Photo of the Day - May 2, 2007 - Moore's Wall Gorilla

This picture was taken later in the day from Hanging Rock proper, looking out across the park to Moore's Knob and Moore's Wall. I've focused this picture on the ape liek face on the east side of Moore's Wall.

The view from Hanging Rock is pretty awesome. But the view from Moore's knob is breathtaking. We're planning to hike up there Sunday after church if anyone is interested in joining us. I do recommend the Moore's Knob trail. It's the best trail, and best view, within an hour drive of Greensboro.


Moore’s Knob Trail at Hanging Rock State Park; A Review

Imagine sitting on a nice level rock on a sunny day on top of a small mountain, late in the afternoon (early fall or late Spring, take your pick) a cool breeze blowing against a body somewhat tired and sweaty from the climb up. So you pull the sweatshirt out of your pack, grab your water and high energy snack, and settle in. What a day!

You look downward to the north. The mountain falls off steeply into a rolling plain several hundred feet below. There are farms, fields, woods, including ribbon like stretches of dense woods winding from left to right, hiding, it seems, rivers or streams. There are some roads, and off and on the sounds of cars and trucks in the distance. Its fun to try to match sound with sight, to find the car or truck making the sound that you hear. Yes, way down there, off to the right, a little tiny car moves, so slowly it seems, down a narrow band of road. The view is beautiful, and interesting. Then your eye turns upward and beyond, past mile after mile of rolling field and forest to a steep wall of mountain set against the horizon, running southeast to northwest – the blue ridge escarpment! Somewhere up there is the blue ridge parkway, beckoning.

Then you turn your gaze to your left, westward. Below you, your eyes follow along a lovely rocky ridge of mountain, falling very sharply to the north, more gently to the south. Here and there you can get a glimpse of the trail you followed up to where you now sit. You look beyond, a little to the right, and there you see another mountain, Sauratown Mountain, and eastward again beyond that you see the very distinctive outline of Pilot Mountain. And looking even beyond Pilot Mountain, there is again that wall in the distance, the east wall of the Blue Ridge!

You turn your body, and your gaze, southward. Below you the forested parkland drops off into a wooded valley, and rises again quickly to Cooks Wall to the right and Wolf Rock to the left, and to trails to take on another day. You are just high enough above the ridge across the way to see beyond it, beyond to more rolling countryside with farm and field, and beyond more still – yes, there they are, the glistening buildings of Winston Salem, reflecting brightly off the descending sun. You wonder....so you get out your binoculars, and you look beyond and little to the left of Winston Salem, and there they are, far in the distance, the Uwharrie Mountains!

Looking below into the wooded park valley, you can follow the creek line from right to left, down to its entrance into the lake. The creek is covered and surrounded by dark green rhododendron. You can see between the trees bits of the parking lot below where you parked your car. Then a little more to your left, and upward, you see the a craggy triangle of rock jutting out over the ridge below it – that is Hanging Rock, from which the park gets its name. It is further below you in altitude than you would have thought, and further away, and you follow the mountain behind it as it moves off to the south. You wonder who is sitting over there looking back at you!

Your eyes move to the horizon to left, to the southeast past Hanging Rock. Maybe, just maybe….You squint. Your eyes follow the horizon. Yes! There it is! Greensboro, way off into the distance, way past the huge smokestack of the Belews Creek Power Plant, and an hour’s drive away.

Your eye looks eastward through the tops of the trees ringing the peak where you sit, to more rolling countryside to your east. Somewhere down there is Danbury, and the Dan River.

Finally, your gaze turns to the east northeast – some more big hills and small mountains popping up. Is that Smith Mountain, Roanoke Mountain? Where is that map?

You have just taken in the panorama of perhaps the best single view from any peak in the Piedmont of the United States. You are on Moore’s Knob, at Hanging Rock State Park, North Carolina, part of the ancient Saura Mountains, about 2580 feet above sea level, and about 1700 feet above the forest below to your north!

You can leave Greensboro and get to Hanging Rock State Park within an hour (see directions below). Once at Hanging Rock, park in the lot nearest the lake bathhouse (the park road ends in this parking lot). The best way up to Moore’s Knob is the longest way up, the westward part of the Moore’s Knob loop. Parking at the beautiful bath house, you follow along behind the Bath House, paying attention to the signs for Moore’s Knob. Soon you are following the creek up the valley between the peaks of Hanging Rock State Park. The trail is narrow, and there is much undergrowth. Between Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and a few terrible freezing rain storms over the last decade, the trees have been decimated along the creek. And yet, with sunlight pouring down young saplings reach up everywhere. There are now taller than most people. The forest is being reclaimed, and it’s cool to see it changing year after year. A few good pines and oaks survived to your right on the south facing slope, but there are also many dead tree trunks, broken off at varying levels, providing homes, and food, for woodpeckers and other birds. On the trail the leaves brush against your legs. It feels remote, like a little used trail somewhere way up in the mountains of NC.

Soon the trail turns to the right, to the north, and grows steeper. After a short uphill it levels off again at the pass, where, if you took the Tory Den Trail to your left you would pass through the saddle to the west. But you head right, and upward, through a mixed pine and hardwood forest. After a good slog which really gets your heart pumping, you come to the top, to the ridge, where you turn right. It’s still a ways to Moore’s Knob, but what a treat, walking the ridge line, views to your left and right as the mountain falls sharply off on both sides. Little trail spurs take you to special spots with great views through the trees to the countryside or forest below. Now on the ridge line the wind has picked up as well. Trees seem stunted; there is an alpine feel. After another 30 minutes you wind your way to Moore’s Knob. And old forest service fire tower has been rebuilt as a viewing platform, and what a view it is – a true 360 degree panorama of the beautiful NC piedmont!

But you’re tired, so you come down off the platform, and find a nice rocky spot in the sun. You feel the sun on your face, and listen to the sounds.

Your eye catches a turkey vulture riding the wind, sailing along with what seems like great ease, hardly ever flapping his wings. Up close they’re nothing to write home about as far as looks go, but from a distance riding the currents they are beautiful to watch. Then you hear what you think at first is a crow, but it sounds different, deeper, harder. The you see it, a huge crow, no, too big for a crow, it’s a raven, a rare sight in the south, but not a rare sight at Moore’s Knob.

You feel energetic and decide to scramble around a bit. There is a nice rock jutting out just to the north, so you head over there. You explore. It’s a cool place.

Before the sun sets it’s time to head down. Staying on the loop you go down the steep trail that passes from the park campground to the top of Moore’s Knob. It’s very eroded, very rocky, quite steep, and hard on the knees, but in no time you’re down, crossing a creek, passing through the campground, and then down, down, down to the lake and, soon enough, to your car.

You’ve hiked over four miles, though it feels like more, with en elevation change of some 1700 feet. It’s been a great workout, and its time to drive home. A day well spent in piedmont North Carolina!

From Greensboro head north on Battleground Avenue (Highway 220), exiting off onto Highway 158 west to Stokesdale. Pass through both Stokesdale traffic lights. At the second light (there is a grocery store on your right) Highway 158 actually turns to the left, but just keep going straight through the light, which puts you onto Highway 65. Follow Highway 65 , crossing one arm of Belews Lake, and then another. Shortly after you pass Belews Creek Methodist Church on your left, turn right following the signs for Highway 65 which you will take all the way into Walnut Cove. Entering Walnut Cove, and just after the Hedgecock building supply on your right, cross the railroad tracks and then turn right onto Highway 311, which takes you due north through downtown Walnut Cove. Be careful not to speed. On the north end of Walnut Cove, Highway 311 turns off to your right, but don’t follow it. Stay on the road you’re on which becomes Highway 89 North, and which after a few miles joins with Highway 8 in the little community of Meadow, NC. Follow 89/8 into and through Danbury, county seat of Stokes County. You will pass the new county courthouse building and library on your right, and then see a hospital. The entrance to Hanging Rock State Park is to your left across the street from the hospital. Turn left, and just stay on this road, through the park gates and upwards into the park all the way to the end of this road which ends at the place you need to park to hike the Moore’s Knob loop.

Photo of the Day - May 1, 2007 - Red Clay Soil

When many folks think of the Piedmont region they think of the red clay soil. That which we know so well as “red clay soil” is generally what would have been the subsoil two hundred years ago, with much of the true top soil sadly having even eroded away by centuries of poor agricultural practices and top-soil stripping development.

The red clay soil gets its red color from iron oxide. Generally speaking this red clay soil is not laid down by sedimentation but rather built up gradually by break down of the rocks below, this broken down rock then by biological and physical forces getting incorporated into the soil above.

The reputation of the red clay sub soil as being either rock hard when dry or sticky and mucky when wet is well deserved. But the pain of working the red clay soil is somewhat rewarded by the fact that its small clay particles hold water and nutrients well, making the growth of plants easier than what might be expected. And thankfully, by adding lots of the right kinds of organic matter, a clayey loam can be built up over time that is quite manageable and good for gardening.

Some advice: don’t even think of enjoying gardening in this red clay brick/muck unless you have a good tiller.

For years I would get advertisements for those little baby tillers or “cultivators” made by Troy-Bilt or Honda or Mantis or whomever. I would look at them, think of our soil here, and laugh. Right, that little thing would break in five minutes faced with this red brick.

I was wrong. I needed a small tiller for a few small spaces. So one day I bought the Honda version. I am sure they all work just fine. Granted I first used it in soil that had been worked in the past, but it blitzed through it like a hot knife through butter. And though I would not advise doing this often, it will even cut through "virgin” untilled sod. I’ve done that in a couple of places too awkward for my big tiller.

