawkers and flim-flammers said a word to me. A couple of these types who had been giving their shpiel to the folks walking in front of me would them clam up like a radio being switched off when I passed them, then snap to life again for the next group after I passed. Maybe I'm shpiel-resistant.

I stepped into the Planet Hollywood hotel/casino to look around.

It is next to The Paris - occupying the spot once taken up by The Aladdin. The casino area has a pretty interesting look to it. They also have a Pink's hotdog stand, which was not yet open for the day.
It was an ok trip, nothing much accomplished except I found a present for me mum. I didn't even get the customary souvenir shot glass for Traci or postcard for Melissa.

Las Vegas. I commented in my posting last summer about our trip there how all the casinos seem to have a labyrinthine quality about them. It's true. Now while there are certainly some fun and worthwhile things to see and do there, Las Vegas also has an element about it which subtly and sometimes not so subtly tries to disorient you. It's obvious that they have taken the art of separating tourists from their money to a new level of perfection. One can sense the extensive research which went into it. The maze-like casino floors, the no clocks on the walls, etc. People when they arrive go into a cycle of being blindfolded, spun around, then let loose. And then repeat. It's like playing pin the tail on the donkey in a sea of jackasses.

The ads one sees on tv promote Las Vegas (totally blatantly) as a place where one can set his or her moral compass aside, and it's ok. You all know the slogan. What audacity. Especially when one thinks of all the deeds people think will really stay in Vegas. They won't. Sooner or later whatever happened in Vegas will get out of Vegas and end up staring you right in the face. I am happy to say that after my trip to Vegas, I was able to look Bishop Hansen in the eye and shake his hand.

One more thing about the place: Dr. Hugh Nibley in one of his books commented that one thing temples have in common (ancient - which ever the culture, or latter-day temples) is that they are places where people go to get their bearings, to orient themselves. To take stock of their situation spiritually, then make whatever course corrections are necessary. To get where you want to go, you first need to know where you are. The aim of the Vegas "element" is to get you onboard a ship in an uncharted sea, take away your instruments, and blank out the stars.

To illustrate, here is a photo I took in the MGM Grand shopping/restaurant area.

We've all seen these types of maps in malls, theme parks, etc. HOWEVER, those maps all have something which this one does not - and believe me I looked. You will not find anywhere on this map that little stick figure or arrow marked with the words "YOU ARE HERE."

Yumpin' Yiminy!

2007-10-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

One great thing about YouTube is that one can revisit tv programs from one's childhood. In the past few weeks I've been reminiscing over clips from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, New Zoo Revue, and most recently one of my favorites - Der Swedish Chef! Bon Apetit and a hearty "Bork, Bork, Bork" to all!

P.S. - I think I've found next year's Halloween costume. I wish I'd thought of it earlier.

"Cone dawgs, fahr-iss wheels, and SHOT-land ponies!"

2007-10-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

That's my shout out to Deacon Paul Brown at the Mount Riland Baptist Church in Flower Mound, Texas. They did actually have shetland ponies at the fair, I just neglected to take any pictures of them for whatever reason. This time of year I often wonder what the Deacon would have to say about the AZ State Fair as opposed to the Texas State Fair. I imagine he'd first ask where Big Tex was. Then he'd say, "Don't all farras have Big Tex?"

The Arizona State Fair is afoot. Can't you tell from the smell of fried dough in the air? Yup, fried stuff is the foundation of any state fair. I went out there Friday night.

Here's a popular establishment. Check out the menu. Of all the items available, (deep fried cinnamon rolls and Snickers Bars are listed just below the main sign) I have sampled a fried Twinky, a Snickers Bar, and a cheesecake slice. At this stand the management reserves the right to slap the face of anyone asking for a low-cal option.
Actually, all the food stands at the Fair reserve this right. Careful with the Twinkies though, seriously. If that filling squirts out on you it's like napalm.

Over the past few weeks the subject of the approaching Fair has come up. Friends and I have often joked about what new fried thing will make it's debut this year. My guesses were a fried slice o' pizza or a fried Philly Cheesesteak. I didn't make any dessert-type guesses. How 'bout a fried fruit pie (In Texas that'd be a fried fried pie) or a fried Dove Bar. Ooh. That actually sounded kinda good. They do sometimes, don't they - despite one's better judgement?

I've read in the paper that one of the foodstands this year was going to be offering fried rattlesnake. I did not find it - that time. I will go again. BUT, my favorite food find in all the years I've gone to the AZ fair has been a very special corn dog. Special in that instead of being made with your average everyday weiner, this guy is made with a polish sausage. Greasy? Yup. But oh, is it good. I'd like to see the Deacon's man-child Cleophas get a hold of one.

Notice anything about these cute little bears? They each have a corporate logo. Awwww.

These guys just might make it back to the AZ State Fair someday. Right. On a bun with a side o' cole slaw, or just dipped in batter and fried. But seriously, aren't they cute?

I may go again this year, I may not. I must think it over. I mean, once it's over then that's it. I'm left thinking "What am I gonna do for funnel cakes?"

Victor Wooten, alien?

2007-09-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

This is a clip I found of bassist Victor Wooten. He is a member of a modern jazz group called Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. In this clip he plays a bass-solo interpretation of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood. Take a moment and check it out.
He is simply incredible. I wonder if his hands are insured, and if so, for how much?

Hello All You Corbetts

2007-09-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Haven't posted since the reunion, so let me begin by saying that I had a wonderful time. It was great seeing everyone. It was one of those situations where one doesn't realize how much one had been needing it until it is happening. I have shown the group photo taken the last evening to friends and co-workers, and their reactions have made me realize how lucky I am to have such a large family. Their comments were all variations of "Holy smokes, that's a lot of people!"

Anyway, it was such a fun experience. It gave me a great lift of which I am still feeling the effects.

Take care all,

Z

Here's a pre-reunion Joanne freebie

2007-07-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

This is a clipping I ran across in my stuff, which I promptly scanned. Shown are (l to r) Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris. Stalwarts of the Dallas Cowboys legendary "Doomsday Defense" of the 1970's, Charlie and Cliff (aka Captain Crash) formed one of the most feared and intense safety tandems of the era. Their playing styles complemented eachother. While defending receivers Charlie would usually go for the interception, whereas Cliff was always aiming for the hit. One one memorable highlight Cliff zeroed in on a wide reciever. Intent on impact, Cliff actually ended up knocking Charlie out, who was trying to cover the receiver as well.
Charlie played in 5 Super Bowls: V, VI, X, XII, and XIII, with victories in VI and XII. Due to cumulative damage to his knee, he retired following the 1982 NFC Championship vs the Niners (the "Catch").
Why am I telling all this history about Dallas Cowboy Charlie Waters?
Because, dear relatives, in case you did not know this (I know some do) your Aunt/sister/grammy/great-grammy Joanne was pretty sweet on Ol' Charlie.
So there you have it. A free fact about Joanne. Hopefully you'll read this before next week - that way you can subject her to some good-natured ribbing over it.
Oh, and btw, Judy and Becky thought he was pretty cute too.

Just a few days now

2007-06-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

I had to change the title of this entry. I typed it up in June and titled it "Just a Few Weeks Now." I wanted to add some more stuff and so I saved it as a draft, and well, here we are just about one week away.
I can't wait to get together with everyone after so long. Fifteen years means lots of catching up to do. Of course I know some of us have met from time to time during the past one and a half decades. There has been the odd funeral. But this is shaping up to be an event.
How many of you, when watching the movie Big Fat Greek Wedding, scoffed at Toula's attempt to shock "Ee-an" Miller by telling him she had 29 first cousins. Nice try babe! Ooooh, twenty-nine first cousins.
Anyway, I am excited to see all you folks. Let's make some memories.

Mission Buds - Then & Then

2007-04-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

I got a call last saturday night from one Brad Jones, an old friend from Mision Buenos Aires Norte. We were never comps, but became good friends nevertheless. He was a co-participant in what became a weekly Sunday night ritual. Once our day's work was done, we would return to our apartment in Castelar, and later that evening Elder Jones and Elder Stevens (his comp at that time), and sometimes Elder Thomas Saul Bigelow and his companion Elder Barney would also show up. We usually had refreshments - sodas, peanuts/chips, sometimes empanadas. We would usually then begin a cutthroat UNO session/marathon, following by shooting the breeze, trading mission stories, then getting some shut-eye. The next day being monday (our prep/sight-seeing day), we would usually split off to do whatever tasks needed doing to get ready for the workweek - food shopping, laundry, etc. It became a fun tradition. I made more friends during that time (my last 2-3 months) than any other.
I was told in a letter by Elder Jones that the tradition ended pretty quickly after I left to come home. I believe he stated it thus, "After you left we came over on one more Sunday night and then we never came again." It happens. Guys get transferred, go home, etc.
Here are a few pics from those couple of months.

Elders Jones, Stevens, and Brower (with his sippy cup). He loved that cup. Looks like that night we were dining on Chinese food from Ming's place.

Myself, Jones, and Stevens. Elder Jones and I, both being serious U2 fans, joked about starting a band when we got home. We were gonna call ourselves "The Relief Society." I suppose the spelling would've had to have been altered enough to avoid litigation.

Ming's Chinese Take-out. Shown are myself, Ming, and one of his sons. They were at this time contemplating a move to Canada. His sons had already chosen their English names: One was going to call himself "Jeff," the other - "Nick." My favorite dish was a chicken stir-fry with apple chunks.

This is the familia Lobos, one of the families which Elder Brower and I visited and taught. Notice the big dark eyes on every one of them. Their happiness and optimism often made me feel quite ashamed, and made me appreciate the things I had and where I came from.

This is Calle 9 de Julio. Yes, it is mentioned in that song 'Big Apple' from "Evita." It is purported to be the widest street in South America.

Again 9 de Julio. Not as dangerous as it appeared. This and the previous were taken by Elder Brower. He and I had done a pretty big sight seeing excursion a couple of Mondays before I came home. There were still somethings I hadn't seen, so we knocked them all out that day.

This is a picture of my last apartment. It is located in Castelar, a suburb of BA. I took this picture right at the traintracks of Castelar station. I had just said goodbye to Brower and Jones and the others who'd shown up to see me off. If you look up at the top right balcony you can see them.
Adios Fellers.

Two days later I was back in Texas.

Tears of the Arizona

2007-03-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

I finally found a roundabout way of getting my own video clips onto my blog - via YouTube. Here is a short clip of one of the drops of oil which are still drifting up from the USS Arizona after all these years. This was recorded on December 30, 2006 - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

I've taken down the video clip. It seemed to work ok for a few days, then it ceased.
I'm gonna try to figure out what the problem is, then perhaps re-post it.

