Stone overlook built to last

Stone overlook - General Butler State Park

The Kentucky CCC workmen built this overlook that is now on the site of General Butler State park. This was a team activity.  We can go it alone.  We are better when we work together.  We are better when we think of how our actions can impact our family or friends.

William Orlando Butler served in the war with Britain we know as the War of 1812.  The Butler house is on the grounds of the General Butler State Park in Kentucky.

Hearts weighed and tested

Cliff - Near DuPont Lodge - Cumberland Falls, KY

Here is a poem by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
 

I Loved You Once - Poem

I loved you once, nor can this heart be quiet;

For it would seem that love still lingers there;

But do not you be further troubled by it;

I would in no wise hurt you, oh, my dear.

I loved you without hope, a mute offender;

What jealous pangs, what shy despairs I knew!

A love as deep as this, as true, as tender,

God grant another may yet offer you.


This is but one of many translations from his Russian.  What a very human expression!
This is the work one does in time and at Christmas time.
Not every Christmas is beautiful or fulfilling or warm.
But we work it out.   


Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
Thomas Merton

Christmas greetings

Loretto, KY

Around the walks one sees bows and garlands.   It is Christmas. The paths show the anticipation of the people.  The days are shorter; dark mornings are followed by short days followed by dark nights.  Some say that this season is a time for thinking of other people and acting with kindness.  Is it true?

Having hope and speaking of hope day by day

Outdoor scene - Rough River Dam, Corps of Engineers Property - KY

Laura Hillenbrand spoke to Louis Zamperini on her telephone on an almost daily basis for some time.  There are so many stories that come from our World War II veterans that show us something worth taking to heart. She grew to love her talks with him.  She has a good way of painting word pictures.  Of Louis she wrote, "His laughter was irrepressible because he looked about him and saw only blessings. The most beautiful thing about this wondrous man was that he wished for all of us to see in our own lives what he saw in his. His story was his gift to us."

I have written here about hope.  I will write here about hope.  In the outlook of Louis Zamperini I will write more.

A single voice

Water sends its voice - Falls of Rough, KY

The soul is contained in the human voice.  David Isay reminds listeners to Story Corps of the power and mystery  of one person's voice.  As long as we have a person still with us we can still hear that voice.  We appreciate that opportunity while we have it.

Most Famous Movie Set in Kentucky

Critenden Drive - Flag - Louisville, Kentucky

Both "Goldfinger" and "Coal Miner's Daughter" are stated to be the most famous movie set in Kentucky.  Much of "Coal Miner's Daughter" takes place in  Washington State and other states. "Coal Miner's Daughter" tells the story of country singer Loretta Lynn and her rural roots in Appalachia in Kentucky.  Sissy Spacek met with Loretta Lynn and  learned about Lynn's history.  Spacek won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the singer.

One Olmsted Park - Fall 2016 - Louisville, Kentucky

Renovated North Overlook - Olmsted Park - Iroquois Park

Whitetail Deer - Renovated North Overlook - Olmsted Park - Iroquois Park

The community settled on a plan to repair the damaged and vandalized overlook in Iroquois Park at the top of Iroquois hill.  The work was organized by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy and has taken part of 2015 and most of 2016 to complete.   I was surprised at the number of trees that were removed from the hillside.  By removing the trees the work crews opened the overlook so that the people could see to the Ohio River on the west side of Louisville and see New Albany, Indiana.  It has been fifty to seventy years since the view has been so unobstructed at the overlook.  I wonder if Frederick Law Olmsted would be pleased with the new look of the overlook at Iroquois Park.

Kentucky Movie

Cultivated Garden - Beechmont Neighborhood - Louisville, KY

It has been said that the most popular movie set in Kentucky is "Goldfinger." The gold vault at Fort Knox does have gold and things placed for safekeeping.    Kentucky has a long tradition of having persons join the armed services.  The gold vault was located so that the soldiers could assist the facility if there was an emergency.  But the idea of great riches or great excess does not really fit Kentucky. The gaudy, the extreme; those are not Kentucky things.  So the movie "Goldfinger" is born of Kentucky; a film set in Kentucky and very much apart from Kentucky.

