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Classic Photo - November, 2002 - Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri

Driving and walking around town, I enjoy the fall colors.  I know people in New England think they have the market cornered on the beautiful leaves, but it’s not too bad in most of the country.  I remember reading once the reason Vermont has some of the most beautiful foliage in the nation is because most of its trees were cut down in the 17th and 18th centuries, then later replanted, and that helped fuel the colors.  I’m not quire sure how much truth is behind that, but it sure sounds good, doesn’t it?

The picture above is from the fall of 2002.  It’s from somewhere in Forest Park, St. Louis.  I had a weekday off when I worked a weekend schedule, and was meeting some new-friend/co-workers for dinner downtown before a Blues game.  I decided to walk through the park and get a nice glimpse of this big park in the new place I lived.  It was nice, with all the leaves this amazing orange color thanks to the sun and a warm fall.  I think every picture I took that day turned out amazingly, but this one is my favorite.  Something told me to take a picture of the pond in front of some glowing orange trees.  The water was rippling from ducks or fish or thermonuclear tests nearby, and it just made a really nice reflection of the leaves.  So what you’re seeing is a real photo (not touched at all - we don’t do that here…well, except for some minor cropping, but I own PhotoShop 0.1, and the free version at that) of a pond’s reflection of leaves.  It just turned out really well, in my opinion.  I think once a year I get a photo to work like that.  (See the Alki Beach shot below)

Fall starts an interesting time psychologically in the world.  Everything is dying, but it’s dying spectacularly as the leaves turn these amazing colors, making you notice them after they’d become green and become part of the background.  After the leaves fall, we carve up some gourds and throw them on the doorstep and invite beggar children to grow fat off our freebies (aka Halloween). Then, we all gather in each other’s homes for Thanksgiving and comfort food.  When that’s done, we string up electric lights around our house for Christmas, bring a big dead tree into our homes, throw more lights on that (you know Pepco just loves it), and wrap up some boxes.  Trust me - this is my favorite time of the year.  Then to say au revoir to the year, we drink champagne, make some noise, kiss someone, and drink more champagne.

The problem is January 2.  The Christmas lights are down, the Christmas tree is gone, the wrapping paper has left.  Suddenly, you look around.  The leaves are fallen and gone.  The grass is dead or barely hanging on.  It’s cold and gray, and sometimes snowy.  It’s dark early, dark late, and it’s simply quiet.  No wonder early January sucks, especially since all you have to look forward to now is St. Patrick’s Day.  Blech.  Look in this spot in early January for what I do to combat all that stuff.

Here’s a wider shot of the ripply leaves.  This is a different picture, not the one above just cropped differently.

Title is from the song "Moondance" by Van Morrison.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - Arlington, VA - around 3:00pm

 It’s allegedly the last nice day of the summer (which, technically, ended three weeks ago, I know).  So I figured I should get out there and enjoy the day on a little bike ride.  I decided I would check out the new U.S. Air Force Memorial (left), which will be dedicated this weekend.  It sits on the grounds of the Fort Myer/Navy Annex near the Pentagon.  I’m not quite sure how it will draw people to it, other than it’s three giant pieces of metal sticking 250 feet out of the ground and easily visible from a good part of The Mall.  It’s a fairly impressive structure.  The three spires represent airplanes flying through the air. On the ground beneath the spires, is a simple granite memorial to those Air Force men and women who have died in combat.  The stainless steel looks really nice in the sun (not seen here), and the shine is impressive as you come across the 14th Street Bridge from the District into Arlington.  It’s getting rave reviews from both architects, and the people who review such memorials.  It is just as simple as the World War II Memorial, but better.  And this one doesn’t even involve fountains.

I find the whole idea of monuments and memorials interesting.  It’s a permanent reminder of a moment, person, or event which is designed to evoke certain emotions from people who weren’t around to experience them the first time.  The Marine Corps (Iwo Jima) Memorial seen to the left is a good example.  Sure, it has a few dudes in it.  But it symbolizes everything it means to be a Marine, according to the Marines I’ve spoken with at the statue.  It also offers a breathtaking view of downtown Washington (if you can look past Interstate 66 and U.S. 50).  A nice job too taking an enduring photograph and turning it into a moving sculpture.

Another memorial I like is the Seabees Memorial, right near the Memorial Bridge at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.  It’s simple, it’s out of the way, it’s easily unnoticed.  I couldn’t tell you what the hell a Seabee is or what he does.  But this monument shows a jacked dude helping out a little boy.  Yes, this could easily be a NAMBLA statue.  But let’s not think that way.  It’s impressive, and I like it because it’s tucked away and no one really sees it, except the people sitting in traffic every day to get on 395 South.  The best part about it is lost in this picture.  Below the relief landscape thingy in the background, it says "With Willing Hearts and Skillful Hands, The Difficult We Do At Once, The Impossible Takes A Bit Longer."  Now that’s fucking cool.  I still don’t know what Seabees are, but I wish I were one.  I wish I were that jacked, too, but that’s another story for another day.

Friends and I have had discussions several times.  If you had something named for you, what would you want?  Would you want to have a bridge named after you?  That sounds cool, except think of all the people in the DC area who get whipped into a frothy frenzy simply at the name Woodrow Wilson.  What about an airport?  Few people have any clue who Lt. Commander Edward Butch O’Hare was, but millions curse him every day.  They don’t name stadiums after people any more, so you can’t go for that (unless your name is Gustav Verizon Center or Susan B. Lincoln Financial Field).  I would have to pick a dorm.  Those of us lucky to experience Warren Towers (because one does not live in Warren, you experience it, to quote John Piga) will forever tell tales of Warren.  While I’m not sure I’d want a zillion people to say they got wicked drunk and puked in the fourth floor bathroom at Guzman Towers, it’s still not a bad thing.  Your thoughts?

Following the theme of remembering: I don’t say prayers much any more.  I think religion and I are having a fight.  But to my friend whose grandmother just passed, to my friend whose mother is having surgery for a second time, to my friend whose father was recently in the hospital, to my friend whose mother is in legal trouble, and to my friend who’s recently decided to add someone to his family - all of you and your families are in my prayers these days.  Stay strong.

PS - I keep telling people the Air Force Memorial looks like someone took the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (left), snapped it in three, then stuck the pieces in the ground.  And, oddly enough, I agree with myself.  That photo is from July, 2002.

Title is from the song "Don’t You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds.