It's been an interesting week here. On Monday, my brother arrived from Texas. He drove from there to here in four days. He is a driving machine. He travelled from San Marcos to Salina, Kansas (about 800 miles) his first night of driving. I say night, because it was too damn hot to drive during the day, so he would wait until mid-afternoon, and drive until 3:00 the next morning.
I remember driving down to Texas with him a few years back. We took a little more time, because I wanted to make some stops along the way. We visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield site, Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Dealey Plaza (my second visit). One night, he drove about 500 miles in one shot.
He is up here to do a little business. he takes down old barns and sells the wood for people to make rustic decor. My brother also uses some of the wood to carve artworks or make boxes. He took up carving about eight years ago, and has gotten quite good at it. Right now, he's in a mermaid phase, but he also does rattlers, buffalo, and these kind of fishhook type necklaces.
This year, I'm helping him market his stuff by offering it for sale on Kajiji and maybe Craig's List.
On Tuesday, my mom came home for the first time since her accident. Her glasses were broken in the crash, and she's been seeing double, so she came in to see an optometrist. She then spent the night before going back to the Red Deer hospital the next day.
She's been slowly improving. She was even able to climb the stairs into her house. She has to walk with a walker, of course, and spends most of her time in a wheelchair, but she is definitely improving.
Mom has expressed a lot of frustration at the slow rate of her recovery. When we try and tell her just how far she has come, sometimes she sits still for it, but she can get pretty low at times. It's a job to keep her spirits up.
Today I mailed the last bit of paperwork I needed to turn in for my application to university. I just need a letter of reference and a description of my work in the classroom from a colleague in Korea. He's taking his time about getting it in, so I may have to prod him a bit.
I may be foolish trying to get my Education degree since Alberta has been firing teacher's left and right, but I guess we will see once I have it, eh? Maybe European employers will find me more attractive. I sure hope so.
I watched a movie called "Ironclad" this evening. It was recommended by a friend in Korea. It's set in England just after King John signs the Magna Carta. Pissed at having to kowtow to the barons, John (played by Paul Giamatti)raises a mercenary army and begins slaughtering anyone who signed the charter.
One of the barons, played by Brian Cox, hires some mercenaries of his own, including a Templar played by James Purefoy, and holds a strategic castle until the French arrive to drive John and his mercenaries off.
In reality, the castle fell to John, and the struggle raged across England for another year before John died of dysentery while fleeing the French. It wasn't until much later that John's son Henry finally succeeded in driving the French out and claiming the throne for himself.
But the movie was fairly entertaining, not the least for it's gory battle scenes, in which limbs are chopped off, blood sprays everywhere, and one man is nearly split in two by a broadsword. The movie's depiction of the savagery of battle, the mud and the blood prevalent during those times, and the struggle between people fighting for freedom against a tyrant was well done.
Tomorrow, our family is meeting with the doctors to discuss our mother's future. The whole family will be together for the first time in four years.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Dealey Plaza
(April 5, 2002 Chautauqua)
The first time I saw President Kennedy, he was dead. I don’t remember hearing about his death (I was only four), but I remember my mother keeping me inside to watch the funeral. The sight of the flag-draped coffin stuck with me throughout my life, and spurred my interest in finding out what happened in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.
While I was visiting my brother in Texas at the beginning of the year, one of the places I most wanted to see was Dealey Plaza. I had to go alone, as my brother and his wife were both working. I took the bus from San Marcos to Dallas. I cannot describe my excitement when the bus exited the freeway, and pulled into the city. The plaza was only a few blocks away from the bus station, and I made my way there on slightly unsteady legs. The dream of a lifetime was about to be fulfilled.
My first view of the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza
As I turned the corner and beheld the Texas School Book Depository for the first time, all I could think was, “ I’m really here. I’m really here. I’m really here.”
The sign reads: Dealey Plaza
Birthplace of Dallas
Within this small park was built the first home which also served as the first court house and post office. The first store and the first fraternal lodge.
Dedicated to the pioneers of civic progress by order of the Park Board
I passed the marker that explains that Dealey Plaza is the place where Dallas began. It is the site of the first buildings that made up the town that grew into the city. The entire Plaza and the buildings surrounding it have now been designated as a National Historic Site. It has not changed very much at all since that day, the day President Kennedy died.
This picture shows (l to r) the Grassy Knoll, the Depository, the Dal-Tex Building, and the County Records building
The Depository is the building where the official government findings say that Lee Harvey Oswald shot at, and killed, the President. Most of it is now filled with city government offices, but the sixth floor, where investigators found the “sniper’s nest,” is a museum, dedicated to displaying artifacts and information about what happened.
I was able to stand only a few feet from that window, and examine the view that a shooter might have. There is a display of the FBI’s model that was used in their investigation; there are cameras, which took the various photos of the assassination; there are short documentaries about the events of Nov. 22nd, Kennedy’s life, and world response to his death.
This is the point of view of witness Howard Brennan, who said he saw Oswald take the last shot
Of course, everybody knows that the official story is no longer believable, and that a conspiracy took the president’s life. This becomes apparent after a viewing of the “Zapruder film.” Abraham Zapruder was a Dallas dress manufacturer, and his film shows the assassination in its entirety. Using the film as a “clock,” it becomes apparent that the timing of the shots is all wrong, if you are trying to conclude that one man did it alone.
There were three spent shells found on the sixth floor, and the government had to account for them all. A bystander, James Tague, was wounded by fragments of a bullet that struck the curb near him. President Kennedy was struck in the head by another bullet, leaving a single bullet to account for all the remaining wounds, which included not only wounds in President Kennedy, but Texas Governor John Connally.