The practice - being kind

Big Four Pedestrian Bridge - Ohio River - At night

In the morning inside a Thorntons I talk to another customer. I have seen her before. She is buying a bar sold with the label 'Kind' on the bar.  I say that kind is a good word. She agrees. She says it is just as easy to be kind as it is not to be kind. Is that true?  I see and hear things every other day that don't look or sound kind to me.

I would welcome your thoughts.

Prize in Literature

Rural Central Indiana - July 2015 Scene

So comes the news that Bob Dylan has won the Nobel prize in Literature. The United States has so many talented people in this area. I think Carl Sandberg is one we appreciate greatly.  So now we think it over; Bob Dylan's lyrics.  Bob Dylan's lyrics are an American story.

So when you see your neighbour carryin’ somethin’
Help him with his load
And don’t go mistaking Paradise
For that home across the road

Bob Dylan

The phantom of an old workhorse taking the steel point of  a plow
across a forty acre field in spring,
hitched to a harrow in summer,
hitched to a wagon among cornshocks in fall...

Carl Sandburg

Kentucky!

West Pinnacle - Berea, Kentucky

A horse race of  thoroughbred horses; a meal from chicken; a bourbon. These are things of marketing and promotion. A closer look reveals color and sound and unique sights and sounds of Kentucky.
The hardwood forest of Berea, Kentucky; July, colors, buzzes of cicidas.  

The popular S80 Aircraft

DC-9, MD-80, S-80 Aircraft



The S80 aircraft were easy to see and take on trips in the '90s in the U.S.  These fun airplanes came in MD-82, MD-83 and MD-88 models. These were made by the same company that made the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft.  The window latches in the cockpit show some of the same design concepts.  Now at 2016 these S-80 aircraft are rare to see.  There are some at DFW in Texas and that is about all there are to see.  The form of the aircraft had an appeal that has been hard to match.

Missing pictures




Monument - Lexington Cemetery - Lexington, KY 

This picture was shown with the post about my grief for the loss of Jenny and Tom.  You may read more at the post with the title "What happened - Sorrow."

What I Saw - The Arkansas River

Arkansas River with  Little Rock, Arkansas on the right

One of the nation's big rivers is the Arkansas River at Little Rock, Arkansas.  The Murray Lock and Dam allows navigation of the Arkansas River.  The Big Dam Bridge allows pedestrians to see the River from ninety feet above the water.

What I Saw - Hot Springs National Park

Fire Ext Drawing of the Third Floor of the Arlington Springs Hotel

The historic Arlington Hotel sits on one of the edges of Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The water travels from deep in the earth and comes out of the side of a mountain.  The Arlington Hotel was built on its current site because the owner wanted to be near the springs but did not want to be subject to approval of the government for anything about the hotel.  President Bill Clinton lived in Hot Springs, Arkansas during part of his life.

West Tennessee - Like the Big South Fork of the Cumberland

Natchez Trace State Park,  Tennessee

The Natchez Trace State Park is in West Tennessee west of Nashville and East of Memphis.  The place has an awful history.  The land was ravaged resulting in deforestation of the land.  The area is similar to the area of the the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River.

The road system inside the Park is extensive and impressive.  The Park has multiple lakes.  There are forested areas now.  The quality of the forested areas is less than many sites.  Great areas are taken over by kudzu vines.

The Park has many quiet places.

From Butcher Hollow, Kentucky

Butcher Hollow Place (Hurricane Mills, Tennessee)

At Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, the Loretta Lynn Ranch offers visitors a chance to see the place where Loretta Lynn lived with her husband Doolittle.  On a hillside at the ranch there is a dwelling with a similar look to the Loretta Lynn home in the mountains of East Kentucky. Loretta Lynn's father Ted Webb was a coal miner in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.  The Consolidation Coal Company operated from 1910 to 1946 in the Van Lear area.  The closest town is Paintsville, Kentucky.  There are many misconceptions about the rural areas of the country and about the rural areas of the mountains of East Kentucky.  To gain a proper understanding some patience and willingness to hear the narrative is necessary.