Our BAND

2007-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

Roughly 20 yrs ago a couple of friends and I did what countless other teenagers have done over the past 40 yrs or so. We decided to form a rock band. The core members at the outset were Daniel Devereaux, Prince Rahman, and myself.
We ended up playing our first gig at a church dance. Now, I can't remember if we started our rehearsals having already planned on playing the dance, or if the opportunity arose sometime after we began practicing. Anyway, we ended up playing at a church dance. Thinking back, I don't believe we had more than two or three rehearsals with all band members present. Besides the three of us already mentioned, we had Robert Stiles (played in the Central High Jazz Band) on bass, and Marty Munoz (high school choir member) on lead vocals. At that first rehearsal, when Prince plugged in his sticker-laden electric guitar and chopped out a grungy "E", I thought "This is gonna be freakin' awesome!" So, we cobbled together a few practices. My wardrobe for the show was pure 80's Phil Collins - black shirt, narrow tie, grey pants, white sneakers. I can't remember for sure, but I seem to recall Daniel wearing a piano keyboard tie, although that may have been for the second show. Somewhere there is a picture of me at the drums for that first gig. The performance was at the LDS Chapel on Old Christoval Road in San Angelo, Texas. We had the curtains drawn, and my sister Jennifer announced us. Oh, we were at that time calling ourselves Culture Shock.
The performance, considering how naive we'd been about how much rehearsing we needed, was a resounding success. We opened with "Separate Ways" by Journey, and then in no particular order we played "La Bamba", "Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison (quite the rebellious choice, if I do say so m'self) and, being the garage band we were, finished with "Louie, Louie." But the song which IMHO sounded best was "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake. I thought it turned out wonderfully. I often imagine what it would've been like with regular, consistent rehearsing.
We counted it a success, with lots of room to build on, of course. I believe we were all high on our potential.
Music aside, another notable discovery we made was this: girls love a rock band (to a high degree without regard to the level of preparedness). Obviously we were no pioneers in this discovery. Our reaction seemed to be: "Hey, it works!" I remember Daniel commenting after that gig that there were some church girls who'd never spoken to him before who were suddenly talking to him.
Despite the encouraging results of the first gig, I remember the momentum kind of fizzling over the next few weeks. Another gig opportunity arose - a Valentine's Day doo-dah again at the LDS chapel. We had some practices, but I remember (please correct me if I'm wrong Dan) it seeming for a time that Daniel wasn't going to be able to participate (he eventually did, taking on bass guitar duties). Our set list was comprised of a couple other songs from the La Bamba movie soundtrack, Surrender by Cheap Trick, Twist and Shout (the Beatles version had just undergone a resurgence due to it's being featured in the parade scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and a couple of Prince originals, one being a bluesy instrumental jam, and the other a ballad called "The Girl On My Mind." For this gig Prince took over lead vocals/guitar, Daniel on bass/piano, Andrew Hobbs (a fellow Bobcat) on rythm guitar, and myself on drums.
Alas, our sophomore outing was a bust. The audience was not into it. They were mostly unresponsive, and of those that did respond a couple of people were openly heckling us with surprising malice.
Reasons? One could mention several things. I'd been the one lobbying for the other songs from the LaBamba soundtrack. The audience weren't into them like they'd been with LaBamba itself at the previous gig. Greatly to blame for handicapping those songs and others were my drums. They were a big problem, I feel. I could never tune my snare properly, which caused it to be very unresponsive. Finesse or restraint were out of the picture. I had to hit the snare with extreme violence for it to carry. One or two tunes just got washed away by it, creating a loud, oppressive din. Prince's original songs were the highlight for me. Unfortunately we'd lost the crowd at that point.
One of the worst parts was that there was a girl I liked in attendance. She was from Abilene. I'd told her about the band and she sounded excited. There was nothing worse than knowing she was out there seeing us tank. Seeing us get heckled. She did her best afterwards to help me put a bold face on it.
Bummed as we were, it couldn't have been too long before we regrouped and got back to rehearsing. I remember for the next couple of months having what were, for us, some pretty regular and consistent rehearsals. We'd picked up another guitarist in David Webb, and a bass player in John Fisher. David Webb was quite the individual - seriously into Pink Floyd. Don't know what he's up to now, but he was planning on studying to be a mortician. Didn't get to know John too well - he was a pretty laid back, unassuming type with a cool Texas drawl.
We changed our name to TYO, and I will let you draw your own conclusion about what the letters stand for. If you ever see me in person, and you are actually that curious about it, I will gladly tell you.
Practices were held mostly in David Webb's garage. Our renewed focus was due to a pretty awesome gig opportunity which would take place that April: PROM AID 2!!
Prom Aid started the year before as...PROM AID 1 !! The name says it all - fund raiser for the prom, obviously inspired by Band-Aid, Live-Aid, etc. Those in high school who were in bands submitted their audition tapes in hopes of getting on the bill. There were five slots.
The songs we ended up choosing for our set list were "Sgt Pepper's LHCB," "Born To Be Wild," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Prince's "Girl On My Mind", Cheap Trick's rendition of "Ain't That a Shame," and "Wild Thing" as our finale.
There were a couple of factors turning in our favor for this gig. The first was that for the show there would be a professional sound system, ie. a large PA sytem, mixing board, monitors, etc. They even miked my drums! At the church gigs, we'd just had our amps and the church building mikes which were connected to the speakers in the gymnasium roof. The other factor was that a fellow drummer, David Keel, had very kindly loaned me several cymbals (I only had one) including a big 20" ride, his high-hat, and best of all - his snare, which was tuned to a Stuart Copeland grade tautness. At our sound check (I believe on wednesday - the event was friday) I was totally geeked out at the sound of my miked drums thundering forth. I though I was John Bonham up there. We tore through 30 seconds or so of Ain't That A Shame, getting quite the response from those who were there.

We were given the third spot. I remember the names of all but the first band to perform, second was a Christian Rock band called Keneniah, then us, fourth was an outfit called ETC., then last were a group calling themselves Pryzm. One thing we noted about a couple of the groups was that they seemed bent on producing note- perfect renditions of the hits (we were all essentially coverbands. I think that we were the only band that did an original - that being Prince's ballad).
We, on the other hand selected good garage band songs which would still survive and thrive if we didn't do them just exactly like the record. Faithful we were, to the spirit of our songs, if not the letter. That approach ensured we wouldn't freak out if something went awry. I believe that we as a band had a gift for not letting on, mistake wise, for mistakes there were. I don't fault the other bands for trying to be exact - their covers for the most part sounded great - especially some of ETC's, who covered Cherokee by Europe, and The Flame, by Cheaptrick. It's just that with the goal of sounding exactly like the record, any variance or mistake would end up feeling like a failure.
Performace night - we all were dressed pretty casually. I wore a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, as did David and John. Prince went kind of Steven Tyler-y, Dan went punk, complete with combat boots. I'd decorated my plain white t with a symbol made up of our band letters.

Daniel started off our set with the solo from Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, which elicited crescendos of cheers and applause. I counted four with my drumsticks and we kicked off the first song, "Sgt Pepper." I was tapped for lead vocals on it, and my mike was not working. Just as well really, 'cause if Paul really was dead, he would've been rolling in his grave. That song ended and we'd rehearsed going strait into the next song without a pause. "Born to be Wild" got us right back in business - ours was a pretty juiced up version. By the end of that song any nerves on our part were gone. We were energized yet relaxed.
Back during rehearsals we had penciled in, for this moment in the show right after after 'Born', a little fun at the expense of Radio Station B93, the main sponsor of the event.
The background: A couple of months prior to the show, B93 had changed their format to Top 40, which was about as radical as radio got in San Angelo. Anyway, for two or three days while they were doing the conversion they played the song "They're Coming To Take Me Away" non-stop. Non...STOP.
So, once "Born to Be Wild" ended, Prince said, "We got a little special one here, dedicated to B93" And we went right into "They're Coming To Take Me Away" with Daniel giving it a punked up vocal rendition. The crowd loved the joke. They actually realized what we were up to from the drum and tambourine intro, and even sang along! Anyway, Daniel continued to the end of the second verse, I believe, then yelled "Just Kidding!" We then kicked off "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The song went fine, the audience got into it. If they only knew how hard we'd worked trying to figure out some of those lyrics. Prince's ballad was next. Great example of our playing style. It was a simple song, just two chords. But it was a perfect mood changer for the middle of our set. Daniel had a great piece of inspiration on keyboards - it remains one of my favorite moments. Right at the start of Prince's guitar solo, Daniel went one octave up on the chords he'd been playing, which together with the guitar solo gave the song a beautiful lift.

Prince gave a bluesy "You done me wrong" monologue as the intro to "Ain't That a Shame" with David Webb giving an answering guitar solo after each line. Wild Thing had it's moments, but taken as a whole I feel like we rocked hardest on that song.
It just had this driving, thumping intensity to it. I like to think of it as our 'Beatles in Hamburg' moment - although none of us were high on Preludin.
For our big finale we had a show-bizzy element - a special guest. Tim Brunson was quite the character. He was in the drama club (I saw him in their production of "Whose Life is it, Anyway?"). Turned out he could do a spot on impression of Bobcat Goldthwaite.
So, after Ain't That a Shame, Prince announced that as a special surprise he was bringing in from off the street a "real Wild Thing." So out comes Brunson in hippy garb and the crowd went bonkers. Impersonating Bobcat, he went into a comedy bit, including a nice plug for the Prom.
Prince kicked in with the opening chords and "Wild Thing" was on. A perfectly riotous finale. Brunson remained on stage, having been given Prince's spare guitar to use as a prop, and he did - mimicking playing it with his teeth. He even sang along a bit as Bobcat. Daniel Devereaux gave the performance that "extra little push over the cliff" when he took a fake guitar (which he'd made himself) and smashed it on the stage.
What a rush. We felt excited. After all, there'd been about seven or eight hundred people there. I even autographed one of my drumsticks for one of the Tex-Anns. I cannot remember her name.
We stayed on to watch the last two bands, the final performance being by Pryzm. These guys had talent, no doubt. They also had some pretty potent backing. They were dressed in sharp glam rock threads and represented that 80's hair-band trend quite well. The drummer was sitting behind a wall of Alex Van Halen-style electronic drums.
Only problem was that when they launched into 'Dreams' by VH, those high-tech drums did not function. Only the drummer's high hat could be heard. They were visibly rattled. I think they may've soldiered through that one, but I definitely remember one of the songs was just ended right in the middle because the drums had cut out again. The lead singer did a jig to try to cover the frustration.
After the show he was seen conversing with various folks who were clearly trying to help him shrug it off. We were still on cloud nine with how our set had gone. Looking over at Pryzm's singer one of us said, "I kind feel bad for him." Then the fellow's super cute girlfriend passed by. "But not that bad."
We got some very good feedback. A couple of the sound guys told us that our set had taken them back to the sixties. I assume in a good way. One of the faculty members in charge said we put on the best show - referring to the banter, the joke regarding B93, Tim Brunson, etc. The coolest thing, however, was reading the review of the show in the school newspaper. The writer began, before offering some really nice comments about our performance, with the line: "This band rocked the house."
About six weeks later I entered the MTC in Provo, Utah. Two months after that I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina serving an LDS Church mission. The guys lent me lots of encouragement in my endeavors, sending me letters and taped greetings. I always kept pictures from that gig taped on the wall by my bed in whatever house/apartment I was living in.
We had some great memories, and I still hope we will create new ones.
Here's to TYO, and may they ride the lightning once again.