Another thing: these small tillers are great when planting shrubs and perennials and bulbs as well as the yearly annual planting blitz in the spring. Even if you use a shovel or a bigger tiller for ground breaking, these little guys are perfect for mixing compost, manure, and our red soil all together. Just wait for a dry day. Truly, these little guys are regular blenders.

Another tiller tip: front tine tillers will beat you to a pulp here. I used one for several years. It was good exercise. But after a while it got old, and front tine they are always breaking, the belts coming off particularly. Put your money into a rear tine tiller, even if a smaller narrower one. The spaces they can’t get to, well, then you have the “cultivator” tiller for that.

In summary, this is not the coastal plain or the mountains. Good stuff grows out of this red clay, but it’s a royal pain without the right tools. Get the tools. You’ll enjoy years of fun gardening, and with all that gardening the money you put into the tillers will pay for itself in better health and fewer visits to the doctor.
Good gardening to you, mate!

Photo of the Day - April 30, 2007 - My Dad

This is a picture I took of my dad at the Gator Bowl, the one where Clemson got waxed by Pitt. Dad was a good egg to go down with me, diehard Tarheel fan that he was. Though I have many many pictures of him, this one just captures something about the essence of his person the best of all to me. Today, April 30, 2007, would have been my dad's 77th birthday. I know dad would have loved to have known and spoiled all his grandchildren, seen the first grandchild get married this summer, watch his sons hack around the golf course as they got older, paint his roses and camelias, agonize through a few more decades of Tarheel sports, and even go on long photo expeditions with his nature boy son. I so looked forward to moving back to Carolina after two years in Vancouver to be closer to Mom and Dad. Dad died unespectedly and suddenly while we were visiting Columbia just before we moved here to Greensboro. I think of the line in Mr. Bojangles..."After twenty years he still grieves...." Dad, I love you. I see you in my dreams. I miss you everyday. You were a good dad. You always supported me, even my wild haired schemes. I miss our long talks about life. Thank you for loving me.

In memory - Curtis Claunch Gillespie, Jr., b. April 30, 1930, d June 26, 1989.

You can see more pictures of Curtis Gillespie and his gang here.

Photo of the Day - April 28, 2007 - Hanging Rock Sunset

Taken from Hanging Rock Proper, Looking NW through pass or saddle between Cook's Wall and Moore's Knob. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful place so close!

See more pictures of Hanging Rock and other wonderful places here.

Photo of the Day - April 27, 2007 - Pond at Guilford Macintosh Park

I took this while cruising around the county one day. I had never been to this park in SE Guilford County, so I thought I'd check it out. Nice place! When I was younger I loved nothing more than just heading out on long all day exploratory drives or bike rides, where there was no pressure to get anywhere by any certain time, and you could take time to soak in the scenery, talk with the local folks, and see places afresh. Marriage, children employment and such kind of squeeze that out over time. But I am back into my cruising mode! I hope to build up my bike riding strength where I can take off for whole day and just explore, with camera on board! And I hope to do more driving outings as well, so as to go a little farther afield. It's good for perspective. Hey, if you get the chance you should check out Guilford Macintosh Park. It's pretty cool.

Joel

Check out my other photos on Flickr here.

Photo of the Day - April 26, 2007 - Clancey

Clancey was a great dog, and a great pal. I lived near lots of lakes and ponds and we would go on very long walks together - and he would almost always have a swim. I took this picture of him after one of his swims in Forrest Lake. Irish Setters aren't the smartest dogs in the yard, but Clancey knew me, and I knew him, and we had a blast together. I think of him every day, and it's been 27 years since he died of cancer at a young ten years old.

Joel

Photo of the Day - April 25, 2007 - Pine (for Laurie)

I often tell folks up here in the Piedmont of NC about how, growing up, I always saw the sky through the limbs and needles of pine trees. For me, feeling at home (speaking of this life), means seeing the sky this way. It's just in my bones. So, in order to convey what I meant when I said that, this past Thanksgiving I went into my brother's front yard and took some pictures looking straight up. This is how I grew up seeing the Carolina blue sky. I took this one pressed against a trunk of a shortleaf pine - my brother has loblolly, short leaf and long leaf pines in his front yard.

You can see another example here.

Joel

Just Say No to Religious Litmus Tests

One of the few very specific things that Christians are commanded to do when they gather is to pray. These prayers are multi faceted and include praying for “kings and all who are in high positions.” These prayers are not just for the personal well being of the king, but for the well being of the people – “so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.”

The kings that were to be so honored and prayed for were not Sunday School teachers. They were not duly elected officials. Many of them were despots. Nevertheless...

Even if a monarch or an elected official wants to do good, it is no easy task. There are so many temptations facing those who are in power. Most of these temptations involve increasing one’s power, dealing with political extortion, seeking to favor one group over another. It’s not easy being in charge. There is no doubt that power is corrupting for most people.

The Bible was written in non-democratic times. So there is little to say about who Christians should vote for or elect if they have the chance. I have been somewhat disturbed of late by things purportedly said regarding Fred Thompson and Barach Obama and Mitt Romney. Fred Thompson is not, it seems, an especially vibrant Christian, so we should not vote for him. Barach Obama may be a secret Muslim extremist, so we cannot vote for him. Mitt Romney is a Mormon, so we cannot vote for him.

I am an evangelical Christian, one of those “bible believing” types. But it is not at all clear to me that we are more or less better served by public officials who are evangelical Christians like me.

OK, I admit that one’s deepest values will be reflected to some degree in the decisions one makes. This is true of everyone. Everyone. No exceptions. So, for me, I do want to see in my leaders basic broad values that will translate into policies that are in the public good as I understand that.

Nevertheless, there should be no religious litmus test. Is the person a good politician – that is, can he or she work with others, compromise when needed, and get things done? Can the person represent us well publicly? Has the person displayed a fundamental honesty and integrity? Does he or she seem to desire and seek the good of all of those under their charge and not their own good, or not the good of a special few? Is the candidate subject to political extortion by special interests, whether those special interests are corporations, large non profit groups, unions, or whatever.

I have seen two kinds of assumptions that bother me. First there is the assumption already addressed that a man or woman would not be a good president because of a purported lack of religious affiliation or practice. But then there is also the opposite dynamic at work. There is the idea that if a person is a Christian, say an evangelical Christian, that he or she would not be fit for office because of theocratic tendencies. It is silly to suggest that because one may have certain beliefs as a Christian that that translates into some sort of incipient theocratic impulse, or that because there is a kind of exclusivity in one’s religious beliefs (and there is in all religions, perhaps most especially in those who say there is not), there will be an inability to seek the broader public good politically.

So, I am comfortable neither with the political prejudice that some evangelicals tend to have towards non Christians or non evangelicals, nor with the prejudice that many non Christians or liberal Christians have toward evangelical Christians.

I want to see clearly defined intentions and ideals, yet an ability to accept something rather then nothing. I want to see honesty and basic integrity. I want to see an ability to respect and work with one’s political opponents. I want to see a track record of working toward the common good. I want to see an ability to articulate well not only one’s personal policy goals, but also our common local or state or national aspirations. I want to see an ability to resist the power brokers behind the scenes. I want to see an indifference regarding personal power. I would much rather vote for an atheist with these attributes than a Christian without them. I would hope that others would rather vote for a Christian with them than an atheist without them.

Right now, for me, there is one candidate or potential candidate in each major party that seems to have what I want to see. I guess time will tell if either of them is nominated.

Photo of the Day - April 24, 2007 - Pink Zinnia

Ahh, the weather brings anticipation...As a kid I enjoyed planting zinnias, collecting their seeds, mixing them up in a Dixie cup, storing them over the winter, and planting them the next spring. I've always had a fondness for this easy to grow and varied summer flower - and the birds and butterflies like it too! So, what would you call the color of this one? It's sort of pink, but not exactly.

Please feel free to explore my Flickr photos here.

Photo of the Day - April 23, 2007 - Nanny's Garden

This was taken of my grandmother Nanny's backyard in the early 1950's. I canned it from a slide. I grew up working in Nanny's yard, and learned gardening pretty much from her. But I was not yet born when this picture was taken. By the time I was old enough to appreciate things the garden/yard had matured and was even more beautiful - with Azalea, Dogwood, Camellia, Lily, Hydrangea, Tea Olive, Eleagnus, Boxwood (the real kind) and much more! And, by the way, the Loblolly Pines in this creek bottom were/are the largest in Columbia - well over 120 feet - maybe taller - approaching the size of the world record Loblolly's in Congaree Swamp. No kidding. They were amazing. I could lie in the grass and look up at them all day! Many present owners are cutting them down because of the straw on the roofs and fear that the trees will fall on the houses. Plus the new owners generally have no clue about what they have inherited with these yards and gardens. Makes me sad. But Nanny's garden lives in my memory as clear as day. I can 'see" every plant, every footpath. And I can "see" Nanny out pruning as if it were yesterday She was a classy lady! About the house in the background...if you look across the bridge you can see a large area of ground covered by straw. The owners of that house planted a huge shrubbery maze there - it was incredible. As little kids we would run around and get lost in it. Over time, as the dogwoods and other plants matured, in the Spring and Summer when the leaves were all out, you couldn't even see that house.

Please feel free to explore my Flickr photos here.