The Little River

   

National Park Service Literature for Little River Canyon

DeSoto State Park Dining Facility - Structure Formerly Used for Lodging - Built by the CCC

The Little River Canyon National Preserve is a part of the National Park Service lands.  The site works in partnership with the Alabama state park system. The park is within the Valley and Ridge province of northeastern Alabama, a part of the Appalachian-Alleghanian range.
The Little River Canyon Preserve has basal Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks of the Pottsville Formation. The lower portions of this unit contain massive, conglomeratic, quartz-rich sandstone, shale, coal, and mudstone beds.  Little River Canyon is incised through the Lookout Mountain syncline. This eroded broad syncline slopes gently towards the southwest and has approximately one thousand feet of topographic relief.   The Little River flows through the valley atop the Lookout Mountain area providing habitat for eastern plants and animals. 

The area was a place for nature viewing going back to at least the CCC days in the 1930s.  The banks of the valleys are alive with many plants especially mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron.  Carnivorous pitcher plants are rare but can be seen in the forested areas.
 

American Eagle - Charlotte Douglas Airport - Canadair Regional Jet CRJ200ER

Canadair Regional Jet CRJ200ER

If you are flying American Eagle there is a good chance you will fly on one of these CRJ200ER aircraft this summer. This one was spotted at Charlotte Douglas in North Carolina.

With the engines being on fuselage pylons the CRJ200ER looks like a small scale DC-9.  The real DC-9s are missed by those who traveled the country in them.

American Airlines Lineup, Alaska Airlines Taxiing - Summer 2016

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990ER

This Boeing 737 was spotted at O Hare in Chicago.  The Alaska Airlines paint includes the words "Go Russell" on the fuselage.  The Boeing 737-990ER winglets have a "3" on the side.  What does this mean?

Russell Wilson is a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.  Russell Wilson wears number 3 for his games.

The 737 soldiers on well past the time when most travelers would have thought that  it would have disappeared from the modern airports.  Southwest Airlines only flies one airplane, the Boeing 737.  The 737 is still coming off the factory line in Washington State.

Being destroyed today

Wilbur McCauley - Untamed Mountain, Alabama

The great wilds of our country once held to be boundless and inexhaustible are being rapidly invaded and overrun in every direction, and everything destructible in them is
being destroyed. 

John Muir


Though much work has been done for the wilds it seems to be falling short.
This is Wilbur McCauley of the Untamed Mountain facility.  The facility is operated for native and exotic animals in need of secure permanent homes. As a wild animal preserve and rescue site the location is open to the community as an environmental education learning center and recreational destination for visitors.

He tells of the destruction of natural systems.  What he says lines up with the reports in reputable scientific publications.  The extractive industries are destroying nature.  The relative minority that defend what the extractive industries are doing are standing in the way of keeping nature working for the future of people and animals.

What I Saw - George Garvin Brown Garden

George Garvin Brown Garden

This photograph was taken of the George Garvin Brown Garden on Muhammad Ali Boulevard with the trees decorated with snow.

The Center for Interfaith Relations created the garden in Louisville.  The symbols built in the garden communicate spirituality, tolerance and the  faith traditions of many faiths. Moving water is central to the garden.  Two fountains symbolize themes of creation and reconciliation.  The walkways are granite arcs that symbolize the foundations of the sacredness in faith.  The completed garden has earned design awards from the Kentucky Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

It is perhaps fitting that the garden is located along Muhammad Ali Boulevard.  Close by is Martin Luther King Jr. Park at Chestnut Street.  Perhaps Muhammad Ali carried some of Dr. King's message in life.  In the last thirty years of his life  Muhammad Ali sought to solve problems of conflict on many stages.  The garden continues on doing its work for making conflict less intense.