Welcome Home, Stanley

2007-02-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

Stanley came home today after serving a two year LDS Church mission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and environs. He had the look of one who has worked hard and has been blessed to see the fruits of his labors. In other words, he looked happy - but also tired as heck from a long journey home.

Here are some photos from the airport.

More Photos

2007-01-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pics that didn't make the cut in the previous posting.
Enjoy!

Pineapples, Peacocks, and Polynesians

2007-01-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hawaii. What does one imagine who has never been and is about to go? What is "Island Living" as applied to Hawaii? Soft sandy beaches, of course. Coconuts and other tropical vegetation come to mind. Sunsets. That leper island.
I had never swam in the ocean before the trip. It seemed intimidating. I felt like I would be sacrificing myself to the Pacific, not having had any practical concept of a protective reef. A couple of weeks earlier I had received snorkel gear as a birthday present, and was looking forward to using it, but I began to feel paranoid about sharks and started wanting to go out and buy a knife. "Because I want to be able to stick anything that swims up and gets in my face which I feel threatened by," was my answer when asked why I wanted one. Another issue was that I am pretty nearsighted and don't have contact lenses. "You'll be able to see well enough, won't you?" asked Mom. "Yes," I replied, "I'm sure I'll be able to discern a shark once it gets about 3 feet away from me." I finally had the idea of popping the lenses out of my old glasses and wedging them in to my mask where they fitted quite well. Problem solved.
Anyway, despite the sum of my fears, I was fully prepared and excited to spend a large portion of every day in the ocean.
The flight was very smooth, and Judy's plans for transporting everyone were executed without a hitch. Most of us were in the water by about 4:30 pm.

That first day I just swam wearing my reef walkers (old sneakers - I didn't break out the snorkel gear until the next day) and quickly learned some ocean-swimming facts: First, you essentially go where the ocean wants you to. Second, the water really is salty. Third, when seawater goes up your nose it makes you retch.

Thursday afternoon I finally donned the snorkel gear and went reef-exploring. I did not see any "crustay-shee-an" bands under the sea, but I did see several colorful fish among the coral. Occasionally I would find myself drifting along in the same current with one. After an extended snorkel session that day I began heading into shore. Because of the surf, you make progress for awhile, then the tide recedes and you are pulled back out a bit. Well, I had made some progress and was about 25 yards from shore. I was kicking and paddling - but staying in the same place. Then I felt this huge amount of force building up behind me and I thought "whoa, mama." Suddenly I was rocketing towards the beach and was deposited on the sand while the tide went out again. I'm told by witnesses that I appeared quite torpedo-like. Apparently I narrowly missed colliding with others of our party who were wading.
That morning, before we set out for the Dole Plantation, we had a visitor to our section of the beach in the form of a sea turtle. Needing no prompting, nephew Jeffrey and nephew-in-law Jared doffed their shirts and strode Costanza-like into the water in a manly attempt to catch the great beast. "The sea was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."

The Dole Plantation was cool. At the snackbar is sold an evil substance called Pineapple Whip, which is kind of a sherbet/ice cream hybrid. Tropical brain-freeze, brah. Be prepared. Along with the whip I also bought a container of freshly sliced, cold pineapple. So good. That night I said to nephew Ross, "I think I'm addicted to Pineapple. Like, I feel like I need to go out right now and find some." We took a train tour of the various crop fields, and when you see a pineapple field, you realize that pineapples are essentially cacti. Sweet, juicy cacti.

Nephew Jeff and niece-in-law Alisha braved the Dole Maze. They contacted us via two-way radio to advise us that they had no idea where they were.
We encountered gridlock on the way home that afternoon. Which reminds me of another thing I learned about Oahu: for much of the eastern side of the island there is but one major route - The Kamehameha Hwy (which during some stretches has no side streets). Residents of the average mainland metro area are accustomed during their commutes to hear the traffic copter giving advisories, alternate routes, etc. I'm guessing a typical traffic advisory to one stuck on the "Kam" would be "Relax, brah."
Friday was devoted to our visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which was just about a mile from the beach house, and about a hundred yards from the motel where the rest of us stayed. Our tour guide was named Gilbert or Gustavo or some other "G" name. Someone please confirm our tour guide's name. The center is comprised of representations of the various Polynesian Cultures. It's a good thing they named it the Polynesian Cultural Center, huh? They have demonstrations of native customs, traditions, costume, dance, food, etc. My favorite? Aotearoa, or New Zealand. The Maoris are pretty cool. Instead of a warm Aloha, they bulge their eyes and stick out their tongues. Upon a return visit to the center on Tuesday, Jan 2nd I spoke with a burly Maori fellow named Mana. I'd always been curious about one part in the film "Whale Rider" (which according to Mana is pretty popular in New Zealand for it's accuracy regarding their culture and the problems which arise in trying to balance tradition and heritage with the modern world). They make numerous references in the film to Paikea, their ancestor, having come to Aotearoa (which means land of the long, white cloud) from somewhere called Hawai-ki (that is purely phonetic spelling). I asked Mana if that meant Hawaii. He replied with some interesting information. Apparently there are three schools of thought in New Zealand as to what actual place Hawai-ki might refer to. Some believe it is in fact Hawaii. Others believe it is Tahiti, and others say it is Panama and its environs. The Panama group state that the tradition describes Hawai-Ki as being a narrow strip of land joining two waters. Interesting. Another thing I found noteworthy about the Maoris was that the weave pattern on the tops worn by the Maori women looks just like a Navajo blanket. I just think they're pretty cool.
We spent all day there, enjoying the songs and dances, browsing the shops, etc. We went to the big luau that night. Upon entry we were each given a real flower lei, and then we went in to dine on, among other things, shredded pork with sticky rice, and of course several helpings of fresh cold pineapple chunks.
The capper of the evening was the big show, which featured song/dance performances from each of the islands. I got several photos and videos. One in particular I hope to show you as soon as I figure out how to put a video clip on the blog. Anyway, it was a hula - the first live one I'd seen. Let me tell you - when those hula girls really go to town? Wow. Talented.

Saturday some of us (Judy, Mom, Jenn, and myself) went into town to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

Sobering. Survivors of the attack can be seen here and there talking, answering questions, posing for photos with visitors, etc. We stood in line for ferry tickets (which are free) and recieved a 12:15 pm time slot, I believe (Judy?). We passed the time in the museum and gift shop, then had lunch at the cantina where we also took pictures in and beside Admiral Nimitz' jeep.

At 12:15 (Judy?) we reported to the theatre where they showed a movie - Happy Feet. Kidding! It was a docu about Pearl Harbor. We then exited out onto the dock, boarded the ferry, and sailed out to the memorial.

It is eerie. You don't get a sense of the whole vessel down there, but you do see certain features.

I found myself imagining the Arizona still above water along with the others in Destroyer Row, then I turned to the north and imagined seeing those planes appearing over the mountains.

One thing I'd heard about the memorial was that you can still see drops of oil surfacing from the ship even after all these years. It's true.

I'm glad I went.

I don't remember much else of what went on when we got back to our part of the island, but it's safe to say it involved more swimming/snorkeling. Judy will be detailing it in her Day 3 entry. "Oh, I'm sure yours'll be more outlandish," said Judy when asking if I'd read her Day 1 & 2 blogs. I must say that I remember the main events and when they occurred, but beyond that, swimming and snorkeling is my standby plug-in memory. So definitely read Judy's blog, particularly if such things as accurate facts and details are important to you. I'm thankful she can fill in the hazy areas. As for me, well, I will continue to, as George Costanza said, tell "the truth as I see it."
Sunday several attended church. I was not one of them. My penance was seeing the Cowboys lose their final home game to the crappy Lions. I will say no more about my Cowboys. They are dead to me. At least until next season. Jeff, Jeanette, Caitlin, and Ross had decided to make their own excursion to Pearl Harbor, and the rest of us went up to visit Waimea Falls, stopping en route at one of the many shrimp truck eateries one sees.

The trail to the falls is beautiful. It is described as a hike, but it's an easy one. Maybe 3/4 mile.

There is some amazing flora to be seen there. I took hundreds of photos, of which here are some.

The pamphlet lists some of the animal life to be seen, but I was never able to spot any besides the peacocks wandering the grounds around the entrance. I had an encounter with one at a picnic table back by the gift shop. He hopped up on the bench behind me and was just hanging out. Waiting for food I am sure. I got some pretty good shots of him, and then Becky obligingly took one of the peacock and I. It turned out hilarious because the peacock is both facing the camera and also leaning in my direction as if to be more "in frame."

That night the plan was to build a fire on the beach, which nearly was doomed due to the annoyingly strong winds. Jeffrey and Jared persisted however, and were successful.

Then I broke into the supply of fireworks which I had bought a couple of days earlier at Foodland.

At a grocery store! Amazing. They were a little dissappointing in that they all pretty much did the same thing - emit sparks in various colors. There were some tall, rocket appearing ones which I was looking forward to seeing in action. But no, they just stayed on the ground and emitted sparks. I should have been clued in by the discovery of the fuse at the top of it, instead of the bottom. Also I had bought about sixteen tubelike ones which looked just like Roman candles. Nope, sparks. Despite all that, we still had a great deal of fun with them. I don't know why, but seeing them stuck in the sand, shooting out sparks, seemed to touch off some kind of tribal thing in several of us - brother Jeff in particular, and we began running through and around, and jumping over the fireworks as they were blazing away. I have proof. That was our New Year's Eve.

I may be wrong but I don't think any of us made it to midnight.

