To begin the world all over again...

31 Posts in 31 Days: #4

"The birthday of a new world is at hand...we have it within our power to begin the world all over again."

--- Thomas Paine

In between the parades and the fireworks and the barbeques today, I wanted to take just a minute to write a few thoughts about this day.

Independence Day.

This is one of my favorite days of the year. This is the day when we celebrate our American-ness. This is the day when we honor the independent spirit -- the spirit that says "My destiny is my own."

I think sometimes we confuse the American Revolution with the Revolutionary War. They are not the same thing, the war was simply a byproduct of the revolution. And this day, we celebrate the Revolution.

The American Revolution was, simply, an idea, so elegant today, so radical in 1776. It was the idea that all men are created equal. That their Creator endowed them with unalienable rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's the revolution.

That is the notion that turned empire on it's head -- the statement that set the world aflame.

Freedom is the natural state of man, but that doesn't mean it comes cheaply. Nothing worth having ever does. The preservation of liberty counts cost in lives. Sometimes those lives are given on the battlefield, but more often they are given in diligence. Freedom is tenuous and easily lost.

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

We each lay our lives on the altar of Liberty.

We exercise our rights, to see that they remain strong.

We emulate our forefathers, and we stand as an example to our own children. The greatest work you will ever do as an American, is to teach your children -- to raise the next generation of patriots.

Teach them the be responsible with their rights.

Teach them to love liberty.

Teach them to think for themselves.

Teach them to work hard.

Teach them to be humble.

Teach them to leave our nation better than they find it.

Teach them to be independent.

Teach them to be Free.

Happy Independence Day!

A New Birth of Freedom

31 Posts in 31 Days: #3

I can never think about what happened in Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, without thinking about what took place in Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863.

On July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, the founders of our nation declared us free and independent from Great Britain. They proclaimed to the world that we were a sovereign nation, free to choose our own path. Free to map our own destiny. They said that God had endowed men with certain unalienable rights -- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They declared that all men were created equal.

On July 3, 1863, in the small, quiet, college town of Gettysburg, the descendants of those founders met on the field of war, opposite their own countrymen -- sometimes opposite their own brothers -- in the greatest battle ever fought on American soil, to determine whether the United States of America would live up to it's own founding ideal: That all men are created equal.

The Battle of Gettysburg saw 50,000 American casualties. The most ever, by far, in a single battle. The three days of blood and sacrifice broke the back of the Confederacy, and the ideals for which the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, came a step closer to reality.

Freedom and equality are the great promises of America, and as the city set on a hill, the day of reckoning had to come. For eighty seven years the United States had lived with the paradox of being the light of liberty to the world, and still maintaining the institution of human slavery. Something had to give -- even the founders knew that. The civil war was fought for many reasons -- some fought for states rights, some fought for adventure, some for glory -- but the cause of the war was slavery.

Several months after the Battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated the battlefield to the brave Americans who died there, and he dedicated the great remaining struggle to the eradication of slavery, and the enshrinement of liberty and equality for all men.

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated , can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who, here, gave their lives, that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add, or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work, which they who fought here, have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task, remaining before us. That from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last, full measure of devotion. That we, here, highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

Photostory Friday: Happy Birthday Emma

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

31 Posts in 31 Days: #2

Birthday's tend to make me melancholy.

Not my own. I've always been comfortable with my own age. But watching my children grow older makes me pause.

Emma turns six today.

How did that happen? How did the pudgy ball of a baby become the slender six year old beauty?

My first -- and I suppose selfish -- reaction is: "What do I have to show for the last six years?"

Then I remember...

I have miles of afternoon walks, and hours of hand holding. There are songs on the front porch, and dance recitals on the front lawn. I have thousands of kisses and million watt smiles. There are games of "I spy," and Candyland. There are piggy back rides and ENDLESS questions, about EVERYTHING!

There are "I love you's" -- yelled across the yard, for all the neighborhood to hear, and whispered for just me.

I think there is no man richer than I am.

Emma is growing. It's inevitable, and I wouldn't hold her back. This one is going to set the world on fire.

Just allow me my melancholy moment.

Happy birthday Punkin.

I love you Emma!

365: Week 26

31 posts in 31 days

An auspicious beginning. It's almost 11:00 pm, on July 1st, but I posted!

Let the inanity begin!

Day 176

June 25: These two have always had a mutual admiration society going on. I have a bunch of these pictures, where one of them is looking on, in approval and amusement, at what the other is doing. The relationships between all of my children are a great source of joy for me, but I have to be honest -- I treasure this big brother/little sister friendship.

Day 177

June 26: It's been raining here for weeks. And this is Utah, not Washington. Friday night, I realized that I had yet to take a picture, so I wandered out into the back yard (and the torrential down pour) and shot everything. This little drop was the only thing in focus.

It's hard to take a clear picture, when you're performing nearly impossible gymnastic feats, in order to keep your camera dry.

Day 178

June 27: The latest gift from the previous owners. Our yard has been in constant bloom since the early Spring. Tulips, daffodils, roses, irises, dozens of other things that I have no idea what they were, and now daisies.

Thank you, previous owners!