Photo of the Day - April 21, 2007 - Hiking in Shining Rock

I took this of my friend Bill Marshall on Shining Rock Trail January 1977. I love the tunnel effect of this picture. That weekend had the coldest weather I had ever experienced in the South. It was minus ten F in Asheville, and we camped at the saddle near the top of Shining Rock at 5500 feet. It was beautiful beyond words that weekend, the sun, the snow, the shadows. But it was exhausting. The crust was just hard enough to take almost your full weight before your foot crashed through, so it was like taking the stairs to the top!

See my Flickr collection here.

Joel

Photo of the Day - April 20, 2007 - The Perfect Tree

Post Oak (Quercus stellata), 1000 Block, N. Elm Street, East Side

When I was growing up I lived about two miles from Forest Lake Shopping Center, one of the very first shopping centers in Columbia, SC. I used to ride my bike there all the time. A convenience store sold at the shoppign center sold ICEE's, and that was always a draw in the summer. On the back side of Forest Lake Shopping Center there was a creek that entered into Gills Creek on the far side of the property, and over the creek a nice little walking/biking bridge connecting the Center to the neighborhood behind. Just on the other side of the bridge, and near a lovely grassy field, stood a gigantic old oak tree. I would either sit down against the base of the tree between the large roots, or hoist myself up to the first limb and just sit there and enjoy the ICEE and the day. I still remember that great old tree, though sadly someone eventually cut it down to make room for a new house.

As is typical of post oaks, it was squatty, quite wider in spread than it was tall, with limbs that came straight out from the trunk, the lowest limb maybe eight feet up from the ground. If my memory serves me correctly it would have been about four feet in diameter with a limb spread of 60-70 feet. I miss that old tree.

Along the way I learned that it was a post oak. I can’t say why really but the post oak has become my favorite oak tree, and I happy that they are all over Greensboro.

Even if you don’t know much about trees, you’ve walked under post oaks many times, and it’s not hard for me to help you know when you’re looking up at one.

The post oak is in the white oak family. Among other things this means that the leaves are smooth edged – no pointy bristle tips. Post oak leaves tend to be somewhat dark and glossy-green on top and lighter and somewhat hairy on the undersides. Often the leaf veins are quite prominent. In comparison to other oaks, post oak limbs tend to come straight out from the trunk. They also tend to be crowded (which makes them good climbing trees).

But the single biggest giveaway of the post oak is the shape of the leaf. After I finish typing this I will do a little web search until I find and provide a good link or two for some pictures of post oak trees and leaves. But for now let me just say that the post oak leaf is shaped very much like a Maltese cross. It is quite unique and distinctive in this way. There is no other leaf like it. As to size, we’re talking maybe 4-6 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. Post oak leaves have a habit of not wanting to fall off the tree in the fall, so often post oaks in winter have a fair number of brown hanger-on leaves. As to fall color, well, the post oak isn’t much in that department. Sometimes with the right soil conditions there is a decent show of red. There is often better color in the Spring. As the little leaves unfurl in the Spring they tend to be reddish in color, and this adds to the diverse color palate of early Spring trees.

The post oak trunk tends towards a ruddy brownish-gray color, and is somewhat vertically fissured, occasionally also horizontally fissured leaving a blocked appearance, the more so the older the tree gets.

So, why is it called a post oak? Given its craggy and somewhat scraggly appearance, and tendency toward breadth rather than height, it certainly isn’t because of shape. Well, apparently, according to my tree books, the wood is very dense and hard, and decomposes very slowly, and was thus used by our pioneer ancestors for fence posts, and later for railroad ties. It could have been called “railroad tie oak,” but that doesn’t sound very good. I like “cross oak,” named after the shape of the leaf, but then, I would like that.

There are a whole bunch of post oaks near my office at Bessemer and Elm Street. There are quite a few lining North Elm on the right side as one heads out of downtown, and there are many throughout Fisher Park neighborhood. There is a HUGE post oak in a back yard on the corner of Bessemer and Cherry or Olive. I am thankful that in my own neighborhood of North Hills there is quite a nice post oak right at the corner of Beaconwood and Ropley, and since the post oak is my favorite oak tree, that nice specimen gives me a smile as I walk around the neighborhood.

According to the Guilford County Treasure Tree program, our largest post oak is on the property of Aycock School, coming in at 84 feet in height, 50 inches in diameter, with a spread of 84.5 feet. Here is a link with pretty decent pictures: www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?I...

Photo of the Day - April 18, 2007 - Corduroy Sleeping in the Sun

This is a picture of our five year old male cat Corduroy. I took it on one of those very cold early April days. He found a place by the glass back door to sleep in the sun. I had to get down to floor level and right up close for this. Oddly, the sound of the camera didn't even cause him to stir, even as close as I was. We're pretty tight, surrounded as we are....

Please feel free to explore my Flickr photostream here.

Joel

Photo of the Day - April, 19, 2007 - Trail in Fisher Park, Greensboro

Fisher Park is right next door to downtown Greensboro. Indeed, way back in the early 1800's, when it was decided to relocate the county courthouse to the geographical center of the county, that geographical center was in a low lying boggy area just a little north of present downtown. It was in the area which is now Fisher Park, about two blocks from my office!

I missed posting Tuesday because a big tree in the area went down and knocked out power and phone service.

Please come and visit my pictures here. First thing you'll see is my cat!

My Top Ten Opening Guitar Riffs

1. A Hard Days Night – The Beatles

Well, it’s just a chord, not a riff, but what a chord! Is it not the best beginning of any song in rock music history! Sometimes I play it over and over and over – "Twang”…..rewind….”Twang”….rewind…..”Twang.” Amazing!

2. Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix

It’s hard not to list Jimi Hendrix for song after song if you’re talking about guitar, but I love the opening to Purple Haze in particular - rock guitar in its essence. There is such an unusual and creative dissonance in the riff - I don’t know if Hendrix made these notes/chords up from scratch or what.

3. Statesboro Blues – The Allman Brothers

The Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East is my favorite live album of all time (sorry Peter Frampton). They were so tight, so together, at the pinnacle of their game. I love the energy that begins this song. The entire song highlights Duane Allman’s brilliance on electric slide guitar.

4. Paranoid – Black Sabbath

Some folks give the nod for best Black Sabbath opening riff to Iron Man, which is quite memorable indeed. Plus the mid-song lead on Paranoid is one of the great ones. But there is so much energy in this opening riff to Paranoid that it gets into my head, and into my top ten. For people who want to razz me for liking Black Sabbath, well, they actually had something interesting to say, if you listen, and what a unique sound.

5. Heartbreaker – Led Zeppelin

I almost put the longer mid song riff in my list of top ten best lead guitar solos, but decided I’d go with Stairway to Heaven there, and put Heartbreaker here in best opening riffs. Jimmy page could play guitar just about every which-a-way. If this opening riff won’t wake you up I don’t know what will!

6. Angels of the Silences – Counting Crows

Like A Hard Days Night this song starts with a very unusual chord, but then breaks into a super energized frenetic song, one of my very favorite Counting Crows songs. I am not sure which of their guitarists plays primary on this intro – but I like it!

7. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

This may be one of the most fun and recognizable song openings in the history of rock music, as each instrument comes in, each in turn. But the opening few bars laid down by Ritchie Blackmore stand out as perhaps the most famous opening guitar riff ever. I mean, what is not to love?

8. Tell Mama – Savoy Brown

Savoy Brown was maybe my favorite band for a couple of years in high school. OK, so that’s a little quirky. I just liked them, what can I say? Their singers came and went but Ken Simmonds was always there with his special brand of Brit Blues electric guitar. I am not sure which guitarist played the opening riff for Tell Mama, but it always makes me smile!

9. Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughan

OK, so I like blues, and Texas blues maybe the best. This is a great opening riff. My daughter said it made her think of some rich lady stepping out of a fancy car. Not sure where she got that. But is fitting that the song makes me think of one of my children, as I have tended as a father to “translate” these lyrics away from the romantic aspect to the joy of children (some lines ignored of course)…”Well you’ve heard about love givin sight to the blind, my baby’s love cause the sun to shine, She’s my sweet little thang....she’s my pride and joy.”

10. Reeling in the Years – Steely Dan

Also a song with a great extended lead, the whole mood and feel of the song is set up in the opening riff by Denny Dias. He pretty much repeats the same themes in the longer solo. The song and the opening riff has a pop feel compared to some on this list. I loved this record when it came out and still do!

Photo of the Day - April 16, 2007, Fisher Park, Greensboro

This picture was taken late in the afternoon on Friday April 13, 2007. Fisher Park is a great city park, my favorite, and to be so close to downtown Greensboro at that!

Please feel free to explore my photographs here.

Photo of the Day, April 15, 2007, Birch Catkins

I took this picture this Spring as the Birch trees in our backyard were "blooming" forth their catkins and young leaves. The storms this weekend have made a huge number of them drop and I guess we'll see what impact that that cold snap had. I love catkins!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 14, 2007, Badlands

I took this photo with a telephoto lens while hiking around the rim of the Badlands region of South Dakota. The telephoto creates somewhat of a flattened effect for the distant ridges, but I still like it. It makes for a good illustration of biblical prophetic foreshortening! I love pictures that are more about texture, and I love subtle coloration. I have been asked about the color. Well, I applied no color restoration to the scan of the slide. I remember it as pinkish, but this pink really stands out! This is what a 25 year old slide stored in the dark has to say about the color! I trust that better than my memory. It is amazing how well slides hold their color! I would love to go back someday and spend several days backpacking down in the canyons themselves!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 13, 2007, Rhine River

I find this picture peaceful. I took it on a very very cold morning in early April 1978. It is taken from along the river in a beautiful village called Bacharach, Germany. I had camped right by the shore of the Rhine, sleeping under the stars, and my sleeping bag was not quite enough for the cold. But awakening to this view was worth the trouble. I hope you enjoy it.