On Monday Judy, Mom, Becky and Jenn wanted to go to the nearest mall after being tipped off on a mumu sale. Ross and I decided to go along for the ride. I ended up finding some inexpensive island sandals for about $4. Come to think of it, exactly $4. The rest of the day? That's right - swimming and snorkeling. Judy made her b-day commemorative entrance into the water that afternoon.

Then, being New Year's Day and Judy's b-day, we had a party that night at the house. Our cousin Lisa Wagner and husband Ken, who live just a couple miles from where we were, joined us for the festivities.

We had a good time, cake/ice cream, etc.

My gift to Judy was a ukulele. I had actually decided on that as my present about six months ago. I'd heard her talk about how she learned how to play one long ago when she and Becky were living in Hawaii with another cousin, Taylor MacDonald and his family during his teaching stint at BYU-Ha. Anyway, I actually purchased it in Mid-November. She was pretty surprised. Apparently she'd planned on buying one while over there.

I don't know if she's been practicing much.

Monday for me marked that sinking feeling one gets when an amazing vacation is drawing to a close. End in sight and all that. Tuesday some of us attempted a snorkeling excursion to Shark's Cove. No dice. Mainly due to the 30+ foot waves crashing over the rocky barrier-wall into the cove.

The water was churning. So, back to our beach to snorkel there. Judy, Mom and others went back to PCC to do a little more shopping and to catch some stuff we missed the first time. I went myself that afternoon to buy some on sale lava-lavas. That was also when I met and had my interesting conversation with Mana the Maori.
That night? Packing.
Next morning? Drag our stuff grudgingly back to the house for the final muster.
Airport, flight, back in AZ by about 1am thurs morning.

My knees bore many reef coral scrapes. I was not tan at all, having been pretty serious in my 50spf sunblock usage.
I felt like we had used up our time well while out there. We were active all day and went to bed each night exhausted. I succeeded in eating pineapple every day. I even tried coconut milk. Judy mentioned a thing called a balony-rito in her blog. Becky tipped me onto them. They are just what they sound like. 2-3 baloney slices, american cheese, and maybe a little mayo & mustard. Their virtue lies in the fact that one could dash in from the beach, slap one together, eat it, and then dash back to the water all in an eyeblink. 30 minute meal? Hah. Try 30 seconds.
When a vacation has been highly anticipated for weeks and months, it is inevitable that you think and daydream about what will happen. You have certain expectations and images of how it will be and how it will turn out. Most times the actual events fail to live up. In this case, I can say that this vacation and the many things we did and experienced were every bit as awesome and fun as I imagined they would be.
Meaning amazingly awesome and incredibly fun.

Thanks Oili, from Ka'a

Firsts

2006-12-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

Coming home from work this past Wednesday I had a blowout to the left rear tire. The spare was fixed to the undercarriage at the rear of the car. It was the most pathetic, bedraggled-looking little donut tire ever. It appeared not much more reliable than an actual donut. And a donut with sprinkles might have had more traction. Another disconcerting question entering my mind was: Should I be able to squeeze the tire with my bare hand? Anyway, I got the spare on and Judy came to the rescue with some fix-a-flat. And that folks, was the very first tire I'd ever changed.

So, two things I've only done once in my life are: changing a tire and changing a diaper (about 20 years ago). Guess which one made me gag.

Back In Manhattan, Nov 28th '06

2006-12-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

This was the very last picture I took before entering Terminal 7 at JFK to catch my flight home. In one of my first postings I commented that prior to going there, most of what I knew of NYC/Manhattan was gleaned from Seinfeld, Law & Order, etc. On my very first trip to New York back in Nov '03, this sign was the first thing that caught my eye as I walked out of the airport. Hey, I thought, it's the Van Wyck! For non-Seinfeld fanatics, the Van Wyck is the freeway Elaine nearly conquered in her attempt to drop off her loser boyfriend at the airport for a 10:00am flight. I seem to recall that when family/friends asked me about the sights I'd seen, my reply was something like "Lot's of stuff - The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, and the Van Wyck Express sign!"

This has become a traditional first photo location dating back to my first trip. I may have described it's location before, but in case I haven't, it's in the southwest corner of Central Park. It was taken about 6am. Lots of booths were still there at nearby Columbus Circle, leftover from the Thanksgiving parade.

This is The Hello Deli of Late Night with David Letterman fame. As you can see, it was not open yet. But I have eaten there. I believe it was the trip before last. Rupert Gee, proprietor and participant in many a Letterman skit, was right there behind the counter. It felt a little bit wierd. Having only known him via television, it took some effort to realize that he really does own and run that little eatery. And when I say little, I do mean little. There is just enough room for about four or five people to stand inside, as long as they keep still. Rupert is a friendly sort, and chatted amiably with two old gents from Italy who were in line ahead of me. He asked them how they were enjoying their stay, etc. Apparently they get Letterman over there. When it was my turn to place my order, not wanting to give myself away as a "tourist", I ordered the "New Yorker." Pastrami on Rye. I think he may have seen though me, though.

Here are some decorative Herald Angels. This plaza leads straight towards the Rockefeller skating rink and the TREE, which are right behind me.

Meredith Veira, Today Show. I like her, but sometimes there is such a thing as smiling too "bigly."

Ann Curry and Matt Lauer's understudy. Judy told me his name, but it's gone. There really is a cult-ish vibe surrounding the folks who stand around spectating and smiling beatifically. I found it kinda fun as well, which I took as a sign it was time to leave.

Al Roker. As George Costanza once said of Newman, "He's merry." BTW, if any baseball fans are viewing this right now, take a look at the guy on the left. If he is not a near dead-ringer for Curt Schilling, then I'm a dementor. I hold no delusions that it is him, 'cause why would he be by himself hanging around the Today Show set? And him a Red Sock? I don't know. They say each of us has a twin somewhere.

I had not heard this young lady's story before I clicked away at her as she sat for her interview piece with Meredith, and indeed I felt quite sheepish once I had heard it. I feel bad that I don't recall her name, but she was a pioneer in NCAA football in that she was the first female to start on a team - and ended up getting raped by teammates, I believe. She was the placekicker. So there I was going paparazzi on her only to hear her talk about this terrible thing that happened to her. She sure is a stunning woman, though. Maybe she's part Veela. Any out there who know her name feel free to let me know.

Here is another photo with a Seinfeld connection. This soup counter, run by one Al Yeganeh (you can see his name if you look closely), was the inspiration for the famous "Soup Nazi" episode. Mr. Yeganeh cursed Seinfeld's name to the heavens when customers began calling him Soup Nazi. "Hey, you're the Soup Nazi, aren't you?" Although it undoubtedly gave a huge boost to his business. If you're like me, when you look at the sign you'll hear Newman's voice saying "jamba-LA-yah" in your head. Don't fight it.

So yeah, they go in for huge decorations in Manhattan. Christmas lights, fancy ornaments, and (as Deacon Brown in Flower Mound, Texas would style them) "shiny balls."

THE TREE. They actually didn't have the big lighting ceremony until the evening of the 29th. When I was at the Today set, I was kinda looking around for it. I had no reference point, being unfamiliar with the area. I'm glad I didn't ask a cop as I had been considering doing, because I finally realized it was right across the street from where I was standing. Looking at the Tree, the Today show set is straight left from it. It is an impressive piece of vegetation, no question. Oh, BTW it costs around $24 to ice skate there if you don't BYOS. Like $9 rink fee, and $15 skate rental.

Washington Square Park. I learned some new facts on this trip. Previously I had rather vaguely assumed that the Arc structure was somewhere in Central Park. I had planned on visiting this particular park because it was located in Greenwich Village, which was a district I had not yet been in. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this monument to George Washington suddenly before me. I did not spot Liv Tyler or Gwyneth Paltrow as hoped, however. Near the top on the south side there is a quote from George Washington which reads: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair - The event is in the hand of God"
I also found out that NYU is located just south of the Park.

Here is an old white haired squirrel successfully stalking what appears to be a flippin sweet nut. I love those little squirrel hands.

I tried to get at least one good shot of the fall colors. I like this one. I had a good time on this trip. I forgot to mention getting my lunch at Chelsea Market (a grilled parmesan chicken panini with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and roast eggplant) with the alterior motive of bumping into Rachael Ray (nope). I did not buy any Feaux-lex watches in Battery Park this time around, thought they were selling some pretty nice looking ones at the airport 2 for $20. So, I picked out a couple. The flight home was quite hellish, I must say, due to the fact that I'd caught a cold that afternoon and also had a raging headache by the time I boarded. But it was a good time anyway. I got some good pics, saw some cool stuff, and learned a few new things. Well worth it.

Halloween at the Manor

2006-11-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

Halloween '06. I went to work as "Three Hole Punch Zack." Anybody who is an avid fan of "The Office" will know what's up with that. Turned out that few people down at Us Airways did know. I realized early on that I was gonna be spending all day explaining my costume choice. Eventually whenever someone would ask about "those dots on your shirt," I would in turn ask, "Do you ever watch 'The Office?'" Then, when they shook their heads no, I would say, "Then don't worry about it."
I filled a huge tub with an enormous candy salad consisting of M&Ms, Snickers, Kit-Kats, Mike & Ikes, Now & Laters, Tootsie Rolls and Dum-Dums. My apologies to any candy I've omitted. Generally I would just grab a small handful and drop it into their bags. One little girl said excitedly to her parents as she walked away, "He's giving handfuls!" There were lots of princesses, one Darth Vader, many super heroes, and one kid who showed up as Napoleon Dynamite - complete with a Vote For Pedro t-shirt and nerdy afro. It was quite funny. On a couple of occasions we got the obligatory visit from young punky types whose voices were just a little too deep for Trick-or-Treating. But hey, those punky types need candy too. Who am I to deny them?
It was a fun night. There were actually two or three kids who knew about my shirt dots. "Hey, you're like the guy from The Office!", one kid said. Seems to me that Halloween is gradually becoming fun again, not withstanding the safety measures which have become necessary. Some things won't ever be what they were, the state of the world being what it is. I was happy to see parents accompanying most of the groups. Hooray for Halloween! Which besides being a lot of fun, is also the Big Kahuna of candy holidays.....Candy is awesome.

Giving the Gift of Al

2006-10-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Many of my favorite musicians or bands have gone the way of the Dodo. As an 80's teenager, I saw Van Halen give David Lee the boot, then have a sucession of frontmen (kinda like Spinal Tap's drummer curse). The Monkees had a comeback, which was nice for awhile - then they went away again. The Straits are no longer Dire and the Men quit Working. Where have you gone, Thomas Dolby? Howard Jones? Duran Duran, where are you, are you?

