January, 2002: Letter from Birmingham Jail Continue reading
Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Messages (2002-2012)
Zambia Safari – September/October 2011
Rita and I again joined Ralph and Cheryl Waterhouse on an African safari. This was our fifth safari arranged by Ralph, the first being to Kenya in 1989 when he was director of the Kansas City Zoo. Trips to Zambia/Zimbabwe (1994) and Tanzania (1996) followed when Ralph was director of the Fresno Zoo. After retirement, Ralph has continued to lead trips and we joined him in South Africa in 2009 and this year in Zambia. We took a deep breath when the state department issued a travel alert warning of potential incidents arising from the hotly contested presidential race. However, the incumbent loser quickly embraced the victor and Zambia peaceably moved on. In contrast, safari tourism in neighboring Zimbabwe continues to suffer from the policies of President Robert Mugabe
Woody and Jane’s Excellent Adventure to London and Paris – June, 2010
For many years, Rita and I have tried to persuade Woody and Jane to travel outside the United States. Woody argued that they had already done so twice: to Windsor across the border from Detroit and to Tijuana. As Woody’s friends all know, he likes to keep his feet on the ground (even when one has a medical boot), and so flights, cruises and high places are not his favorites. We were thinking he and Jane should cross an ocean, and they took the initial step last year by getting their first passports. Rita and I had been to London and Paris a few times, and we thought these cities would be the best for Woody and Jane to get a taste for international travel. To our pleasant surprise, they agreed to go.
South Africa Photo Safari – (10/1/09 – 10/7/09)
In 1989, Rita and I ventured to Kenya for our first African photo safari. The trip was organized and led by Ralph Waterhouse, then Director of the Kansas City Zoo. We were thrilled with the trip and kept in touch with Ralph after he moved on to become the Director of the Fresno Zoo. This led to additional trips organized by Ralph to Zambia and Zimbabwe in 1994 and Tanzania in 1996. The animal kingdom setting in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania has our vote as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
Lonnie’s Jukebox
September, 2009, on the occasion of the 50 Year Reunion of the Van Horn Graduating Class of 1959
My Jukebox. I do not actually have a jukebox, but it sounds better than referring to my four beat-up record cases holding my 45-rpm record collection. Every adolescent generation fondly remembers its own popular music, but those of my age were uniquely blessed because our teenage years coincided with the birth of Rock and Roll. It was not really the birth of the style of music, but instead the mass acceptance of a genre that had been around for years as “race music,” a mix of blues and jazz, which in 1948 became known as Rhythm and Blues – a term coined by Jerry Wexler, a writer at Billboard Magazine, to provide a more marketable reference for the music. Rock and Roll would emerge from this genre, often with crossover elements from country, folk, gospel and pop. When my wife Rita and I made the pilgrimage to Cleveland to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I saw a great quote from a Muddy Waters’ song: “The Blues had a baby and they named it Rock and Roll.” Muddy also had a 1948 song titled “Rollin’ Stone,” which inspired the naming of a band still playing today and, in conflicting reports, may have also inspired the naming of Rolling Stone Magazine (the other possibility being 1965’s “Like a Rolling Stone” by Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan). Continue reading
Persian (Arabian) Gulf – March 16-24, 2009
After our Petra visit, Rita and I flew from Amman to Dubai to embark on our cruise of the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf or just “The Gulf” in an ongoing naming dispute between the Arab nations and the Persian nation of Iran). Continue reading
Petra – March 13-15, 2009
Friends:
Rita and I condensed several hundred pictures from two digital cameras into this Snapfish album of 92 photos. Some are included in the narrative below.
Some background:
Petra is located in present day Jordan and may be best known as the place where Indiana Jones (in his “Last Crusade”) and his father (played by Sean Connery) ride horseback through a narrow gorge which opens into a dramatic view of the rose-colored Treasury carved into the mountainside. Our personal interest in the trip came more from several friends who had visited and encouraged us to go.
Antarctica Cruise – 1/30/08 to 2/16/08
Friends:
As most of you know, Rita and I rarely go voluntarily to a cold climate. So the trip to Antarctica was not the norm. However, it turned out to be a memorable adventure and one of our favorite trips. Some photos are in the narrative below, but a bigger set of about 160 is at this link (click on the down arrow below first row of photos to expand).
Galapagos – 2007
From January 26 to February 6, 2007, we joined our friends Diana and Larry Brewer for a cruise of the Galapagos Islands.
I tried to reduce our 347 pics on Snapfish to 30 or so, but without success. So, the people getting this are stuck with 74. It is easy to get photos in the Galapagos because the animals have few predators and are unconcerned with any humans walking around. The camera clicks and whines are lost among the whistles and calls of the birds.
Politics, a love story (Washington Post, 11/5/2024)
Politics, a love story (Washington Post, 11/5/2024)
A dark and ghastly campaign comes to an end. Can the country overcome the ugliness?