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 12, 2007, Kimesville

Kimesville, NC, Dam - at the Guilford-Alamance County Border

I would imagine that most of us have never visited Kimesville, a tiny community in the southeast sector of our county, just inside Alamance County. There is much beauty yet around us if we can but wisely plan how we develop our rural areas. I would love to see pictures that you have of the beautiful spaces and places here at our doorstep.

Photo of the Day, April 11, 2007, Reflection

The Former JP Building, Reflected, Greensboro, NC, taken January 2007

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day - April 10, 2007, NC Mountain Dawn

There were nine of us camping on a saddle between two peaks, east of Asheville I think. Over night the wind whipped up so hard it blew over our tents. Our body weight kept the tents from blowing away. Since we were awake anyway, a friend Sherb and I got up before dawn and basically ran up one of the the peaks, about a mile away, to try to get there before the sun came up. We almost made it. Because we were racing against time I did not set up my tripod, and because it was so cold my hands were barely able to move. To top it off, it was so windy I could hardly stand still! The clouds were flying by and the light was changing almost like flipping a light switch on and off. I just clicked away and got a couple of decent shots. That's about it. A nineteen year old kid trying to grab a moment on film. I realize now the imperfections of the shot photographically speaking. But such a scene - and for North Carolina at that! I have always loved it, and it has a great memory attached. The other guy, well, he has become a REAL photographer - Sherb Naulty who lives in NJ. He has a web page, URL same as his name. He does awesome work. You should look him up!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 9, 2007, Redbud

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.) Greensboro NC

About this picture...well, it was early Spring here in NC, a couple of weeks ago, and many flowers were opening up, and I decided that after two years I would start to learn how to use my new fangled camera, so I went outside and started trying to capture some shots. I broke my telephoto lens a month ago, and was using the 28-80mm Nikon lens. The Redbud in our front yard was in full bloom, and the big bumble bees were everywhere. The aroma was amazing. I wish I could capture that - maybe that's the next invention! I tried to focus in on one clump of bud/flowers - but I am still learning the camera settings and haven't got the DOF figured out! (How I miss the manual SLR!). At least I can still focus! This particular Redbud took a direct lightning hit last summer. It took half the tree down, but the other half lived!

About Redbuds in general

Drive down any interstate highway in the piedmont of North Carolina in early March, and you will see splashes of light purple here and there along the tree line, giving the heart a sense of added hope that Spring is coming. This dash of purple is from one of our more humble native trees, the red bud. Why it’s not called the purple bud is a mystery. Not even the bud itself is red, but some see the color as reddish purple, and perhaps growing in different soils it looks more red than purple. But around here both bud and flower are light purple, or at best purplish pink.

The Redbud is actually a member of the bean family. As early spring flower turns to fruit, and as the summer progresses, thick dark bean pods about 3 inches long hang heavily from the red bud limbs, and providing another source of food for a few birds such as bobwhites and cardinals, and some mammals such as deer and squirrels, though the red bud fruit is generally not a food favorite. Bees however love the nectar of the flowers. The bean pods persist often well into winter hanging and rattling in the winter wind well after the leaves have fallen.

In our early forests, Redbuds, along with Dogwoods and Ironwoods and Sourwoods, would have found their place under the great canopy trees of oak and chestnut and hickory and tulip poplar, taking what sun they could get, and offering another level of habitat for animals and visual beauty for human visitors.

The Redbud makes for an excellent garden tree. It’s leaf is sort of a rounded heart shape, about as wide as tall, three to five inches across. The tree tends toward a bushy appearance with multiple branches, though it can be pruned to one or two primary trunks. It’s a bit of a gangly tree, no two looking just alike, thus lending character to the suburban yard. It grows fairly slowly and reaches a maximum height of 20-30 feet at most.

In the fall the large Redbud leaves turn yellow and tend to fall from the tree all at once, making for easy care.

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Global Warming

A friend of mine recently sent to me an article about the television documentary in Great Britain that challenged conventional wisdom on global warming. He asked me for my take.

I have long written publicly that I am a skeptic about global warming - about how much there actually is, about what the causes of it are, and, if CO2 is a cause, how much of the increase of CO2 is due to human activity. I've read over the course of time too much research that contradicts the mandatory opinion. And too many actual climatologists are unconvinced about it for me to be convinced about it.

My view is that if we 1) take serious extra measures to clean up our air (for ten other good reasons than global warming), and 2) radically reduce our use of hydrocarbon fuels, then we will have done that which is both environmentally and geopolitically sound, and will have reduced greenhouse gases as a result. I am also an advocate of building more nuclear power plants, now that that technology is so much safer and cleaner. Taking this view of course makes me anathema to some fellow environmentalists. So be it.

I think that over the next six months the tide will swing; more and more scientists will feel emboldened to buck the system and say what they really believe about global warming.

Which gets me to the hoopla about John Edward's and Al Gore's respective houses. I think buying carbon offsets is a wussy way to rationalize excessive lifestyles. We don't even know if that approach is effective for reducing CO2. And since we don't really even know that CO2 is the main culprit vis a vis global warming, it's silly at that level too. To make matters worse the energy plants used to provide power for these respective houses are not just spewing out CO2. They are also spewing out all sorts of other nasty pollutants that foul our air and impact the health of forests, animals, and people too. And all that power may well be using up nonrenewable resources such as coal or oil or natural gas.

People like to point to religious folk like me and cry "hypocrite." But there are few folks more hypocritical than globe trotting environmentalist celebrities.

Joel

Better Off Dead?

Animal rights activists are all in a lather over the prospect of a baby polar bear being raised by humans and living in a zoo. Read about it here.

The poor creature was abandoned by his mother and the mean ole zoo keepers decided not to let it die. How terrible. As put in the CNN article:

"Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet."

So, I want to know something. How do they know that the bear will suffer humiliation? Have the captive bears been sending bear notes to the the animal rights folks saying that they feel humiliated? do we really know what makes a bear happy? I mean, we ourselves are genetically wired to be hunter/gatherers, but most of us, if given a choice, would rather not spend our days out in the elements. So how do we really know the polar bear will be miserable? The evidence overall is that bears bond well with human surrogate parents. No reason to think this baby polar bear will be different.

On a trip once to the Toronto zoo one time two of the polar bears were involved in a non stop wrestle and play fight. They seemed to be having a good time to me. Plus they got three squares a day (or the bear equivalent). Do we know that bears would rather have to spend all day hunting (and ripping apart other animals) than being fed. It may make them a little too sedentary and over weight (hey, like me!), but miserable and humiliated?

Animals respond differently to living in captivity. Many, if not most higher mammals seem to find some comfort and ease with having relationships with human beings along with fellow "inmates." Some seem to downright enjoy it. How do we know this bear will be miserable? We don't.

I love animals almost more than I can put into words. I am not overly sentimental or neurotic about it. But the almost universal affection I have for my fellow creatures is a deep part of my being. I am devoted to saving habitats for animals to live in in the wild. Zoos play an important function in helping human beings feel the need to save and preserve animal species and their habitats. They often play a role in staving off extinction. Yes there are some terrible zoos. But they are getting better and better. And do we REALLY know that a bear would rather be our floating on an ice sheet somewhere looking for a nice seal to eat rather then living in a zoo? I don't know if we know that.

I have run into the "life not worth living" argument all too often as regards human beings that we do understand fairly well. It is a bad way of thinking there; it is a bad way of thinking about animals.

I am glad they rescued the little bear, and are feeding it, and will raise it in captivity. It might just live a fairly happy bear life as far as we know, and it might just help a lot of human beings love bears all the more and want to help preserve their "natural" way of life.

And it might just be me, but looking at the picture I get the sense that the little bear enjoys its bottle. But what do I know about what bears enjoy.

Top Ten Singer/Songwriters

So just what do I think makes someone a singer/songwriter?. Well, my criteria are that the person writes both the words and music to a song, sings the song, and plays an instrument in the process. These are four separate skills and they do not always come together in the same person.

1. Bob Dylan

As I sit here, with a push of a mouse, I can listen to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan from the early 60's, to Modern Times of 2006 (including "A Hard Rain’s A’Gonna Fall” to “Thunder on the Mountain”), both albums being excellent collections of songs from the master himself, separated by over forty years. And what a wealth and richness in between! What an amazing career! So many of his songs speak to and touch me, and are so musically and lyrically interesting, that it is hard to know where to even start taking about his music. I will say this though: as much as I already liked Bob Dylan, it was buying The Times They Are a Changin’ a couple of years back that made the ultimate connection and pushed him to number one on my list. Specifically I think it was the “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol” that sealed it. Odd, after so many years with Bob Dylan as part of my life, it was that song that pushed away all competitors in my heart to him having the number one position.

2. Jackson Browne

What can I say. When my brother Mike gave me Jackson Brown, better known as Saturate Before Using, for my 17th birthday, a musical love affair began that has never abated. I will admit that I favor the older stuff, but I’m learning to love some of the newer stuff too. I wish he would get David Lindley back with him on an album. But I want to say this – the guy can still sing, he can still play, and he still has that winsome humor that make his concerts so delightful. When he played here a couple of years ago and started with “Looking into You” I thought I would cry, that being my first or second favorite of his songs. It was a magical night. No musician has dogged the ups and downs of my life like JB. To him I say “thank you for filling my life with your songs." If you don’t know his music I might start with Late for the Sky.