Somehow, even though so many acts have fizzled, retired, or broken up - a man named Wierd Al soldiers on. Bless him, for whenever a diva starts to believe her own hype, a lead singer starts acting like Bono, or a band starts believing they are the next Beatles - Al will be there to burst the bubble.

L.A./"Idol" Pics

2006-10-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the trip Judy, Mom, Caitlin and I took to L.A. back in August to see the American Idol show. Judy very aptly described the show itself, so I don't have much to add there. I spent my time alternately enjoying the show and snapping away with my camera.

Caitlin, Judy, and Mom on the Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier. We try whenever possible to steer clear of the "touristy" type places, so we decided to dine at a charming little "out-of-the-way" place called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Caitlin, myself, and Judy outside the "venue" with one of the posters from Taylor Hicks' triumphant performance in Provo back in July. The poster turned out to be too big to take in, so Caitlin ran back to put it in the car, which was lucky because we then found out that cameras were allowed, so Judy called her and had her bring mine to me. Thanks, KK!

Caitlin, Judy, and Mom in their seats just before the show started.

MANDISA. A perfect way to start the show. She sang "I'm Every Woman." She did great and got everybody pumped up - her legs really are that big, btw. My camera added nothing, I assure you. She was definitely a crowd favorite, just like on the tv show.

Ace Young. Whatever. Doesn't look as though he's seen any "pretty butterflies" yet.

Lisa Tucker. She's cute and talented, but seemed kinda dull after the "Deesa."

Paris Bennett. She did great. I think here she is singing 'Midnight Train to Georgia.'

Bucky Covington. He did pretty well. This, as well as the ones of Paris and of Taylor below are kind of blurred - it's hard for me to stay steady when focusing on things far away - but I think the blurr made them look kinda cool.

Kellie Pickler. During the tv show I found her pretty annoying most times. Nothing against her voice, though. But during the live show, I don't know, she seemed a lot more cute and charming. Maybe it was just her hottie-tottie outfit.

Elliot Yamin was g-reat. The crowd loved him and he totally worked them. I agree with Judy about the shirt, though.

Here's one of the guys sans Taylor. ??? They harmonized well. I was particularly pleased with how this one turned out.

Ace and Chris Daughtry. Check out Daughtry belting as he rocks his acoustic. You know, I'm just now realizing I forgot to include one of Chris by himself. I'll get to it.

This photograph represents my biggest regret of the night. This was the very best shot I could manage of the lovely Katharine McPhee. No cool blurring action like with Paris, Bucky, and Taylor. I tried, Kat. Man, did I ever try. No, the blurring in her case produced a variety of undesired effects such as "Kat with receding hairline", "Kat with third eye", or "Kat with no neck." Judy can tell you that I am a card-carrying member of the Soul Patrol, but I also have case of McPheever - in an extremely advanced stage. I just wish she'd be herself and not go for the Aguilera acrobatics.

THE MAN. I love this one of Taylor doing a classic Taylor spazz-move with his classic Fender Strat.

Here Taylor is doing his thing accompanied by a surprisingly mild mannered-seeming keyboardist. Maybe he has a day job as an accountant. Judy commented how the staging of the show really didn't give Taylor his spot as "the winner." I agree, but I'd have to add that it was the audience, along with Hicks himelf, who gave that to him. As much as sections of the audience might have had their particular favorite, it became clear when Taylor hit the stage that he was The Guy. He just has a knack for energizing with his performance.

At breakfast the morning after the show. Caitlin and I found another nice out-of-the-way place with sidewalk seating. What was the name? The Best...West...ern... I....HOP?

After breakfast we drove up the coast to look around a bit. I'd heard that in Malibu there is no public access to the beach. Well, we found out that there really is no public access to the beach. So, we drove back down towards LA, stopping at one of the first public beaches so that I could get a shot or two. I was really happy with this surfer action shot.

Another Taylor

2006-10-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I had planned on going to Dallas this weekend to visit and make a long overdue visit to the Texas State Fair, you know, "corny dogs, shetland ponies" and whatnot. However, my prospective return flights on Sunday were all filling up and I decided not to risk getting stuck and missing work.
As it turned out, I'm glad it worked out the way it did, because I was able to see Jeff and Alisha's new baby girl, born just after 3pm today. She appears to have Jeff's nose and Alisha's jawline and mouth. Can't say much about the eyes, though, cause she never opened them. What's up with that?
Anyway, here are some pics of the little bundle.

Gas is the Word

2006-10-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's been awhile. Since the last blog entry I went to LA with Mom, Judy and Caitlin to see the Idol show (more about that - including pics - later), answered hundreds & hundreds of phone calls regarding air travel, and.....acquired a GAS-powered lawn mower - the first gas lawn mower my family has owned, at least since I've been in it.
As we were discussing this fact, my Mom said, "Yeah, Dad sure swore by those electric mowers, didn't he?" I swore by them too - just about every time I used one. Operationally they aren't that bad, but managing the power cord is a pain, and you just don't get the same testost-o-rush plugging in your mower that you do when grabbing the cord and letting 'er rip.
Other fun happenings in recent days - My friend Melissa and I went to the Greater Phoenix Greek Festival this past weekend. I can Greek dance, btw. Uncle Dwaine, I can bring some music to the reunion next year. That is, if you don't already have some. I began going to the festivals years ago because of Becky's husband Ted. They are sure fun. It's fun seeing inebriated WASP-y white folks try the steps (like Ian Miller's parents in Big Fat Greek Wedding). Years later I invited Melissa who, due to the fact that she is already an accomplished dancer, picked up the steps in about two seconds.
She had a blast and it became kind of a tradition for us to go. Anyway at the festival this past saturday night we went out on the floor and joined in with a particular line of dancers which unfortunately was being led by a tall young girl who danced like a newborn fawn. Several other ladies then zeroed in on Melissa and her "awesome skills" and eventually asked her to move to the lead position, which she did. I was pretty proud.
They have lots of interesting things for sale - jewelry, pottery, music, and several Greek-type grocery items. They sold great crocks of Kalamata olives. I bought a package of Greek oregano (It's a powerful smell - no need to open it to find out), a wooden morter & pestel (sp?), and some Greek olive oil (extra-EXTRA virgin olive oil - that's e-e-v-o-o to you Rachel Ray).

Hey Melinda, here are two of my favorite "Office" quotes:

Michael: "Was this year's Dundies a success? Well, let me see, I made Pam laugh so hard that she fell out of her chair and almost broke her neck. So, I killed...almost."

Jim: "You look cute today, Dwight."
Dwight: "Thanks, GIRL."

Mom's Las Vegas B-Day Fest, 28-30 July 2006

2006-08-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

"There was this kid I grew up with - he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me, you know. We did our first work together, worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During Prohibition we ran molasses into Canada - made a fortune - your father, too. As much as anyone, I loved him - and trusted him. Later on he had an idea - to build a city out of a desert stop-over for GI's on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name was Moe Green - and the city he invented was Las Vegas..."

Las Vegas. The above quote of course is from Lee Strasberg's character Hyman Roth in the classic film "The Godfather - Part II." I found out later that "Moe Green" is Godfather code for Bugsy Siegel, much like how "Johnny Fontane" is code for Sinatra (according to Puzo, he never intended for that connection to be inferred - but I think it's pretty obvious). Anyway, the Hyman Roth quote came to mind late Friday night, July 28th, as we passed through the mountains and could finally see the city lights in the distance.
Ironically, it rained for about the first four hours of the drive, but luckily it ended before the mountainous parts leading up to Hoover Dam. We exited the freeway at Las Vegas Blvd. Making our way towards the strip, we saw a number of the infamous wedding chapels, and then further along there were two "Elvi" walking along - one in a dark jumpsuit, the other in a powder blue jumpsuit. Viva Las Vegas.
And then, at about 11pm, we arrived at the "Strip" and checked into our hotel....

Ahh, the exquisite and lavish Bellagio Hotel - which is right across the street from Bally's, where we stayed. It's kind of a generic hotel, meaning it doesn't have a theme like MGM Grand, or Caesar's, or Venetian, or...

The Paris Hotel, which was right next door to Bally's. Bally's was pretty cool, though. One good thing is the kiosk in the lobby sells awesome strawberry tarts. And if you do the breakfast buffet, get the breakfast steak. It was while walking through the Paris on friday night that I first experienced what I will call "The Vegas Effect." We were walking through the Paris casino, then we passed into a mall area with shops and restaurants - all very Parisian, the cobblestones were even treated to give them that "just rained-on" look. Anyway, we were moseying along, seeing the sites, and then all of a sudden we were entering the Bally's casino. ??? I would later find out that The Strip, and the Hotels on the strip all have a certain labyrinthine quality.

This photo, as well as all of the previous ones, was taken friday night. I was pleased with how this shot across the water turned out. As for the Bellagio fountain, seeing it on tv or film does not do it justice. I was amazed at how high the water shoots. During the first "show" the soundtrack was Gene Kelly doing 'Singing in the Rain.' Appropriate. The spray from the fountain felt good with the breeze.

Saturday, after my first official "Vegas Buffet," (it was at Bally's Big Kitchen Buffet, which Jennifer dubbed "The Big Fat Food Kitchen") we went over to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef exhibit, and just to look around in general. This giant reptile resides at the Mandalay Bay pool. I thought he looked cool, and just look at him now, immortalized in a blog.

This is one of three specimens of the rare Golden Crocodile at the Shark Reef exhibit. Dig that devious, croc-y grin. The other two were a little darker shade of gold.

Here are some fish in a tank.

Mom and I are standing by the stingray pool, waiting for them to make another go around.

This is the Big-Daddy stingray, or...the Big Mama stingray. It's a stingray. It's probably two feet across and maybe three or four feet from tip to tail.

Here are Jenn and I, hands-on with the stingray. They feel basically kind of slick and gelatinous. BTW, they also had a couple of small sharks in the tank, just a couple feet long. I think it's pretty cool that they encourage touching the stingrays. Incidentally, I heard that it's been much more of a hit than the original concept, "Bobbing for Stingrays."

This is a cylindrical tank containing many jellyfish - the effect is a living, breathing (do they breathe?) lava lamp.

Here is a close-up of one of the jellyfish - apparently mugging for the camera. While looking at this picture, see if you can spot a certain member of my family.

An eel.

"Floss much?" Now smile and say "chum."

Mom's Vegas B-Day Fest ~ continued ~

2006-08-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is the famous canal inside the Venetian. It is so beautifully designed - the gondoliers all have opera-grade singing voices, and they do sing. The singing, together with the design of the place combine for a wonderful ambiance. However, I suspect that the boats were mostly self propelled.

