a different view of the West ….

For the better part of 10 years, I was a member of the US Navy Submarine Service. (Note:The photo above was taken in the fall of ’68 as the USS Gurnard SSN662 was leaving San Francisco Bay for our way to our first sea trials prior to Commissioning that October). Talk about shelter in place! Being isolated at 400′, doing 20 knots, 1,000 fathoms beneath he keel and 500 miles from the nearest port of call with 100 other guys in a large metal tube having a nuclear reactor at one end and some serious firepower at the other and to top it off, it was built, it by the lowest bidder. Coming back to port after being submerged for a month or so and finding the news of the world that we missed was something to get used to. Only the daily radio traffic from the Navy was censored before the crew got to read it. For instance, coming back from the Western Pacific in May of 1970, we found out about the rising anti-war movement, the Kent State Massacre, and Woodstock. I found that my girlfriend had moved and was nowhere to be found, but about a month later, she literally pulled up beside me on the freeway! We were married one year later and she was the light of my life for the next 44 years. Being isolated today is another dynamic all together but think about those deployed in far flung parts of the world who may or may not know what is happening here and cannot be here to help their loved ones. You might think it is hard for you to manage but think about the rest of the population. There are those of us who are fortunate to have the resources to shelter in place and those who do not…..

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The Dallas Longhorn

Several years ago I stopped at Fuel City in Dallas which is on the banks of the Trinity River running along the edge of the city. While getting gas I noticed a small herd of longhorn cattle behind the building and (always having my camera with me) I started shooting. This one steer stood out amount the rest with his beautiful coloring and fine set of horns. The problem was that from where I standing, he was not moving. I did everything but throw a coke bottle at him but he stood still and here is the shot I got. Recently, the owner of Fuel City, John David Benda and I talked and he now has the file and most likely will place in the station below the mounted head of this steer (who died of old age). Where the steer stood then is now a car wash.

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Race 1 Saratoga Springs

We spent a lovely day at the Saratoga Race Course, a race meet that U had watched on TV for years but my first time to visit. Thousands of others decided to visit also but the vast majority had their chairs and picnic baskets in the lawn under the huge trees that cover the area. I got close to the Winner’s Circle to get this shot and knew immediately it was the scene I was looking for.

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When traveling in older cities, I tend to find subject matter in the way people decorate their homes, especially how they do their doors. Hudson, NY is no different and today I spotted a door with a print in the window of a group of bears pushing on a tree with the inscription “Resist”. I would be curious to know why the owner used this graphic. Any ideas?

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Mississippi Kite

About 2 weeks ago, I found what looked like a partial chicken egg shell in my driveway, or that is what it I thought because my neighbor has chickens nearby. Later I found bird poop the size of paint ball splats in the same place so looking up, I see this huge nest made of sticks in the very top of a large white oak tree next to the house. This is what I found, a Mississippi Kite with one chick in the nest. These birds are supposed to lay two eggs but I see only one chick. I have a good vantage point to watch them so I will post updates as time goes by.

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