3. Iris Dement

I first heard Iris Dement on Prairie Home Companion. I then illegally downloaded a bunch of her songs (which I don’t do anymore) and was hooked. I have all her CD’s now, so hey, I’m clean. Iris Dement sings with a high twangy voice that carries one over the other side of the other side of the hills, and yet, there is such a surreal beauty to her voice. Her songs are simple though clever, heartfelt though not indulgent, and so very real. she has struggled in her life. When I saw her at Cat’s Cradle there she was in all her, well, plainness, self deprecating, with that great slooooow drawl when she introduced her songs, almost the antithesis of charismatic, and yet the audience was absolutely transfixed. I can listen to Iris for weeks at a time without getting tired of her. For an intro to her music I might suggest My Life.

4. Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is the best singer songwriter that no one has ever heard of. He used to front a band called The Vigilantes of Love, but even then he wrote all the songs, sang them, and played guitar. I have heard him with and without band. Hey, he is available for a house concert this month if anyone is interested. It would be one of the most memorable evenings of your life, I can promise you that. Bill Mallonee has written more good songs than most song writers could ever dream of writing. He speaks from a Christian worldview, but his songs are full of the realities of the fall, that is, the real world, and counts himself amongst those who need help from the outside. For a starter I might go with To the Roof of the Sky but they are all good.

5. Bruce Springsteen

With all due respect to the E-Street Band, which I think is fantastic, I still think of Bruce Springsteen as a simple singer/songwriter at heart. Again, we have a man who has had a long career, and who writes as well now as he ever did. I did not like Springsteen early on. He grated on me. That started to change with Tunnel of Love, then Nebraska, then The Ghost of Tom Joad, "Streets of Philadelphia,", and then, finally, The Rising. The Rising really got under my skin. Parts of it, like "You’re Missing," are almost too much to bear. I confess I am partial to the more mellow Springsteen, but either way, he writes as every man, and what man cannot connect to his lyrics.

6. Hank Williams

The very first LP I ever purchased was some sort of Best of Hank Williams, which I bought at a Roses store after I watched the George Hamilton movie Your Cheatin’ Heart about the life of Hank Williams on TV with my parents. Funny how he spoke to me as an older child. I have his whole collection now, and never cease to be amazed at the uncanny ability he had to put word and music together, and the pathos and humanity of his voice! "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry" is maybe my favorite of his songs, but I’ll take him anyway I can get him! I love Norah Jones’ cover of "Cold Cold Heart."

7. Johnny Cash

From "Folsom Prison Blues" to "Like the 309" Johnny Cash is another artist who was creative and compelling over the course of decades. I am forever thankful to U2 and Rick Rubin for knowing that Johnny Cash had a lot left in him! On top of his incredible abilities as a songwriter, Johnny Cash could cover other people’s music in a way that brought new aspects of the song, not revealed in the original, and I am talking about many of the greatest songs ever written, such as "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," my vote for the most beautiful popular song ever written in our language. Johnny Cash’s "When the Man Comes Around" gives me goose bumps, well, maybe because I believe with him, and anticipate the same terror and wonder and beauty of that day.

8. Keith Green

When I was a teenager, around the time I was first exposed to the Christian faith, I had the blessing of seeing Keith Green in concert several times. He had an “in” with a Christian music station in Columbia and they promoted him heavily. The concerts I saw were just Keith Green and his piano. His songs were not finely produced and slicked up – there was a raw power in the piano playing that matched the power of the lyrics – to convict, to draw, to delight, to terrorize. And he only got better and better until that fateful day in August 1982 when his plane went down and he died an untimely death. Of all overtly Christian artists he remains the one that “gets to me” the most. I would suggest No Compromise as a starter, if you can find it.

9. John Mayer

I hadn’t given John Mayer much notice until this year. My daughter Heather gave me Continuum for Christmas, and it took a while for me to get into it, and then, BAM, he was all under my skin. I love his lyrics – they are both accessible and multi-dimensional - and I like his little lead guitar licks. I have no idea where he is coming from personally, but, for example, “Gravity” speaks to a reality that is very real to me as a Christian. I can hear and understand the song on many different levels. Since Continuum I’ve started listening to his earlier works, and it is a great great find for me. Since he is current, and compelling, I give him the nod over a couple of great artists in the “others receiving votes” section below.

10. Norah Jones

Norah Jones is a fabulous artist. I can’t wait to see her here on April 24 with Heather. What jazzy soulfulness, and, as was shown on The Little Willies, what a capacity just to have fun with music! When I first heard her first album I was drawn in quickly. She reminded me a little of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Roberta Flack – which means that despite being very current and contemporary she was accessible to an old guy like me! It’s nice to have current music I can enjoy with my children. I might suggest Feels Like Home as a starter – that makes me think of “Humble Me.” I mean a great song is a great song, and that is great song.

Others Receiving Votes

Carole King
Gordon Lightfoot
Van Morrison
Joni Mitchell
Glenn Campbell
John Prine
Lucinda Williams
Roberta Flack
Janice Ian
Sarah McLachlan
Neil Young

Next Top Ten - Top Ten Rock/Pop Groups

The Beatles
The Allman Brothers
U2
Led Zeppelin
Counting Crows
CCR
CSNY
Fleetwood Mac
Savoy Brown
The Dixie Chicks

Microsoft Code, Blogger, Iran, Gulliani, Islam, Roses, John Mayer

Last week I was asked by a reader for an opinion from the "other side" of the pulpit. I wrote out some thoughts in a text file and pasted them into Blogger. Despite pasting in from a text file, apparently there was still Microsoft code in the piece, which I think kept it from getting picked up by the aggregator. The 101 aggregator hates loose Microsoft code in Blogger. I've tried to get rid of it. If someone could tell me if they see this post it would help me.

My response to the invitation was as follows...

My pulpit opinions having to do with the kingdom of God don’t get much of an ear around here. And as a private citizen, I have no more voice or credibility or insight than anyone else. I am happy to tackle any thorny biblical/theological matter if asked, wearing my pastor hat. I am happy to opine on the state of things, with my pastor hat off.

I look forward to the Spring garden. I have lots of plans -- roses, new butterfly plants, lilies, maybe abelia. Of course the usual veggies.

I’ve spent a lot of spare time lately on my big genealogy and Flickr projects. That’s what has keep me quiet.

So, machine gun variety, some opinions:

We can’t just up and leave Iraq, no matter how or why we got there. The only reason to do so would be out of some perverse joy to see Muslim people slaughter each other. Well, maybe just being naive would be another reason.

If Iran won’t comply soon, someone will have to take her out – her weapons systems I mean. We simply cannot have Iran with the bomb. Under no circumstances can we let that happen. That would spark a nuclear race in the Middle East. That would threaten countless millions of people, and would ultimately kill thousands more Americans than would result in an attack soon and their retaliation.

We have to get unhooked on their oil. That needs to be a hugely serious effort. It has to include more than ethanol - but wind, solar, new types of batteries, new high tech hydraulics, and I think nuclear energy. Do Democrats and Republicans have the will to do this? I am not sure. Duh, we're funding the very people killing us!

I am so confused now about global warming I don't know what to believe anymore. But I do know that there are a hundred good reasons otherwise to clean up our air, and just doing that would take care of a lot of the warming problem right there (because it's not just about CO2) and solve other problems we're sure of in the process.

On immigration, particularly from Mexico, were I king, I would do two things. I would grant almost universal amnesty and fast track to citizenship to all illegal immigrants already here who are not criminals. I mean, are we going to kick them out? No. So why not just accept reality and embrace them. I would lock down the borders so tight, no matter how much money and manpower it took, that the flow would come to a trickle. I would criminalize the hiring of illegals. We cannot be Social Services for Mexico. Their leaders have squandered countless billions of dollars of oil revenues, they are corrupt, and they leave the poor people in squalor. They need to figure out their own mess.

On local stuff, I think the latest tape will prove hugely damaging to David Wray. I don’t care how nice he is. That was abuse of power.

On our local councils – what, are you kidding. They should make a comedy show out of us. Speaking of which, we have to do something about the real estate whores in our leadership so as to reduce sprawl, protect open spaces, single family neighborhoods, and everyday non affluent people.

We need to give students in terribly disfunctioning schools choice – vouchers.

Lee Street is a disgrace to the city. I hope we clean it up.

About taking to democracy to the Muslim world, I mean, is George Bush in idealistic la la land? Ok, maybe we can show that most Muslims want peace and stability and not suicide bombings. That's one thing. But a secular government is another. The very notion of a secular nation is contrary to Islam. Islam is fundamentally, at its core, theocratic. It would be like telling me I can only be a Christian on Sunday to tell a Muslim his government cannot be guided by Muslim law. It isn’t going to happen.

Turkey is an interesting experiment that may not last.

Secularization, and secular government are an affront to Islam. Nor does our secular materialistic sex drenched culture help matters. No wonder they hate us. Maybe if we hated us more things wouldn’t be so bad with us in the world! I mean by that hated our excesses, hated our gross materialism, hated the way we export so much smut. It’s no wonder...

And why do we wink at China’s oppression? Money. Money rules. It rules Democrats. It rules Republicans. But maybe we’re too far down that path to change it.

I am happy about the Honda plane deal.

