Monthly Archives: July 2016

Tales from the 2016 Road: Da Vinci’s Coffee and A Welcoming Sun Room

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Posted by on in Family, Matters of Faith, Social, Travel

July 2, 2016, Enid-  John Glaze and I have visited one another, back and forth, for about five years now- both online and in person.  My latest stop in Enid found John going about his usual business:  Mowing lawns, working out ideas about improving the back part of his house, and visiting with the Saturday morning crowd at da Vinci’s Coffee House, not far from his house.

John tended to the yards, front and back, first thing this morning, before the heat set in.  I remained on the screened porch, for the time being.

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Life on East Meadowbrook, Enid, OK

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Back yard, East Meadowbrook, Enid

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Back yard, East Meadowbrook, Enid

John is justifiably proud of the garden spot.

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Master landscaper, Enid, OK

He also showed me a couple of ceramic tiles, sent him by a mutual friend.

Lizard Tile
Sun Dial Tile

We went to  Grand Avenue Cafe, Enid’s oldest restaurant, for a fine breakfast.  Then, it was off to da Vinci Coffee House, for an hour or so, enjoying rich java and home made pastries, brought by a couple of the fine ladies who help comprise the Saturday morning gathering.  The young couple who own this establishment were on hand to greet everyone, with a handshake and a hug, for regular and visitor, alike.  We were regaled by the stories of a well-traveled local resident, who had been everywhere I mentioned, except Alaska.  I

After da Vinci, John brought me over to an antique emporium, where I picked up just the right coral  serving dish to gift my cousin, whom I would visit the following day, in southwest Missouri.  We also went to a Catholic thrift store, where I was happy to visit the Chapel of St. Ann.

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Chapel of St. Ann, Enid, OK

I didn’t have as many photos of this solid town, in Oklahoma’s northwest, as I might have.  It all was part of being unobtrusive, and being a polite visitor. Being in John’s company is always a pleasure, though.

NEXT UP:  Chief Joseph’s Memorial and Ponca City

 

Interruption

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Posted by on in Assistance, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

July 10, 2016, Newtown, CT-  In my subsequent posts, I will be doing a bit of time-reversal, focusing on stories of my journey, from last week.  Today, though, I found myself in the predicament of having to put my Nissan in the shop, here in this town that is associated with tragedy.  The engine was smoking, the radiator might have sprung a leak or two, and the coolant overflow tank definitely needs replacing.  I will deal with these things.  It may take two or three days, but I will handle it.

In the meantime, I will be in a hotel room, in nearby Bethel.  This will give me plenty of time to read and write.  I will reflect on the fact that, just three days ago, a mechanic at a Nissan dealership, in a town about 50 miles from here,  replaced the front exhaust pipe, which he said was clogged, with no mention of a radiator problem, or an oil leak. I will converse with one of my closest friends, about whatever cash flow system can be set up, to streamline the payment part of this whole process.  I will write about the things I’ve seen and people whose company I have enjoyed, up to this point.  I will catch up on my reading.

All the while, I will reflect on the lives of the 26 people who paid the ultimate sacrifice, four years ago, this December.  I might lose a car, and have to get another one, but it is a machine.  Most of those who died at Sandy Hook Elementary were just starting out in life.  Being actually killed was the furthest thing from their minds.  That is no longer the case, for many children and their loving adults- both familial and pedagogical.  They look over their shoulders, literally and figuratively, every day.

Ironically, I was going to stop at Sandy Hook, and pay my respects, after gassing up at the  Mobil station, in Newtown.  The consensus, while I was waiting for the tow truck, was that Nissan wasn’t going anywhere.  I, on the other hand, will go where this turn of events takes us;  Me, the car or its replacement, and any who appear in the meantime.

Tales from the 2016 Road: Back to the Texas Panhandle

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Social, Travel

July 1, 2016, Amarillo-  Any road trip that involves I-40 will entail a stop in Amarillo- at least as long as Texas Tidbits is around to spin a yarn or two.  Wes has been a friend for about ten years now, since I started reading his recollections of his town as it was, in the heyday of Route 66.

Southwest 6th Street, below Georgia Avenue, is a pleasing remnant of that time, and may as well be called Amarillo’s Fun Zone.  It reminds me of the North Side, in Fort Worth, or old downtown Nashville.