Day 179

June 28: Once again, dodging the rain drops, I headed out into the back yard (I really need to expand my horizons). This is my silver maple -- they grow like weeds, and if you don't stay on top of them, they suddenly take over your yard.

This tiny little branch had to go, but it looked so brave there, that I thought I'd take it's picture, before I tore it from the trunk of the tree.

Is that sick?

Day 180

June 29: Matthew and Sharon went to cub scout day camp today. By the time they got home, Matt was filthy and Sharon was exhausted. I took a few pictures of her sprawled out on the floor, but they were vetoed.

Day 181

June 30: Go ahead. I dare you.

Day 182

July 1: I hadn't done a "hangmycameraoutthewindowasIdrivetoworkandshootthesunrise" shot for at least a few weeks. So I thought you deserved one.

You're welcome.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Come one, come all, and witness the spectacle!

Stop the presses!

It's stupendous!

It's sensational!

It's....well, words just fail me....

This July, in the heat of the summer, at any hour of the day, possibly at 11:59pm, Chris will attempt something that has not been tried since...OCTOBER!

Yes, beginning July 1st, Life or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof, is going for...

Drum roll please!

Wait for it...

31 posts in 31 days!!!!!!

For free!

Tell all your friends, and come watch the train wreck.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson died yesterday.

I wasn't going to write anything about it. I haven't followed Michael Jackson for a couple of decades. I've been aware of the freak show that his life has become, and I thought I no longer cared. I saw him as a pathetic figure. His life no longer held any interest to me.

But I find I can't stop thinking about him.

This isn't about the things he may or may have not done. It's not about dangling babies or masks or plastic surgery or failed marriages or seedy allegations. It's not about the life of Michael Jackson at all.

It's about my life.

When I look back at my life, certain music appears, like sign posts, reminding me of certain times and places. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is like a billboard.

Thriller was released in 1982, and it set the world on fire. It is still the best selling album of all time. Thriller changed EVERYTHING. I wanted to look like him. I wanted to dress like him. I wanted to move like him.

No one ever moved like Michael Jackson. I have one indelible Michael Jackson moment. It's the moment that everyone knows. The Motown 25th Anniversary television program. I was watching because I knew Michael Jackson would be performing "Billie Jean."

There was the glove.

The white socks and loafers.

The hat.

The sequins.

The song and the dancing.

And then...

He moved backward.

WHAT WAS THAT?!

That was the first time I had ever seen someone moonwalk. It was surreal.

The next day I -- we -- everyone -- found a new use for our sunday shoes. I practiced for hours -- days, months -- trying to learn to moonwalk. I remember watching myself in the glass of the sliding door on my aunt's deck. And one time -- only one -- did I move smooth enough to feel like I had done it. It feels ridiculous to say so, but that was a real highlight for me as a kid.

Then came the jackets with the zippers, the Thriller video, the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on Beat It. We are the World. Michael Jackson was everywhere. He was a cultural juggernaut that I think, for my generation -- this generation called "X" -- was only eclipsed by Star Wars.

Michael Jackson was a beacon. He was a pop culture god. He gave us dance. He introduced us to music we had never heard before. He launched, for better or worse, the world of music videos. Michael Jackson was our Elvis, our Beatles. And like they had been for the previous generation, he was our great departure from the music of our parents. Without any exaggeration, he was the King of Pop.

There will never be another phenomenon like Michael Jackson. The music world is different. No one can maintain that kind of supremacy any more, there are, simply, too many choices.

I don't pretend to know what his life was like. He often seemed so lost -- so out of touch with reality. So out of control. It was a sad and pathetic spiral downward, and as with Elvis and the Beatles, we're so often left wondering at the fall from grace. I can't excuse much of his behavior, and I, along with most people I suspect, feel there was plenty to be concerned about -- though I think it's important to point out that he was acquitted of the most damning charges. Say what you will about justice being administered differently to celebrities, we could also talk about the lucrative business of exploiting a celebrity as well. His life was not perfect, and his legacy will forever be a paradox of the highest heights and the lowest lows.

I don't feel like judging him.

I simply want to express my gratitude for the wonderful memories. I want to marvel again at those alien dance moves. I want to bask in awe, once more, at one of the most talented and exciting entertainers of all time. I want to think about the moments with friends, trying to moonwalk. I want to revel again, for a while, in the introduction to new and exciting things -- music that imprinted itself on my consciousness. Music that brought you to life.

Music that made you move.

Rest in Peace.

Michael Jackson

1958 - 2009

Photostory Friday: My Candid Camera

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I take a lot of pictures of people. If I had my choice, I would take all of my pictures from a hiding place.

It's not really that I'm shy, but I am fascinated by the human experience. The way we interact with one another. The things we do when we're alone.

The things we do, when we THINK we're alone.

Even portraits are better, when you can get the subject to drop their inhibitions (I know what you just thought, and no, I don't take those kind of pictures) and forget that there is a camera pointed at them.

The camera, in any form, changes reality. We become self conscious. If we're going to be immortalized -- and that's just a what a picture is -- we want to present our best side. Or, better than our best if possible.

I enjoy shooting pictures of all kinds -- portraits, landscapes, artsy stuff -- but I live for the moments.

The stories.

The unfiltered, uncontaminated, unaffected living of life.