An FBI demonstration of how a gunman used Oswald’s rifle includes the number of seconds it takes to fire, reload, and fire again. A careful examination of the “Zapruder film” shows that Kennedy was wounded before Connally. The time it took for Connally to react to being shot is too long for it to have been the same bullet that struck Kennedy, and too short for it to have been from the same gun. Obviously, at least one other man was shooting that day.
The Grassy Knoll. This is where the bullet that hit Kennedy in the head came from
Then there is the shot that struck Kennedy in the head. Kennedy’s body is flung back and to the left. The laws of physics prove that the president must have been shot from the front and to the right. Many bystanders heard at least one shot from the so-called “Grassy Knoll”, and one even reported seeing (and smelling) gun smoke.
Zapruder's POV. Right by the truck's front wheel, there is an "X" on the road that marks the spot where the presidential limousine was when JFK was struck in the head
There are many mysteries surrounding the events of November 22nd, and a lifetime of investigation has only been scratched at the surface by this article. Indeed, there is a library’s worth of books about Kennedy, and his death. I know, because I’ve read most of them.
My trip, as I said, was the fulfillment of a dream of a lifetime. President Kennedy had dreams, and he instilled those dreams not just for many Americans, but people around the world. His words inspired many of them to accomplish great deeds, and do much good work. It’s true that some aspects of Kennedy’s personal life leave a lot to be desired, but doesn’t the dream ask us to never mind all that, and at least try to live up to a higher ideal?
The first time I saw President Kennedy, he was dead. I don’t remember hearing about his death (I was only four), but I remember my mother keeping me inside to watch the funeral. The sight of the flag-draped coffin stuck with me throughout my life, and spurred my interest in finding out what happened in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.
While I was visiting my brother in Texas at the beginning of the year, one of the places I most wanted to see was Dealey Plaza. I had to go alone, as my brother and his wife were both working. I took the bus from San Marcos to Dallas. I cannot describe my excitement when the bus exited the freeway, and pulled into the city. The plaza was only a few blocks away from the bus station, and I made my way there on slightly unsteady legs. The dream of a lifetime was about to be fulfilled.
My first view of the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza
As I turned the corner and beheld the Texas School Book Depository for the first time, all I could think was, “ I’m really here. I’m really here. I’m really here.”
The sign reads: Dealey Plaza
Birthplace of Dallas
Within this small park was built the first home which also served as the first court house and post office. The first store and the first fraternal lodge.
Dedicated to the pioneers of civic progress by order of the Park Board
I passed the marker that explains that Dealey Plaza is the place where Dallas began. It is the site of the first buildings that made up the town that grew into the city. The entire Plaza and the buildings surrounding it have now been designated as a National Historic Site. It has not changed very much at all since that day, the day President Kennedy died.
This picture shows (l to r) the Grassy Knoll, the Depository, the Dal-Tex Building, and the County Records building
The Depository is the building where the official government findings say that Lee Harvey Oswald shot at, and killed, the President. Most of it is now filled with city government offices, but the sixth floor, where investigators found the “sniper’s nest,” is a museum, dedicated to displaying artifacts and information about what happened.
I was able to stand only a few feet from that window, and examine the view that a shooter might have. There is a display of the FBI’s model that was used in their investigation; there are cameras, which took the various photos of the assassination; there are short documentaries about the events of Nov. 22nd, Kennedy’s life, and world response to his death.
This is the point of view of witness Howard Brennan, who said he saw Oswald take the last shot
Of course, everybody knows that the official story is no longer believable, and that a conspiracy took the president’s life. This becomes apparent after a viewing of the “Zapruder film.” Abraham Zapruder was a Dallas dress manufacturer, and his film shows the assassination in its entirety. Using the film as a “clock,” it becomes apparent that the timing of the shots is all wrong, if you are trying to conclude that one man did it alone.
There were three spent shells found on the sixth floor, and the government had to account for them all. A bystander, James Tague, was wounded by fragments of a bullet that struck the curb near him. President Kennedy was struck in the head by another bullet, leaving a single bullet to account for all the remaining wounds, which included not only wounds in President Kennedy, but Texas Governor John Connally.
An FBI demonstration of how a gunman used Oswald’s rifle includes the number of seconds it takes to fire, reload, and fire again. A careful examination of the “Zapruder film” shows that Kennedy was wounded before Connally. The time it took for Connally to react to being shot is too long for it to have been the same bullet that struck Kennedy, and too short for it to have been from the same gun. Obviously, at least one other man was shooting that day.
The Grassy Knoll. This is where the bullet that hit Kennedy in the head came from
Then there is the shot that struck Kennedy in the head. Kennedy’s body is flung back and to the left. The laws of physics prove that the president must have been shot from the front and to the right. Many bystanders heard at least one shot from the so-called “Grassy Knoll”, and one even reported seeing (and smelling) gun smoke.
Zapruder's POV. Right by the truck's front wheel, there is an "X" on the road that marks the spot where the presidential limousine was when JFK was struck in the head
There are many mysteries surrounding the events of November 22nd, and a lifetime of investigation has only been scratched at the surface by this article. Indeed, there is a library’s worth of books about Kennedy, and his death. I know, because I’ve read most of them.
My trip, as I said, was the fulfillment of a dream of a lifetime. President Kennedy had dreams, and he instilled those dreams not just for many Americans, but people around the world. His words inspired many of them to accomplish great deeds, and do much good work. It’s true that some aspects of Kennedy’s personal life leave a lot to be desired, but doesn’t the dream ask us to never mind all that, and at least try to live up to a higher ideal?
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