On the upcoming elections. I think it will be Hillary against Rudy. It should be a dandy. If the Democrats keep looking the other way about Iran and the imminent danger she poses to Israel, us, and many others, I think Lieberman will jump to the Republican camp.

I’ve been groovin’ on John Mayer lately. I love “Continuum.” Oh, and my daughter and I are going to go see Norah Jones. I am so excited about that.

I have gotten a serious photography bug again. It is like a long lost friend come home.

I turn 50 this year. Wow.

Well, all for now.

Joel

Iran, Gulliani, Islam, Roses, John Mayer

Last week I was asked for an opinion from the "other side" of the pulpit. Despite pasting in from a text file there was still microsoft code in the piece which I think kept it off the aggregator. If someone could tell me if they see this it would help me.

My response to the invitation was as follows...

My pulpit opinions having to do with the kingdom of God don’t get much of an ear around here. And as a private citizen, I have no more voice or credibility or insight than anyone else. I am happy to tackle any thorny biblical/theological matter if asked, wearing my pastor hat. I am happy to opine on the state of things, with my pastor hat off.

I look forward to the Spring garden. I have lots of plans -- roses, new butterfly plants, lilies, maybe abelia. Of course the usual veggies.

I’ve spent a lot of spare time lately on my big genealogy and Flickr projects. That’s what has keep me quiet.

So, machine gun variety, some opinions…

We can’t just up and leave Iraq, no matter how or why we got there. The only reason to do so would be out of some perverse joy to see Muslim people slaughter each other. Well, maybe just being naive would be another reason.

If Iran won’t comply soon, someone will have to take her out – her weapons systems I mean. We simply cannot have Iran with the bomb. Under no circumstances can we let that happen. That would spark a nuclear race in the Mid East. That would threaten countless millions of people, and would ultimately kill thousands more Americans than would result in an attack soon and their retaliation.

We have to get unhooked on their oil. That needs to be a hugely serious effort. It has to include more than ethanol - but wind, solar, new types of batteries, new high tech hydraulics, and I think nuclear energy. Do Democrats and Republicans have the wil to do this? I am not sure. Duh, we're funding the very people killing us!

I am so confused now about global warming I don't know what to believe anymore. But I do know that there are a hundred good reasons otherwise to clean up our air, and just doing that would take care of a lot of the warming problem right there (because it's not just about CO2) and solve other problems we're sure of in the process.

On immigration, particularly from Mexico,, were I king, I would do two things. I would grant almost universal amnesty and fast track to citizenship to all illegal immigrants already here who are not criminals. I mean, are we going to kick them out? No. So why not just accept reality and embrace them. I would lock down the borders so tight, no matter how much money and manpower it took, that the flow would come to a trickle. I would criminalize hiring of illegals. We cannot be Social Services for Mexico. Their leaders have squandered countless billions of dollars of oil revenues, they are corrupt, and they leave the poor people in squalor. They need to figure out their own mess.

On local stuff, I think the latest tape will prove hugely damaging to David Wray. I don’t care how nice he is. That was abuse of power.

On our local councils – what, are you kidding. They should make a comedy show out of us. Speaking of which, we have to do something about the real estate whores in our leadership so as to reduce sprawl, protect open spaces, single family neighborhoods, and everyday non affluent people.

We need to give students in terribly disfunctioning schools choice – vouchers.

Lee Street is a disgrace to the city. I hope we clean it up.

About taking to democracy to the Muslim world, I mean, is George Bush in idealistic la la land? Ok, maybe we can show that most Muslims want peace and stability and not suicide bombings. That's one thing. But a secular government is another. The very notion of a secular nation is contrary to Islam. Islam is fundamentally, at its core, theocratic. It would be like telling me I can only be a Christian on Sunday to tell a Muslim his government cannot be guided by Muslim law. It isn’t going to happen. Turkey is an interesting experiment that may not last.

Secularism, secularization, and secular government are an affront to Islam. Nor does our secular materialistic sex drenched culture help matters. No wonder they hate us. Maybe if we hated us more things wouldn’t be so bad with us in the world! I mean by that hated our excesses, hated our gross materialism, hated the way we export so much smut. It’s no wonder…

I am happy about the Honda plane deal.

On the upcoming n elections. I think it will be Hillary against Rudy. It should be a dandy. If the Democrats keep looking the other way about Iran and the imminent danger she poses to Israel, us, and many others, I think Lieberman will jump to the Republican camp.

I’ve been groovin’ on John Mayer lately. I love “Continuum.” Oh, and my daughter and I are going to go see Norah Jones. I am so excited about that.

I have gotten a serious photography bug again. It is like a long lost friend come home.

And why do we wink at China’s oppression? Money. Money rules. It rules Democrats. It rules Republicans. But maybe we’re too far down that path to change it.

I turn 50 this year. Wow.

Well, all for now.

Joel

Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way, Review Reprise fom June 2006

I wrote this first in June. Present comments are in brackets.

Bad news today [June 2006] about the upcoming Dixie Chicks tour. Ticket sales are sluggish, and some of the dates and venues may have to be pulled. They are scheduled to play here October 22nd. I’d like to go, so I hope this is not one of the venues pulled.

I bought their new CD, Taking the Long Way, a couple of weeks ago. The CD consists of fourteen songs all written by the Dixie Chicks with some helpers here and there.

Based on their original songs from their last CD, I am all for a CD of their own songs. I think they are terrific song writers. In fact, musically, Taking the Long Way is a superb piece of work. I have no idea what genre to call it. It’s not country, not really rock or pop, not blue grass. Maybe some sort of folk/country/pop/rock fusion. But I’ve never cared about genre types really anyway.

There are enough melodic hooks, unexpected but cool chord changes, surprises as to where you think a song is going, to cause me to expect to enjoy the CD for a long time to come.

Their single, which I heard them do on Leno or Letterman, is Not Ready to Make Nice. It is basically a middle finger to the country music powers that be, and the fans who got on their case after Natalie Maime’s comments about President Bush while they were on tour in England.

I admire their spunk. Not being a fan of the Country Music Establishment I don’t mind their rebellion against its rules and standards. Good for them.

Not Ready to Make Nice is not even in my top five favorite songs on the CD. As of today I’d go with Baby Hold On as my favorite, Easy Silence second, Everybody Knows third, Bitter End fourth, and The Long Way Around fifth. But I expect that to change as I listen to the CD more and more.

I think the Dixie Chicks are simply great musicians and songwriters.

I also think they have been really stupid, and have dug their own grave to a great extent. [well I guess Hollywood put Nasville in its place Sunday night!]

The crack about President Bush made in England before an adoring British anti-war crowd was just a cheap shot, and that it was taken out of country at the beginning of the war justifiably rubbed people the wrong way. Their upcoming concert was mentioned at the Chris Daughtry show at Grimsley Stadium and there were resounding boos. I don’t think those folks were all Republicans.

I really don’t think most people care what Natalie Maime’s personal view is of the war in Iraq or President Bush. She is hardly uniquely qualified to offer intelligent commentary. She is free to run her mouth as she sees fit. [She ran it too much at the Grammys] People are free to buy their CD’s and go to their concerts as they see fit.

The Dixie Chicks should incorporate their thoughts about life and the world – and the war – in their art, in their music. They do this to some extent in "I Hope" which I find to have a hopelessly naïve “why can’t we all just get along” message, but I still like the song. I just don’t think political commentary, even in music, is their strong suit. And I am a fan of good protest music, even when I don't agree with it. OK, so I miss the sixties. [and seventies already...War Pigs and all!]

Much of the CD is about how they have dealt with their fall from grace. There is too much of it for my taste. I think the over focus becomes self indulgence. It focuses attention too much on their own struggle with their fans and with country stations when there are simply too many other things to write about. Yet, existentially, they have been living in that struggle, so it is no surprise that they would write something about. Just too much I think.

What I worry about is that the buying of their CD’s or the attending of their concerts will be less about their music and more about whether people agree with or disagree with their political stance. I think that would be a real shame.

Having said all that, I will keep enjoying the CD for its musical excellence, and if I have the money I will go see them when they come here, if they do. And, again, I admire their grit.

Mostly I admire their music making. I admire their genre busting. I admire their musicianship, and that of their supporting cast. I just wish they would change the subject a little bit.

In Memory of Rachel Elizabeth Johnson

Dear Friend,

Tomorrow, February 9, 2007, marks the twenty year anniversary of the death of two and one half year old Rachel Elizabeth Johnson. Rachel was my sister Mary’s first child.

A month or so ago. in working on my own 2007 calendar, I realized to my surprise that we were soon coming up on this 20 year anniversary. Then, shortly after that, I came upon some old photo albums my mom had put together of the first grandkids when they were young. Suddenly I had all these pictures of Rachel. Hmmmm.

So I talked to my sister and we decided together that putting together a “set” of pictures in Rachel’s memory on my Flickr site would be good and appropriate. So I have stayed late many days at the office going through these old albums, scanning pictures, trying to fix some of them that had faded or become discolored, and hoping to reach a goal of 100 pictures by the 9th. With my sister’s help I reached that goal yesterday.

Rachel’s death was very sudden, as she was overcome by a bacterial infection that invaded her body, and which looked like the flu or a stomach bug until it was too late. Almost all the organs of her body had been laid waste by this infection. She never had a chance.

It is hard to put into words the sense of loss and devastation of that day and that week. Rachel was the first grandchild in the family, born about a month before my oldest daughter Shannon. Rachel was the apple of my parent’s eye. She was a lively and inquisitive and lovely child.

