January 2021

POTD: A Day for Smiles

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A Day for Smiles
Washington, DC
2009

I do not know what Joe Biden will say in his inaugural speech today but he would be well served to consider some of the words from Gerald Ford’s speech the day he was sworn in as president following the resignation of Richard Nixon (who now ranks only as the second worst president in my lifetime). Here are some excerpts:

“I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”

“. . .there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people’s urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.”

“To the peoples and the governments of all friendly nations, and I hope that could encompass the whole world, I pledge an uninterrupted and sincere search for peace. America will remain strong and united, but its strength will remain dedicated to the safety and sanity of the entire family of man, as well as to our own precious freedom.”

“I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad.”

“Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men.”

“As we bind up the internal wounds . . .more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate.”

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

I am not naive enough to think there will be no major conflicts to come now that we have a new president but for now I am smiling because, in the words of another famous American, “I feel good!”

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POTD: A Boy and His Dog

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A Boy and His Dog
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Context and titles and one’s own background can heavily influence how a photograph is interpreted. That this photo follows two POTDs of images of the large rock formations at Medicine Rocks State Park might lead you to conclude that this was taken in the same area. And the image title might lead you to believe that it shows a hiker and his dog enjoying the view after climbing up into this arch in those rocks. But neither is the case. The rock is actually an inventive free-form headstone in the local cemetery. So the figures of course are not real.

I’m not a golfer but I am a hiker and I used to hike with my dogs all the time. So of course when I first saw these figure and the rock I pictured it as a representation of hiker and dog in Arches National Park or somewhere similar. From this angle you can even see that the hiker is leaning on his hiking staff. So I figured it was the grave of an avid hiker and his faithful dog. But when I got up close the hiking staff morphed into a golf club and the dog a golf bag. I imagine the gentleman buried here was an avid golfer and the choice of headstone is symbolic of his quest for golfer’s holy grail, a hole-in-one. But even knowing the truth, I still see a boy and his dog every time I look at the photo.

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