Now this big room was a-mazing. I just kind of stumbled into it as I was trying to find the rest of the group. There I was, suddenly entering an open Venetian plaza. I was told by a co-worker that it is patterned after St Mark's Square in Venice.

Here is a "human sculpture." In the previous picture, he is blocked from view by the bridge in the foreground. I did not instantly realize that it was a live person, but I did so quickly enough to avoid embarrasing myself by going up and touching the dude. Every so often he moves ever so slightly - I would imagine he would need to for circulation and to minimize any discomfort. People left tips in a pile at his feet. Many people came over to watch him, some sitting and some standing. Some would snap photos, others would pose with him - which wasn't a no-no, but whenever anyone would get up and walk away, I always imagined them to be thinking "I'm sitting here, watching a guy not move." We ended up getting ice-cream, and afterwards we looked around the shops a bit more before heading back to Bally's. After napping (I took one, anyway) we all got spruced up for the signature event of the weekend....

I started hearing talk that a Beatles themed Cirque show was in the works as early as last year. By the time Judy and Becky were starting to make firm plans for the trip I had heard lots more about it - mainly that the fellow in charge of producing all the great remixes of the Beatles songs to be used was none other than Sir George Martin himself. So I suggested it to them, and since Mom had always wanted to see a Cirque show, and since we all enjoy their music, they went for it. Showtime was at 7:30pm saturday evening.

Here are some of the young folks getting ready to scan tickets (no more tearing).
The guys were wearing "Sgt. Peppery" type military getups, and the girls had on what I assume were "Lovely Rita Meter-Maid" costumes.

Mom and I are standing in front of the mirror Beatles cutouts. The gift shop is to our left and it had lots of great memorabilia - t-shirts (though the ones from the show were $40 or so), postcards, lunchboxes, calendars, commemorative plates, etc. The cashiers and helpers were all wearing these Beatle-y colored blouses. One cool thing was that with each purchase they'd throw in two or three pin-on buttons with the show logo on them.

Our own "Fab-Four."

The show itself was absolutely fantastic, fab, gear, and whatever other superlatives you can come up with. We were completely gobsmacked. The show is so energetic and creative that it borders on sensory overload. Afterwards as we were waiting to exit we could do little more than look at eachother - shaking our heads and grinning. The above shot btw is of the same show logo as the previous shot, but straight on. It was taken post show, and a fun game to play when looking at it is to count the bald spots.

Here is the ceiling of the Caesar's Forum Shops. I wish we'd had a little more time to look around. It, like the Venetian, shows incredible attention to detail. If you go, check out the moving statues by the fountain.

Jenn and Mom at the Bellagio sunday brunch. We sampled many things there - there are just too many different choices to ever have lots of one. My personal favorites were the polenta, the tenderloin medallions, the pesto mashed-potatoes, and the mini-lemon meringue pie. I may have to do a day-trip just to go there and try some new stuff.

This is the Bellagio observatory. The current exhibit is US historical sites (Mt Rushmore, the Capitol Building, Golden-Gate Bridge, etc) in miniature. And I don't seem to have included any pictures of them. Maybe later.

The above shot is of the glass flowers which adorn the Bellagio lobby ceiling. If you watch Ocean's Eleven, Carl Reiner walks right under them when he checks in as Lyman Zerga. And the below shot is in the Bellagio observatory. HAPPY BIRD-DAY (as little Emma would say it) MOM!

Las Vegas. It really is quite an invention. Somebody thought of a way to create one of the world's top tourist attractions out of a really bleak and desolate piece of desert. A place that people would flock to in order to get rid of as much money as possible, as fast as possible. There are some fantastic things to see there, lavish hotels, good food. The people in charge really know their business. There is beauty there and it is real, but it's also there for a reason. It's all there to shout, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" Go a mere block off the strip in either direction and you'll see the other side of Vegas. I suppose that's unfair. After all, most towns have sides. But they rarely change so abruptly from one to the other. It was a fun trip though - no question.
I'd have to say that in my opinion, Las Vegas is best summed up by the following description of a breakfast item in our room service menu:

Comic-Con 2006 - Part Deux

2006-08-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Although we only see Vader from behind in this picture, to me his tension and annoyance with the people around him is obvious. One can sense him fighting the urge to start Force-choking everyone.

I like this statue/caricature of Princess Leia. I think it's got that feisty Leia attiude down pretty well. People couldn't resist touching her buns.

Here we see the Dark Knight mingling, playing the suave and gracious host. You know, I wonder if Bruce Wayne ever got mixed up and walked into a board meeting having forgotten to change out of his Batman gear?

"DANGER, WILL ROBINSON. SOMEONE'S TOUCHING MY DOME."

This is Link, hero of the popular Nintendo game series "Legend of Zelda."
Creepy.

Here we have the lovely Mr. Lou Ferrigno, and Mr. Ferrigno's biceps. And also his pecs.

This is the also lovely Rosario Dawson. She stepped in at the last minute for director Kevin Smith, who missed his panel discussion due to being stuck in traffic. I had always had a preconception about her that she was kind of a pretty hardcore partier and kind of cliche "celebrity looking down on everyone." I don't know why I thought that way - I've seen very little of her work. BUT, as so often happens - I could not've been more wrong. She seemed really friendly and down to earth and actually is quite charming in person. Plus it was pretty cool of her to spend extra time there with the folks who'd been waiting to see Kevin Smith. Rosario! She's cool.

Comic-Con 2006

2006-08-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hello people.

On July 22, 2006 I took a day trip to San Diego. My purpose for going was to attend an event called Comic-Con. It's origins were primarily as a comic-book convention, but has now expanded to be a sort of comic book, movie, video game, sci-fi potpourri.
I last attended in 2004. Whatever one's level of interest in sci-fi or comics may be, it cannot be denied that there are few better events for people-watching. In 2004, I saw many Jedi, stormtroopers, Sith Lords, Boba Fetts, Hobbits, Hogwarts students, Bat-Men, Klingons, several Princess Leias (a number of them in the metal-bikini thing) and even a couple of Ghostbusters. I even saw and chatted with a person who had undergone extensive surgery and tatooing to transform himself into what is known as a "manimal." His animal obsession? A leopard. His face was entirely tattooed with leopard-print, he had fang implants, implants on his face to allow for screw-in whiskers, he had let his fingernails grow to a couple of inches long each, and had even had his upper lip incised and drawn upward to add to the feline appearance.
The various movie/tv show previews are fun to go to. In 2004 I saw Keanu Reeves and Djimon Honsou (promoting Constantine), Cillian Murphy (promoting Batman Begins - he was Scarecrow), and Eliza Dushku (promoting a now-cancelled tv show called Tru Calling). The celebs all sit on a dais for a panel-type discussion. A moderator leads them through a series of topics, and then they set up a mike for attendees to line up and ask a question or two each.
One can also get some interesting autographs from "B," "C," and even "D" list celebs. Names like Marc Singer, Sam Jones, Walter Koenig, Elivira - Mistress of the Dark, The Lone Gunmen from X-Files, Richard Hatch, and the actress who played Cissy on Family Affair. In 2004 I was still a bit timid - the only autograph I got was from the actor who played Mr. Wilhelm (George's boss during his stint with the Yankees). He was a funny guy and very personable. They are all very engaging with the autograph and photo seekers, chatting amiably with them as they scribble and pose.
This year the signers included Marc Singer in a return engagement, Sam Jones and Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon and Dale Arden), Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Stan Lee, the blond Lone Gunman, and none other than the two "brothers" from Airplane! who only spoke Jive. "Golly!"

These are pics, respectively, of Mr Gerard Butler, aka The "POTO," and Mr David Wenham (Faramir from LOTR). These two photos are actually of images from one of the many jumbo screens in the room, since I was sitting pretty far back and wasn't able to take a steady enough zoom shot from where I was. Gerard, or "Gerry" as the other panelists called him, was there with David promoting a film called 300, about the Spartan army. The statue in front of David is a Faramir statue given to him by a fan.

This is a giant, slowly rotating Boba Fett torso which topped off one of the cooler STAR WARS booths. There was also a caricature-ish statue of Princess Leia which I'll include in Comic-Con 2006 - Part Deux. Boba looks pretty awesome, huh? If you ever have to save your own life by correctly answering the question: "What type of body armor does Boba Fett wear?" calmly look them in the eye and say "Mandalorian."

What is funnier than a stormtrooper waiting in line for an autograph?
Not much, in my estimation.

Taylor in Mormonland

2006-07-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hello All! Here are some shots of Taylor at Stadium of Fire 2006, doing what he does. We were sitting across the stadium from the stage, and so I had my trusty camera zoomed out all the way. I was hoping to capture some classic Taylor spasticity, and I feel I succeeded. I say "classic" despite the fact that he's only been nationally known for about five months. The crowd went muy loco for El Taylor Hicks. An aside about Provo: I don't get there nearly often enough. It was a very nice change climate-wise and scenery-wise. I was still thinking of Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe as we were making our way to our seats. It was maybe 80 degrees when we sat down. Totally different from going to an ASU football game in August.

Shown below is a poor fellow who has some Lee Ann Womack memorabilia to move. Judy nudged me and pointed as we were passing him on the way to the ramp. What a sad sight. Not too sad for me to resist taking a picture, however. Notice that not only is no one buying anything, but I was barely able to get anybody else in frame besides the seller.

I heartily agree with Judy's remarks about it being an awesome experience. Taylor seemed to be quite genuine, and very gracious with the fans. But, I agree that in the photo of he and I there does seem to be a layer of fear under that smile. To take a look, see Judy's blog: www.yellowstonemanor.blogspot.com
If nothing else, Hicks is unique. I fully expect that in about 20-30 years, there will be a brisk trade in Vegas for Taylor impersonators.

Happy Father's Day, Bear-Huntin' Buddy

2006-06-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

"Oh, Mister Mister Johnny Rebek
how could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
Now all the neighbor's cats and dogs will
nevermore be seen -
They'll all be ground to sausages in
Johnny Rebek's machine."