I don’t think there is anything in life so terrible as to lose one’s child. It was hard enough for the rest of us. My parents were devastated beyond words. I suppose that some of the sorrow felt by the rest of us was sorrow not just in Rachel’s death and thus our own loss, but the pain of knowing how deeply this death had cut into the hearts not only of Mary and Sandy, but of my parents, and Sandy’s parents. It was beyond articulating.

There is a kind of grief without hope that goes beyond coping. Thankfully, my sister Mary and her husband Sandy were and are solid Christians with a strong and real trust in God, and a true Christian hope. Despite Rachel’s age, and all the nagging questions that accompany such terrible things, she not only was a covenant child, but also a child who seemed even as a little girl to have a lively and real faith in her own right. Thus the devastation was accompanied and diminished somewhat by our common hope.

My daughter Shannon was born about four weeks after Rachel, and as we all lived in Columbia at the time, Shannon and Rachel were together a lot. Rachel would be just about 22 ½ were she still alive today.

Mary said to me when we were thinking about this that she wanted her friends and family who knew Rachel to remember her, and those who did not know her to have a glimpse of this dear life that had lived so briefly on this earth, and which had had such a huge impact on my family. Mary did not, and does not, want the memory of her first child forgotten.

Similarly I want to share this part of my life with those who may know me. These things never “go away.” They remain with us; they are always in the background. They impact our personalities and spirits in many ways. One cannot know my sister, nor can one know me either, without knowing this part of our lives.

So this is my tribute to my niece Rachel, and to my sister Mary and her husband Sandy, and in a way to all of us who were so much a part of the life of this little precious person.

In Memory of Rachel Elizabeth Johnson.

Joel

My Top Ten Beatles' Songs Not On “1.”

Whoa, this is hard. There are SO many. I think the list would change from day to day. Here is today’s list.

1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

This is my favorite George Harrison song, though I can’t say I understand it. I do like the idea of randomly picking up a word or a phrase and building a song around it. I liked the regular version enough already with the Clapton lead, but recently I heard a more acoustic version on “Love” that includes more or different verses, and it is beautiful. I think I may like that version even better!

2. Because

I can’t decide if the whole medley on side 2 of Abbey Road should be considered as one song, so I have compromised and just chosen the first part of the medley, “Because.” Again, the acappella version on “Love” underlines the beauty of the harmonies, as well as the symmetry and simplicity of the lyrics, which for me has various levels of meaning. There is an ethereal quality that shows a side of the band I wish had had more time to develop.

3. Across the Universe

This is my all time favorite song about writing songs, and one of Lennon’s most poetically beautiful songs ever. They are to me a window into his heart – or shall I say his best self.

4. Rocky Raccoon

So many people find this song funny, yet, there is a pathos in the opening notes that pervades the song to me. It is a fun and silly story, but it also is sad, and it also raises lots of profound questions, all surrounding the Gideon Bible theme.

5. I Am the Walrus

OK, it is more a less a nonsense song, a medley of unfinished songs and silly phrases with all kinds of silly word play and heavy duty tripping out behind it, but musically it just appeals to me.

6. I Saw Her Standing There

This is a quintessential early Beatles song. Somehow the inherent energy of the song, the in-you-face rocking out beginning, survived the toned down editing of the early records, though there is a bootleg version that will blow your skin off. It reminds me that the Beatles were an incredible working band for years and years, and the world had not quite seen such a show of musical force.

7. A Day in the Life

A neat concept, sort of existential and all, a slice of life, a miscellaneous day, depicted in two ways, via the news and via personal experience. Great blend of two songs with complementary themes, plus all that orchestrated tension!

8. Revolution

What can I say, I love to crank this up as loud as my speakers will play it and ears stand it. I prefer the fast version. Maybe this song contains one of the few instances where I actually agree with John Lennon! There is a lot of wisdom in this song, and what a great guitar/drum opening!

9. If I Fell

OK, I grant, this maybe the most schmaltzy sounding of all Beatle’s songs, but the harmonies are beautiful, and the sentiment realistic. One can sense John’s fear all over and around this song.

10. I Me Mine

It sounds like a total smack down of the rest of the band to me, though Harrison said not. I think it’s just a groovy song, and pretty much expresses the narcissism of our day pretty well. Let It Be was actually the first Beatles album I bought with my own money – I was only 12 when they broke up – and I have always had a deep affection for it, Phil Spector notwithstanding.

I Love Snow

I am sitting in my office looking out at the beautiful snowfall. This old southern boy loves snow. And it makes sitting in an office almost bearable - just to look out at it.

Some of my best memories of childhood involve snow, sleet, and freezing rain, with the family huddled around the fireplace, my dear Irish Setter Clancey loopy with happiness, long walks, great sledding (Columbia is quite hilly), stupid games like standing under pine trees and running when we hear the limbs pop. And boy did they pop, like gun shots.

Then there was the "great" snowfall, in February, of 1972 I think, or maybe '73. That storm came up from south of Columbia. Orangeburg, SC got 22 inches. Columbia got 14-17 depending on here you were, and north in Greenville they had maybe one inch. It started snowing while we were in school. They let us out and my bus couldn't make it to y home, so we had to walk the last two miles. Got sort of lost on a golf course, but that was all part of the fun! I remember the huge enormous flakes, floating down so slowly like parachutes. There was no wind. The snow fell straight as an arrow. We had a little metal rail around our back porch. It was maybe an inch wide. So absent was any wind that an inch wide wall of snow built up on the rail over a foot high. It was incredible. The snow fell all day. When we woke up the next morning it was still snowing. We had never seen anything like it. It made us so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. I remember being out in the front yard with my dog. I would stretch my hands out to each side and just fall straight backwards - right into fluff. I would lie there, the surrounding wall of snow above my eyes to the right and left. It was so warm and so peaceful lying there, well, until Clancey pounced. He wasn't going to waste this opportunity lying around. He wanted to play.

South of us along I-95 in southern SC people were in grave danger. Helicopters flew in to rescue stranded motorists. I think the governor declared a state of emergency.

So, looking out my window, I remember how much I love snow. Maybe one's love if it is inversely proportional to how much one gets. I would guess the snow gets old week after week, month after month.

But for me it is all joy. Thank you God for the snow today!

Top Ten Albums

Well, here I go, trying to be true to my resolutions. The is the second of my top tens, but the first real one really. OK, I do this for fun for me. But I’d love your feedback.

By albums I mean, 1) albums I own, 2) non “best of” albums, and 3) lifetime favorites, as of today. Of course "album" and "CD" mean the same as far as the list goes.

Choosing favorite albums is kind of like choosing between beautiful sunsets. Numbers 11-99 all come close.

OK, here goes, roughly in order….

1. The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East – – The Allman Brothers Band

I suppose they are my favorite band of all time, if I had to choose. The Brothers were on top of their game during the Fillmore Concerts. They are incredibly tight and together, even in the long jams. It may include the best beginning of any album ever – the intro to Statesboro Blues. I like all the songs, but Stormy Monday may be my favorite. With Duane and Dickey both cooking, and throwing in a great organ solo by Gregg - it’s hard to beat. I was recently given the re-mastered version that preserves more of the original order of the Fillmore Concert. I recommend it. By the way, I saw them in concert in Columbia on their Brothers and Sisters tour. Too bad I missed Duane, but that still ranks as my favorite concert of all time.

2. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs – Derek and the Dominos

I bought this early in my teens, and it has followed me around all my adult life. I go through phases, listening to it for weeks in my car, and then putting it aside for a year or so. It gets better to me every year. It’s hard to know what to say about this record. It’s rough and under produced, Clapton’s voice is far from sterling, and yet the record is incredible in its emotional power, its consistency, and its mood. So, my two favorite albums both include Duane Allman. Well, I guess I like the blues, and on this record it’s hard to beat the double guitars wailing on Have You Ever Loved a Woman. And to know how true it was for Clapton!

3. Moondance – Van Morrison

Talking about a record of no bad songs! Van Morrison has been a brilliant song writer for decades, and is still going strong. But of all his records this is the smoothest, most consistent, and most emotionally powerful. I’ll tell you, it’s hard for me to listen to Into the Mystic or Brand New Day without tears. I’ve asked that Brand New Day be played at my funeral! The fusion of rock and jazz, electric instruments and horns, is brilliant. But the one word that comes to my mind when I think of this record is "smooth.”

4. Late for the Sky – Jackson Browne

I have listened to the record so many times in my life, and in so many places, and under so many circumstances, that it feels like an extension of me. I consider it his best work. Well, I think of Jackson Browne and David Lindley as a collaborative team. Can we imagine these songs without Lindley’s slide guitar or beautiful violins? My Clemson roommate and I used to play Road and the Sky at top volume and dance around the room before every Clemson home football game. What a great opening line! Over time, the more mellow works have meant more to me – For a Dancer, Fountain of Sorrow, Before the Deluge. What can I say, I love it.

5. Abbey Road – The Beatles

This only entered my top ten this year. I went through a spell when I could not stop listening to it, after I read the long Beatles bio. I don’t know if it is their best record, but it is for now my favorite of their records. I especially am drawn to the medley on side two, which I find to be an ever constant source of musical interest. It is a diverse and eclectic record, more a group of individual works, except for the brilliant medley, which is a compendium of connected short works and themes owned by all of them. “Because the world is round...” I mean, is that ethereal beauty or what?

