Saturday, December 21, 2013

A World Which Did Not Exists

A World Which Did Not Exist

Winter solstice. My thoughts go back to Christmas 1945 or 1946. I had perfect parents and perfect grandparents. They met every need but added so much more above the necessities of life. I was just a child of 3 or 4 years old. On Christmas morning(now-a-days I don't spell that with a capital C) I awoke to a beautiful electric train all set up on the wood floor in front of the gas space heater which I still have sitting in my garage almost 70 years later. The train was all metal, perfect in every detail. Its whistle sounded so real like the massive steam engine trains which thundered past our back door all hours of the night shaking the ground as we tried to sleep. There on a side track one train would wait on the other to pass while it hissed and blasted off steam in a night shattering game of waiting. When it was finally clear to go the monster would began a rhythmic series of massive blast of steam and slowly increase its rhythm as it slowly tempered the noise and faded into the night. The idea of Santa Claus was so magical and exhilarating. Mother and Dad poured their essence into making me and my sister happy. I can still see the single strand of tree lights with heavy cord, large bulbs all of which seemed to last more than 20 years. We were allowed to put the lead based "icicles" on the tree...the presents under the tree which we could only handle under supervision. Other wise don't touch!

It seems that that was the year that my uncle Ken came back from the navy and the war in the Pacific to reunite with his bride my aunt Helen at our home. He was laden with gifts which he purchased from the Japanese in Tokyo, Japan. For me he brought a tiny Japanese camera which one could hold in the palm of a tiny hand. It had real film and took real pictures. For my sister there was a hand painted picture of her on a silk roll. A Japanese artist had painted it from a black and white snap shot. The colors were vivid, the lips so very red and like the lips of a Geisha. I remember one other gift which I never considered much of a gift because I was terrified of chief Wahoo, a carved coconut with a fearsome glare on his face. His angry eyes were embedded seashells with great black pupils on bulging white eyes. His face was painted in warpaint, bearing his teeth in a menacing grimace. At his ears hung long dangling sea shells. It seemed I could see his fearsome face even in the dark and could never sleep in the same room. I would never even enter the room without a tight grip on Mother's hand.

Looking back it seems that I grew up sheltered from the hardships and the sorrows of life. I knew mostly joy and laughter...with out want, because in one way or another I was always in the grip of my Mother's or my Daddy's hand. ...and looking back, I realize, now that they are all gone, that world only existed in my mind and my oblivion was nothing like the reality of the rest of the world in 1945. More than 50 million people were killed in WWII including more than 300,000 American service men and women. Millions across the globe were left with scars which I never laid eyes on. Radiation burns, wounds of war, combat fatigue, empty chairs at the dining table.

I grew into the 1950s and 60s. Safe neighborhoods, walking to school,then bicycling to school, lots of guys in the neighborhood, sharing an idyllic life in the perfect post-war family not really realizing that negro children didn't have it so great. There was a public swimming pool 5 blocks from my house where no Negroes came. I hardly noticed. There were no Negroes in any of my schools. I became of age, got a license and a car. When I joined the military service, for the first time in my life the people in charge said, there will be no discrimination regarding race or creed. I slept in a bunk next to Negroes and ate with them at the chow hall. When I later enrolled in college, there were just a few black students, from foreign countries.

One of those students was a black man from Nigeria in his early 30s. Three slash marks on each cheek, of royal blood. In Nigeria he had been a school principal, a Baptist minister, a father of three children who with his wife waited for his return. He was a product of Southern Baptist missionary work there and came to the US for education. He was however not welcome at any Southern Baptist church in Harrison county Texas because he was black and was told to go to the local black churches to worship. He visited in my home, ate at my table. His name was Benjamin Adawoosi. It's been almost 50 years.

No the world I thought existed did not.

Gradually over time I have become a skeptic. Some people call me a pessimist because I have become someone who insist on facing realities. I am so dissatisfied with reality because I believe that people can actually choose to be good and do good. And there is a lot of good in the world and a lot of people doing good; they just do not seem to be in charge. I believe that democracy would work if we ever actually tried it. Eventually it will be tried...in the work place. That's where it will do the most good; businesses owned and operated by the people who work there. Practicing democracy at work.