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Southwest 6th Street, Amarillo

The Goldenlight Cafe and Cantina is a good place for old men and young ladies to see each other as human beings, in search of an appreciative listening ear and reassuring arm around the shoulder- so I’m told.  The folks who were here today seem to get along well, and the photo board shows many more, of people who have befriended one another, over the years.  Wes has taken to this place, and its regulars, since Blue Front became a more upscale establishment.  Oysters for breakfast don’t quite cut it, in the Amarillo he calls home.  We each had our choice of hamburger, and shared a “small” basket of fries.  (Remember, this is Texas.)

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Interior of Goldenlight Cafe and Cantina, Amarillo

Wes was a bit more pensive than usual.

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Wes, in the Goldenlight

After lunch, I drove Wes over to another of his favourite haunts, the Dragon Bar.  It’s a small neighbourhood joint, close to I-27.  Wes pointed out a mural, across the street.  He said it was designed by an attorney who organized the Freedom Project, which focused on getting innocent people released from prison, a while back.

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Street mural, 15th Street, Amarillo

Wes was tired, after a fashion.  So, bidding him farewell, I headed towards Oklahoma, but via the upper Panhandle, stopping by Lake Meredith, a popular local boating site, west of Borger.

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Lake Meredith, TX

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Lake Meredith, TX

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The wild prairie, east of Lake Meredith, TX

There is much else worth exploring and photographing, in the rough remnants of glaciated North Texas.  It was getting on in the day, though, and Enid, OK was still ahead.

NEXT UP:  Da Vinci, Plant in the Window and Art Deco

Tales from the 2016 Road: The Long Walk of 1864

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Posted by on in Historical, Spiritual, Striving, Travel
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Entrance to Fort Sumner National Monument,NM

July 1, 2016, Fort Sumner, NM-  There are several places in the United States, that every citizen should see, if for no other reason than to know that unity is a delicate thing.  Fort Sumner, a place of captivity for thousands of people, in the 1860’s, is such a place.

I have known, and  worked with, Navajo (Dineh) and Hopi people, for several years.  The Dineh, along with the Mescalero Apache (Indeh) people, were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, in 1864, by one of the most unfortunate edicts of President Lincoln, who had a blind spot, where Native Americans were concerned.  He never stopped being an Indian fighter.

The people endured the harsh life of captives, very similar to what the Japanese internees endured in the camps of World War II.  The difference was that the Dineh and Indeh people built the camps, including the quarters of their overseers.  Many died of disease and starvation, in this squalid place.

The people were released in 1868, on orders from President Andrew Johnson, who had no real axe to grind with the Navajos or Apaches.  They walked homeward, and the Navajo wept, when they spotted one of their sacred mountains, Mount Taylor, east of Albuquerque.

Here are some of the sights that presented themselves to me, during my visit here, this morning.  The first shows the pyramid-like structure that houses the museum displays and theater, that tells the story of the Long Walk.  The ranger initially interpreted my foregoing the film, as a sign of disinterest in the actual events.  A conversation, afterward, corrected that misconstruance.

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Monument Headquarters, Fort Sumner, NM

The second photo shows the area, as it might have appeared when the captives first arrived in Bosque Redondo, as the woods were called back then. The Commemoration Stone, first brought here by Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah, in 1994.

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Nature Trail, Fort Sumner, NM

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Commemoration Stone, Fort Sumner, AZ

The descendants of both Navajo and Mescalero Apache internees, and many others from various tribes, bring items of dedication to this memorial site.

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Memorial Site, Fort Sumner, NM

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Barracks for US Army troops, Fort Sumner National  Monument, NM

The above is an example of the structures which captives were forced to build, for the housing of their overseers.

Below is a flock of Churro Sheep, raised by Navajos and now viewed as an heirloom breed, for the quality of their wool and meat.

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Churro Sheep, Fort Sumner National Monument, NM

This visit, which I had planned for quite some time, was a sobering reminder of just how far we have come, and a caution of how far we can fall backwards, in our inter-human connections. Like Manzanar, and Berga, Germany, it is a place that the smug and self-assured would do well to see, as a wake-up call.

NEXT UP:  Return to Amarillo’s Happy Southwest 6th Street.