6. My Life – Iris Dement

I know, who is Iris Dement you say? Well, she is a folk/old country/twangy singer songwriter from the other side of the other side of the hills, and her songs are piercing and haunting. Having now seen her in concert this past summer I realize that there is an aura about her plain Jane no frills persona - transcendent almost. The woman can write songs that make you cry or laugh or remember loved ones or hope for better things. You name it. The song My Life is a favorite.

7. Slow Train Coming – Bob Dylan

I remember when I first listened to Slow Train Coming on my parents' big living room stereo console. I wept. I also spent like three hours trying to write down all the words. If only we had had the internet back then! I love the hard driving bluesy feel to much of the record, yet Precious Angel, I Believe in You, When He Returns, and Man Gave Names to All the Animals are favorites. Mark Knoppler’s guitar on Precious Angel is world class. And I still consider it to contain Bob Dylan’s best singing of his entire career!

8. The Joshua Tree – U2

I didn’t like 80’s music. Big hair, big shows, big production, power ballads, all balanced by punk which I found tiresome. I had about given up when my Toronto nephews turned me on to U2. So I got involved in music again. And when Joshua Tree came out, I sensed it was simply a special, magical accomplishment. U2 is a great band, and I have liked most of their permutations. But give me Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, With or Without You, Bullet the Blue Sky, and One Tree Hill and I am just fine. And by the way, their Where the Streets have No Name at the Super Bowl after 9/11 was both sensitive and magnificent. I can’t wait.

9. Audible Sigh – Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love

Bill Mallonee, formerly of The Vigilantes of Love, has labored in the world of independent labels for most of his career, which is too bad in a way, given that he is up there with Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne as a songwriter. And his voice grows on you. Resplendent, with a little back up vocal help from Emmylou Harris, is one of the greatest songs ever written by anybody. He was and is a poet, and a bard, and a knower of the human condition. This is a great record.

10. Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin

It’s hard to choose between a whole bunch of records for my top ten, including two or three Led Zeppelin ones, but I give the nod this week to II. I didn’t like Led Zeppelin so much when I was younger. Oh, yeah, me and all my friends spent hours trying to figure out the meaning of Stairway to Heaven, but the driving force of their music, and Robert Plant’s voice grated on me. Not any more for some reason, and I am appreciating more and more their musical brilliance as a band. It’s hard to pick a favorite song on this record, but I might just give the nod to Heartbreaker, due to the incredible lead guitar riff.

Well, that’s the top ten for today!

Going the Extra Mile in Iraq

So, Bush is going to call for a temporary increase in troops in Iraq tonight, and there will be many voices of opposition. Should be interesting.

This is my take. We the United States are not responsible to settle every squabble and fight and solve every problem in the world. We cannot do that. And many places are not well able to accept parliamentary or representative democracy. This may be due to long standing ill will between groups of people, or it may be due to conflict between secularism and theocracy, as in many Muslim countries. I am sure it’s very complicated. It took us a long time to figure it out and we’re still working on it.

We may or may not succeed in bringing true order to Iraq. Adding to the internecine fighting is unhelpful input from surrounding countries, and frankly, our own decision to disband their army and much of their police infrastructure.

Rightly or wrongly we invaded and we got rid of Saddam Hussein. We have done many good things there which go under the media radar for the most part.

But it is a big mess. Will the potential leaders of Iraq be able to pull their country together with increased help from us? I don’t know. We may at the end of the day have to leave the place a total wreck.

However, since we invaded, destroyed much of their infrastructure, exposed their citizens, men women and children, to months and years of fighting and unrest, I believe that we have a moral responsibility to go the extra mile to try to bring as much stability as we possibly can, even at the risk of more casualties and more pressure on our already stretched armed forces.

For me it would be unconscionable to leave the place in a worse state than we found it. We simply cannot and must not do that to the normal everyday people of Iraq. It would, to me, be profoundly unjust, indeed, morally cruel to do so, and we would share with the intractable Iraqi clerics and leaders the blood guilt for what followed.

I don’t think we have yet gone the extra mile. So I think it is right to try to secure more stability, buy time to train more Iraqi troops and police and leaders, and help the fledgling Iraqi government as much as we can.

It is easy for us to criticize them and say they are not carrying their weight, but that is asking a lot in just a few short years following the brutal dictatorship they had.

So, I for one am glad for the troop increase. I cannot say that I know it will work or achieve its objective. But I think we owe it in a profound way to the Iraqi people to try, no matter if we should have gone in in the first place.

And that’s my two cents.

Joel

A New Year a Week Late

Ahhh, how has the blogosphere been without me? Probably not noticing my absence! But just as Arnold said, "I'll be back" and he came back, so I'm back, for better or for worse.

My wife had to go help with her mother in Toronto for ten days over the holidays so everything in my life sort of got postponed for a week or so. Thus my New Years resolutions are a week or so late.

I've thought about several things I want to do every day, or most every day, and one of those is publishing a top ten list. So, in the spirit of that resolution I thought I'd post my list of the top ten things I want to do every day (or most every day).

1. Read my bible and pray

2. Love my wife and kids

3. Post a top ten list on Blogger. I have already thought of about 150 possible top tens.

4. Post a "thought of the day" on current events, movies, music, nature, Christian discipleship, etc., either on my Blogger or my Word Press site, the latter set aside for more explicitly Christian stuff.

5. Take a picture of something Guilford County or Greensboro related and post it within a day or two on my Flickr site.

6. Post at least 5 older photo's on my Flickr site. I have become an extended family archivist and this is proving to be a great blessing. Check it out - http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelgillespie/.

7. Walk around the block. Any block. Or footpath. Or trail. Take camera. Pray, take pictures, keep walking, or not, or run even.

8. Comment on one other person's blog or Flickr site - everyday. Just do it.

9. Write a card or letter - a physical hand written note - every day, to someone - family, friends, church, Greensboro community - someone. Got to get those cards and stamps.

10. Beat myself up for not getting all ten things done I want to do every day - or nine I guess minus this. Since I'm very good at beating myself up this will be the easiest.

PS - Good game Florida, but I vote for Boise State for # 1.
PSS - Who is the only undefeated division I basketball team today, umm, tell me? I can't hear you! (That could well end tonight!)
PSSS - John Kerry isn't really going to run again is he? Don't know if I can bear it.
PSSSS - Would some good candidate PLEASE come forward from one party or another?
PSSSSS - I can't believe I am saying this, given my dislike of country music, but Pickler did it - it is a really good CD! Go Kellie! (for a different view go to http://www.votefortheworst.com/pickler.html)
PSSSSSS - I'm on a Led Zeppelin kick these days. Been enjoying IV and Houses of the Holy this week. Last night I was jammin' to Misty Mountain Top coming home from the game. Great opening groove.
PSSSSSSS - New York has smelled every time I have been there.

All for now!

Come and See

I was talking to a fellow blogger yesterday and explaining why I had been a little less visible in the blogging world of late, not that it’s any great loss. But I shared with him that I had been involved the last couple of months in a picture and slide scanning/organizing/posting project that had taken up most of the extra time I had.

I invite you to take a look - http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelgillespie/. It won’t hurt you, and you may enjoy it.

If you want any of the pictures I can have prints sent to you – my privilege and pleasure.

When you go to the site you will see that there are many “sets.” Some of these would be more and some less interesting. It’s a big multi faceted project.

Well, how this came about…my grandmother “Nanny,” my father’s mother, lived in Columbia. She and I were very close. She had a beautiful garden (which I wrote about in a piece called “Nanny’s Garden”).

Nanny’s Husband, Curtis Sr. had a niece named Ettamae, who lived with Nanny the last 10 years or so of her life. Nanny and Ettamae were both born the same year. Well, to make a long story short. Ettamae died in 1979, and Nanny in 1985. My brother Mike bought Nanny’s house, but then he sold it in the late 90’s. When he was clearing it out he found in the back corner of the attic an old WWII footlocker of Nanny’s containing thousands of pictures and newspaper cutouts and small personal effects, as well as an old suitcase of Ettamae’s containing the same. It was all such a mess, pictures piled willy nilly upon pictures, but so fascinating. I ended up taking them with me to organize. When my mother died in 2001 I also took some boxes of hers for the same reason.

The problem was, I didn’t know who 75% of the people were. This led me on a long journey to track down all remaining relatives of Nanny and Ettamae. Nanny is from a family, the Andrews, from LaGrange Georgia, and Ettamae, from the Gillespie line originally from Kentucky. This tracking down process got me interested in genealogy as well. So, I have found them all - all the living descendents of my great-grandfathers on both sides! It took some work.

So, I am posting these pictures partly so that these remaining relatives can see them and help me figure out who is who. I am posting old pictures of my parents and us as kids for my siblings and for my children. You know, I kind of want the pictures to tell a story for my kids, a story I wish my parents had told for me. I don’t want them to have to piece it together after I’m gone.

I am posting pictures of our family here, as well as our church family, for those who are inclined to “follow along.” And I am posting pictures I took along the way that are just pretty decent pictures just to have record of some of the beautiful places I have the privilege to go and see in my life.

I have only gotten started, though I am in the mood to start taking pictures again like I used to. I am getting my old Fujica manual SLR camera repaired. I have a Nikon N-80 but just don’t like all the automation. I also am in the mood to start backpacking again. I miss the deep woods. And yes, if truth be told, I am itching to get back into writing, into blogging, so I may give my new expensive Epson Scanner a rest for a while.

Well, if you make it over to the Flickr site I hope something there will make you smile.