That was the chorus from just one of the songs my dad would often sing while driving, camping, or whenever.
There were a few others - I don't really know if these are the titles or just the first lines:

"The Bear Went Over the Mountain"
"The Dummy Line"
"Two Little Fishes" (who "swam and swam all over the dam")
"Beautiful, Beautiful Texas"
"Abilene, Oh Abilene"
"We're All Goin' Down to Santa Fe Town"
"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"
And, believe it or not, more than once I remember him singing "We're Off to See the Wizard"

My Dad and I had many categories of buddyship:

Bear-Huntin' Buddy
Priesthood Buddy
Swimming Buddy
Camping Buddy
et al

"Bear-Hunting Buddy" was more of a fanciful yarn he often spun than a label for an activity in which we often engaged. It was quite an entertaining tale. The plan as he described it was to get ourselves outfitted and go up into "the mountains" with some "friendly Indians" as guides. I remember being highly excited, fascinated, and maybe a little frightened at the thought of traveling with Indians, friendly though they be. I kept thinking of those mesmerising, stoic portaits of Geronimo. We never did go bear hunting, or so I thought. Dad later pointed out that we had actually hunted bear on the previous outing to Malouf Lake. Yes, we had been, in fact, walking the shores and hills with our 22s. We just hadn't actually seen or killed a bear. I'd have to say that that was when I first learned about loopholes.

Dad and Humor:

Ask me sometime about Ernie Dawson's "trick knee," or Mom about "Binckley."
Dad would often rib me about the Star Wars movies and characters.
"What's that Star Wars movie called - The Lost Ark Fights Back?"
He used to teasingly call R2-D2 "WD40," and referred to Yoda as "Yuck."
Another thing he used to tell me was that on the old Batman tv series, the character of Robin was played by a girl.
"No he's NOOOOOOT!" was my counter-argument. I didn't have a problem with girl tv characters - I found Batgirl to be quite fetching. Messing with Robin was more than I could handle, though.

Sometime in the 80's I began to wonder how long my Dad would be around. It was several years later, however, before I'd be confronted directly with the concept of Dad's mortality. It was when we went to meet Mom and Dad at the airport upon their homecoming from Panama. Dad was not doing well.
His moment of passing was as peaceful as could be. The thing which I had wondered and worried about back in the 80's had come and gone. But, the really hard thing had been seeing him in the state he was in at the airport back in '97, and the feeling that he had at that moment begun to leave us.

Dad and Mom spent his last few years shuttling back and forth between Texas and AZ.
During their visits here, despite failing health and being unable to partake of many of the simple pleasures which he had once enjoyed, there were times when the old self would re-surface. I remember one day He and Mom and I drove over to Trader Joe's - a market in Tempe which has lots of interesting, unusual foods. We each made one or two selections and then on the way home we enjoyed ourselves sampling them and commenting on them.
Summer of '2001 Mom, Dad and I went to the Cedar City Shakespeare festival. We saw several productions including one of Dad's favorites - "Pirates of Penzance." Dad laughed and cheered at General Stanley, The Pirate King, and a surprise cameo by Queen Victoria herself. On another AZ visit we (again Mom, Dad and I) went to the movies and saw "O' Brother, Where Art Thou." Dad really got a kick out of it. He was particularly tickled by the character "Delmar," and chuckled all the way home.

Whenever I think of Dad in the Spirit World - I envision him with Mama & Daddy T, Bessie & Art, Jessie & Gack, Sadie & Odie, Bud, Babe, Granny & Gramps, Eblen Malouf, Ted, and every dog he ever knew.

Prince the Philosopher, Love, and Tolerance

2006-06-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

I got an email a few days ago from Prince Rahman, a friend back in Texas. He and I met through a mutual friend named Daniel Devereaux (another Texas bud) when we were trying to "start a band" back in high school. But that's for another blog. When I can dig up a photo of us, then I'll talk about it.
Was it Will Rogers who said, "I never met a person I didn't like"? Well, whoever said it first, Prince is saying it now. He likes everybody and is an all around happy dude. I recall before one of our band's performances (at a church dance, btw) there was a pretty good spread layed out. Well, while Daniel and I were ashen-faced and on the verge of vomiting from nerves, Prince was surveying the snack table and saying, "Oooh, Nachos!" He dug right in, taking joy from the moment -and not a bit nervous. Prince is a philosopher who practices brotherly kindness and acceptance.

The email from Prince contained a great quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Life and Love

A life has meaning and value only in so far as love is in it. Furthermore, life is nothing, nothing at all, and has not meaning and value if love is not in it. The worth of a life is measured by how much love it has. Everything else is nothing, nothing at all, totally indifferent, totally unimportant. All the bad things and all the good things about life are unimportant. We are only asked about one thing - whether we have love or not....Life is really not worth living at all without love. However, the whole meaning of life is fulfilled where there is love. In comparison to this love everything else pales into insignificance. What do happiness and unhappiness mean, what do wealth and poverty mean, what does life and death mean where people live in love? They do not know. They do not differentiate. They only know that the sole purpose of happiness as well as unhappiness, poverty as well as wealth, honor as well as disgrace, living at home or abroad, living and dying is to love all the more strongly, purely, fully. It is the one thing beyond all distinctions, before all distinctions, in all distinctions. "Love is as strong as death" (Song of Songs 8:6).

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer - A Testament to Freedom 241

I replied to Prince's email by sharing some thought's I've had for awhile about:

Love vs. Tolerance

I recall thinking about the word "tolerance" when it became widely described as an attitude we should all endeavor to achieve. And don't get me wrong, 'cause I'm not knocking it - it's important and most definitely preferable to "intolerance." It just ends up at the end of the day sounding...well, inadequate. It's not going to be enough. I "tolerate" yappy little dogs. I "tolerate" Packer fans and people who like Celine Dion. Tolerating someone really doesn't sound like you're ready to have your soul moved with charity towards them, and sincerely appreciate them. It just sounds like you're prepared to be in the same room without punching them.
It's like being in a car halfway up a hill. The parking brake is on, and that's good because you're not rolling back down the hill, but neither are you progressing towards the peak. Love is what will help get us there.

To illustrate my point, here are some altered song titles/quotes:

"She Tolerates You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"
"All You Need is Tolerance."
"Tolerate thy neighbor as thyself"
"Tolerate Me Tender"
"Addicted to Tolerance"

Ok, you get the idea. I know that love and tolerance are not at cross-purposes. Tolerance is the first step, and a good one. But take another. And another.

Love is something we all need, and something we all need to give. And yes, sometimes it isn't easy - which is why we humans need to practice it.

On a trivial note, I learned how to play 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey on my guitar a few days ago. You might ask yourself what that has to do with my previous comments. I really love that song, that's what.

Best wishes to all, and to all a good night

Lucha Libre / The Usual Suspects

2006-05-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Found these pics in my nightstand and thought I'd share. The first photo is from Southwest Shakespeare's April 2004 mounting of As You Like It. Shown is the wrestling match between my character (Charles) and Orlando, the young hero played by Kyle Sorrel - a wonderful actor and heckuva nice fellow. The wrestling was choreographed by our fight captain David Barker (a performer in his own right with Chaplin-level physical skill and agility) and came complete with head-butts (acting), numerous chairs to the face (acting), and even a back-breaking kneedrop (totally acting). Despite the faking, it was intensely physical and afterwards I would usually go backstage and gag for a bit. After the scene some of my castmates would ask me if I'd finally won a match. Ha-ha. I never did...
Shown in the pic are l to r: Kyle Sorrel (Orlando - 'bout to get slammed), Myself (Charles), Cale Epps (Courtier-you can see his shoes between my legs), Paul Silver (courtier), Scott Dillon (courtier/Sylvius), Eric Urbauer (Oliver DeBoys), Jim Landua (the usurping Duke Frederick), Dave Edmunds (LeBeau), Richard Trujillo (Touchstone), and Michael Sherwin (Old Adam).
The play was performed at Mesa Amphitheatre. It was a neat space in which to perform. I really enjoyed walking out there and speaking my lines into the night air. It made me feel connected to the theatre tradition.

I really like this photo. It was taken in the guy's dressing room at Westwood High in Mesa, where SW Shakespeare was putting on King Lear, starring Ken Ruta in the title role. Shown are myself (anonymous knight/Captain), and Randy Messersmith (Duke of Cornwall). At this moment we have just blinded the Duke of Gloucester and have come backstage for a wash-up. The "blood" is a mixture composed mainly of Karo syrup, red dye, and peanut butter. The peanut butter was included because it made the blood appear to contain bits of tissue. Randy and I started a tradition of sharing a bloody handshake just before we washed the stuff off. You know - success! My first job in the scene was to tie Gloucester to a chair. Then I would step away and another knight would slip the blood packet into my hands, which were clasped behind my back. I would squirt the mixture into my right hand and then close my fist to hide it from the audience. Then two other knights rotated Gloucester's chair until it faced away from the audience. I would come around to the back of the chair and kneel as it was lowered so that Gloucester's head would end up resting on the floor between my knees - hidden from view. Before his head was all the way down I would smear the blood on his eyebrow, the lower temple, and down his cheek. Then Randy would come over and pretend to stomp on Gloucester's eye and grind it out. He would be using my shoulder as support, and I still had my hands over Larry's (Gloucester) face. Basically Randy was placing his foot on my hands and resting his weight on my shoulder, that way Larry would be in no danger of actually getting his face stomped.
The scene was pretty horrific, even for us. Larry (Soller) had a bloodcurdling scream. It even made Randy and I a little queasy at times. Still, it always felt good when everything went well and we were able to unsettle the patrons. Randy would sometimes say to me while scrubbing off the blood: "Man, you really got him good tonight." And I would answer: "Really? Did it look good?" "Oh, yeah."
Some nights, after the scene, Larry would shuffle past the dressing room door with his bloody face and give us a thumbs-up and a chuckle.
It's an odd business, Theatre.

The Lesson?

2006-05-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to teach the High Priest lesson. It always makes me nervous to stand in front of such an experienced, "seasoned" group. I often get the panicky feeling that I am tearing through my prepared notes, only to realize I still have about 20 minutes left. I started out a little speedy, but was able to calm down and gather myself. The lesson was taken from an April conference talk by Elder David Stone entitled - "Zion in the Midst of Babylon." It deals with how we have a charge to live "in the world, but not of the world," as the expression goes. Or, as I phrased it: fit in, but not blend in. My expressed hope was that we will each be able to live in such a manner that Zion and the Gospel itself will be visible in our countenances. Or, as one brother put it - paraphrasing (I can't remember where this comes from), "If we are accused of being a Latter-Day Saint, will there be enough evidence to convict us?" I was pleased that the brethren seemed to get something from the lesson. I received several nice compliments.

Soul Patrol / Miss Kitka / the Idol

2006-05-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Congrats, Taylor Hicks. I knew you were a contender when you crossed that long room to hear the triumvirate's verdict on whether you'd made the final 24 - playing a blistering harp solo the entire way. As if trying to conjure up some old soul voodoo. I sure like Kat as well - what a charmer. Each week I'd call once for Taylor and once for Katharine. Better make that CD fast, Taylor. We consumers forget quickly.