Judson Malone, Winter Solstice 2013    

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Flying Over the Coastal Range of Northern California


View Larger Map Garberville Airport, Garberville, CA



For those of you who have the Google Earth plug-in, this is what you would see if you were on the left base leg of the traffic pattern approach to the Garberville Airport in Northern California. This was one of the most memorable trips I took in the Piper Warrior I flew while I was a member of the Travis Aero Club while I served in the US Air Force out of Travis AFB, CA. Use this map to explore the Coastal Range of Northern California. Beautiful country!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Walker and Texas Ranger

I was showing some pics of my boys on Facebook and my second cousin posted this in response. (my boys do NOT talk like this)

Monday, July 22, 2013

It's all a matter of perspective


IMG_2315, originally uploaded by androidny.

Not that one.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

My son Connor just got back from a group trip with the People to People Student Ambassador program. He was able to direct me on Google Streetview to the exact spot his group took a break in the ancient city ruins of Pompeii, Italy.


View Larger Map

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Forgiveness



Forgiveness Meme, originally uploaded by androidny. Photo by: Laura Elizabeth
It's definitely hard to swallow... your pride, that is. :-)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Bill Hicks - Just a Ride



Bill Hicks Just a Ride, originally uploaded by androidny.
This glimpse of wisdom was a result of Bill and his close friends going out laying in a field for four hours while under the influence of mushrooms. Here's what he had to say about it:
"I think it's interesting the two drugs that are legal - alcohol and cigarettes, two drugs that do absolutely nothing for you at all - are legal, and the drugs that might open your mind up to realise how you're being fucked every day of your life? Those drugs are against the law. Coincidence? See, I'm glad mushrooms are against the law, cos I took 'em one time, you know what happened to me? I laid in a field of green grass for four hours, going, 'My God, I love everything.' Yeah, now if that isn't a hazard to our countries...How are we gonna justify arms dealing if we know we're all one?"    --Bill Hicks

Friday, May 24, 2013

It’s 2013, And They’re Burning ‘Witches’ | The Global Mail

The perception of truth is dynamic. Otherwise the world would still be flat and we'd be burning witch...es...

It’s 2013, And They’re Burning ‘Witches’ | The Global Mail

Friday, April 26, 2013

AndreaTree2BWCrop


AndreaTree2BWCrop, originally uploaded by androidny.

My friend Andrea.

This is a pic from my first attempt at a photoshoot with my Canon Rebel DSLR.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Roosevelt The Man in the Arena


Roosevelt The Man in the Arena, originally uploaded by androidny.

This man, if he were in the 'political arena' today would have a tough row to hoe... But I would venture to guess that the character of this man would inspire millions to join the good fight right along his side.

Monday, March 18, 2013

How Much is a Life Worth?

WARNING: THIS VIDEO WILL RUIN YOUR ENTIRE DAY.



But you must watch, keeping in mind the following quote:



"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."


--Dalai Lama






Thursday, March 14, 2013

Comet and the Moon


DSC05439, originally uploaded by androidny.

Pan-STARRS comet of 2013 taken with the crescent moon. If you are in the PC web view, you can move your mouse over the image to see where I have marked the location of the comet or from the moon, look up and to the left at about 10 o'clock about 2/3 the way over on the image, you'll see a white speck and upwards to the left, you'll see what looks like a smear which is actually the tail.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Aunt Don's Box of Memories

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Aunt Don's Box of Memories, a set on Flickr.

I stumbled across this and many other negatives contained in a box which was all that was left of my great aunt Donella Smith. I had to fashion a template out of poster board in order to get them to fit on the scanner bed. Most of these haven't been seen in probably 92 years. What as the scanned images appeared on the screen made my hair stand on end as I sat in astonishment.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Clay Mine 360° Panorama

Ever wonder where bricks come from? Here is a 360° panorama of a clay mine pit I worked on recently in East Texas. The walls of this pit are around 40 feet high with a slope of around 20° (STEEP!). Use the navigation wheel to pan and zoom or click the full screen idon.


Friday, February 22, 2013

Curious Traveller

Meanwhile, back on Mars as Earth bound humans are killing each other over conflicting beliefs, Curiosity is making discoveries that may possibly get ourselves out of the jam we have created for ourselves due to our greed. Keep in mind that NASA accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. Care to guess how much we spend killing people with drones?




Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 177 in Out of this World

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Newsroom - Tea Party is the American Taliban

Watch this video and see if what he says fits.



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I don't want to live on this planet anymore... (remove any sharp articles or poison before watching)



Monday, January 14, 2013

Name That Star


DSC04640, originally uploaded by androidny.

Two constellations and one celestial object in the sky. A free gasoline powered dog polisher for anyone who can name all three.