The other day at work I had the occasion to speak with a very refined-sounding and gracious lady who turned out to be an assisant for Lee Meriwether. Those of you out there who are old enough to remember the old campy Batman TV series will be aware that Ms Meriwether was one of the "Cat-Women" along with Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt. She appeared as Catwoman in the Batman feature film, and her alter ego was a sultry Russian named Miss Kitka. I was not aware, however, that she was also Miss America, not sure of the year. It's interesting to have these intermittent contacts with celebrity. I've had several of them - with a few being with the famous person him or herself. The ones I've spoken to have been mostly down to earth seeming people, though I have spoken to an assistant or two who seemed convinced they were endowed with papal authority.

And now back to the theme of music "Idols." Here is a video which you may have seen before on this blog. It stars, in my opinion, the greatest living Rock Idol in the world. He's my favorite anyway. And by the way, Macca, hang in there. If I could, I'd sing you a song which would take you to that place - where you could find your Brave Face.

Yes, I have removed Macca's video for the time being. Rest assured he'll get back eventually in some form or other. I found another video code site with lots more of his videos. I think I saw it on the Freiberg blog.

Return of the AVP'er and Chuck Noland's God

2006-05-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, Sarah. I'll put the finely tuned/toned spiking babe back in. You're right, it just doesn't seem right without her. Especially since I mention the photo further down. Maybe I'll find out who she is...someday. And if I do, I'll tell her that I was one of the hundreds of shmoes watching her play v-ball that day...in the SB. ZT - 27 May, 2006

Today I felt the need for some relaxation, so I took a day trip to one of my other favorite places - Santa Barbara, CA. The airport, a rich hacienda-type affair, is a mere 10 minute walk from the beach. I've been there twice before. The first time was memorable because it was the first time I'd ever seen a dolphin anywhere besides Sea World. I saw the dorsal fin break the surface, and before I could register my surprise at that - the dolphin popped clean out of the water in a perfect arc.
Anyway, today I took a walk out to the end of Goleta Pier, just to read, smell the sea air, and listen to the waves break on the beach. I then drove down to State street, which runs through downtown SB. Lots of nice looking homes are there to be seen, as well as lots of quaint litte motels I'm sure my Mom would've enjoyed seeing. State St. runs right into Stearns Wharf, with several restaurants and shops out on the pier. One can actually drive out and park on it if one wishes.
Unbeknownst to me (honestly) the AVP pro beach volleyballers were there for a tourstop. Didn't see Kerri Walsh or Misty May, but got this pretty good action shot of an anonymous, intense-looking player serving one up. I also got this shot of a giant Wilson Volleyball (can't you just see it with a huge, smiling, red-painted hand?).

The day was mostly overcast, but still it was a pleasant day with many cool breezes. It was nice getting back home despite the 40 degree temperature swing.

I arrived home to discover there would be a total of 5 kids sleeping at this house tonight. Bless their noisy little hearts. Oh, wait - I hear Emma. Sadie must've just bumped her off of some toy or other. Anyhoo...

Best wishes to all, and have a pleasant evening. I'm off to have a stiff pint - o' Haagen Dazs! P.S. - I eat ice cream alone. Yeah, with nobody else.

Survivor/Lady Croom

2006-05-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, it's monday. Aras won a million, and yet I feel strangely empty. Once while discussing 'Survivor' with my friend Sandy, I commented that it would be interesting for a change to set the show in a snowy setting like the Canadian Rockies or Alaska in winter, or Antarctica. To which he replied, "Trust me, kid, it'll never happen." When I asked him why, he answered, "'cause the producers would never get their (the contestants) clothes off!"

Here's a good idea, "Survivor: Maricopa County...in August"

P.S. - Kim/Lady Croom, if you are out there and happen to stumble across this blog o' mine, why not drop me a line and let me know what's up, how you're doing, etc.?
It's been a while. And, since the world-wide-web is world-wide, then you won't have a problem answering these few questions - just so I know it's you.

1. What's the title of that movie we both really like?
2. Who is your favorite cartoon character?
3. Who were the only two people better than you and I at the two-step?
4. Where did I often go on saturdays after golfing?

Two Matriarchs

2006-05-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

In honor of Mother's Day I thought I'd post this photo. Shown are my Mom, myself, and Mama Taylor. We are in the rear parking lot of my Dad's Lakewood clinic. Behind us is our old green station wagon (for the young out there, the term "station wagon" would later evolve into "mini-van," and then "SUV").
This photo was one of several photos and mementos which were gathered by Mom and then given to me in an envelope.
Mom spends most of her days in the realm of the selfless. I look at this picture and see two women who have gone multiple extra miles, many times over.
And that more than anything is why, when Mom told us she didn't "need" anything for Mother's day, we collectively answered, "Too bad! You're not the boss of us!"

Next Year

2006-05-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Alas, I recieved an email today from the assistant stage manager thanking me for auditioning, and letting me know that I was unfortunately not invited to callbacks.
Am I bummed? Yes I am, but not overly so. I still feel good about my audition. The company draws on the best actors in the valley, and on occasion, the country.
Which leads me to one of the amazing things I found out while doing plays here in the valley. The amazing thing was getting to associate with and learn from such amazingly talented people, and that there are so many people who are so incredibly successful in show business (tv and movies), but don't have near the talent of so many people I've gotten to know through the plays we've done together.
My friend Sandy Elias (a director, mentor, and sometime fellow actor) told me that the question he most hates getting from students (he's also a professor at one of the local community colleges) is: "Do I have what it takes to make it in show business?" To paraphrase what he said: There are a gazillion factors which determine success in show business other than talent.
Anyway, they may still call me back. One never knows if they'll need an extra captain, guard, or spear holder. Same money whichever.

Whew!

2006-05-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Finally the weekend. This week was lots more "grind-y" than normal. Not much on the schedule other than Mother's Day festivities on Sunday. I might get together with my singing/guitar partner Mark tommorrow night. More about him later.
I voted twice for "Kat" this week. Yes I watch 'Idol.' I had a feeling she needed the extra vote. Previously I'd been voting once for Taylor and once for Kat. Seriously I thought she was gone. What a time in the competition to give one's poorest perf, huh? I heard from a friend at work (and I can in no way credit or verify this) that she ended up getting just two votes more than Chris. I find that impossible to believe. But if it's true, then all I can say is: "Don't you worry, McPhee, 'cause apparently I got your back!"

Saturday in the Park

2006-05-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is probably my favorite single photo from the NY trip. The location is Bryant Park, where we stopped for a breather while making our way to the ESB. The park actually is bordered on the east by the NY Public Library. We did not know that at the time, however, because the front of the library faces 5th ave. I feel we would have realized what it was had we been able to see those lion statues.
I'd like to be able to say that the photo made me think of the song 'Saturday in the Park' by Chicago. But, in truth I only thought of it after I titled this posting "Saturday in the Park."

SWS Auditions

2006-05-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

The day after returning from NYC (5-7-06) I was scheduled to work eight hours to cover for a friend, and then at precisely 4:05pm I was slotted to audition for the 2006-2007 season of Southwest Shakespeare, one of the top classical theatre companies in the state. I had to audition in front of Jared Sakren, the company Artistic Director. Jared has decades of theatre experience in performing, teaching, and directing. Among former students are such names as Kevin Kline and Helen Hunt. I've been in two SWS shows so far: As You Like It (Charles the Wrestler) and King Lear (I got to tie up the Duke of Gloucester and help put his eyes out). One nice perk about doing a show with them is that you get paid a bit. Signing the contract was memorable ("...Zachary Taylor, hereafter named 'Artist, ' agrees to provide the following services for the company: Actor...").
I had prepared two pieces for the audition. The first was a monologue by Trinculo from The Tempest. I've always found it funny. I was gratified to hear a chuckle from Jared near the beginning of the piece. Upon finishing he asked me for my other piece (encouraging). So I did the Friar Laurence speech from R & J when he comments on how both poison and medicine can
be found in a plant, just as good and evil can both reside in a person.
It went well. Much better than last year for sure, when Jared told me straightaway that there wasn't anything for me. This time he simply said, "Great. Callbacks are in two weeks. We'll be letting people know soon." So, I am not totally certain he will call me back, but at least he mentioned them.

My New Toy

2006-05-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

After taking the previous shot of Lower Manhattan, I decided to really see what my new camera could do. Therefore I zoomed out to the maximum it would go and got this shot of Lady Liberty. Digital zoom? Darn right.

View from the Empire State Bldg

2006-05-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Prior to actually going there, I gleaned most of what I knew of Manhattan/NYC from tv shows like 'Seinfeld' or 'Law & Order' or from films such as 'The Godfather.' When I'd hear terms like "upper west side," "Soho," or "121 W. 81st St" I got no mental picture. I had no idea what those things meant. Now it all makes sense. Thus, now when Briscoe and Green find a body in Morningside Park, I know just where that is. (110th & Manhattan Ave).
I was unprepared for how impressive a place Manhattan is. Central Park is beautiful - a real jewel in so urban a setting. And the natives really do appreciate it. One thing in particular struck me: Upon hearing the name Manhattan in the past, I always thought HUGE, just as a result of it being part of NYC. But really, Manhattan is small. The island is about 2 1/2 miles wide at it's widest- about 2 miles wide on avg. And I'd estimate maybe 10 miles from top to bottom. And yet - places I've often heard of, like Little Italy, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Soho, Tribeca, and Chelsea are all located within the area shown in this photograph. Quite a unique place. FYI, Ground Zero is on the right side among the tall buildings in the far distance. Also you can see Lady Liberty way out there on her island in the upper right.

2006-05-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here are my niece Caitlin and brother Jeff at the Howard Beach train station. This was about 6am on May 6th, 2007. We had departed Phoenix the previous night at approx 10pm and landed at 5:30 am. At this point we are waiting to take the A train into Manhattan. Jeff was experiencing several firsts. Such as: "I am sitting at my first NYC subway Station." Or, "I am now seeing my first real NYC crazy drunk."

Strawberry Fields Forever

2006-05-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, I have a blog. In the end I was inspired to start my own by two things: First, I finally acquired a digital camera. Second, I took said camera with me (along with my Bro Jeff and niece Caitlin) to NYC, where I took lots of photos which came out really well. This shot is of the Imagine mural (is it a mural if it's on the ground?) located in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park. Jeff, Caitlin, and I had a fun and very memorable time seeing the sights. More photos to come.