Third Hand Clothing

   Is it appropriate to give away a jacket with a broken zipper?
   The sleeves had shrunk. The jacket no longer fit. Repairing the zipper didn't make sense.
   Better to drop the jacket into a charity bin. They're commonplace. The one in the photo is operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
   Our nation is prosperous. New clothing is affordable. Donated clothing is of good quality. It's possible that few people, even recipients of charity, want to fix zippers anymore.
   All to often in this consumer culture, old things that still work, or need mending, get thrown into the trash.   
   I live in New England. We're known for 'Yankee frugality.' I had purchased that jacket years ago at a used clothing store. I replaced it two days ago with another second hand jacket.
   The notion of trashing usable items bothers me. For that reason I dropped my jacket into Saint Vincent's bin.
   Somebody out there might find a use for a third hand garment that needs repair.

Balancing Acts

   On a frozen pond in Massachusetts, a boy learns how to skate. Milk crates and hockey sticks provide stability. 
   When I was a child, that pond is where my mother taught me how to skate. To assist me with balance, she held my hand. Sometimes she'd gently let go of it.   
   Decades have past. Mom is now elderly.
   I took her for a walk last week. We strolled along an icy pathway. She gripped the crook of my arm. I held her hand to keep her balanced. 
   I did not let go.

Framing Our Lives

A turkey vulture soars above the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri.

 
   Why isn't this bird centered in the frame? It's because extra space on the right, the direction of the bird's flight, pleases the eye.
   Does this compositional technique touch upon a psychological underpinning?
   To use a metaphor, I believe people are happier when they're moving in a direction. Direction can mean raising a family, undertaking a long term challenge, growing one's faith in God, just to name a few.
   It's not direction alone that brings happiness, what's essential is movement in a direction.
   Wealth or fame doesn't create happiness. Sometimes those conditions impose distractions. When people are distracted, they not moving toward their aspirations. 
   Too many distractions place us in the center of our frames.  Life is happier on the sides, when we're moving toward the center.

Cold Seat, Cold War

   Beneath this chair is the roof of a bunker built during the cold war. It's located atop a hill in Massachusetts. The entrance to the bunker is sealed.
   Anti-aircraft searchlights once stood upon the bunker. They overlooked a factory making products used by the American defense establishment.
   That pseudo war is over. The bunker was abandoned decades ago. Tenants no longer lease the factory (seen in bottom photo).
   Trees have taken root, obscuring the summit of the hill. Few people know about the bunker or the viewpoint.
   During warmer weather, the owner of the chair probably sips a refreshment and soaks up sunshine. Chances are, he doesn't know the original purpose of the concrete rooms under his feet.
      Nor does he realize that his Shangri-La comes to him courtesy of Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, Nikita Khruschev, and Dwight Eisenhower.

Footprints of Our Lives

Second snowstorm this winter where I live.

   Each day we create footprints.
   Some prints are physical, leaving impressions in snow, dirt, and other surfaces.
   Other prints are behavioral, leaving impressions in the minds of fellow human beings. All behaviors--kindness hostility, indifference, just to name a few--impact people.
   Sometimes these impacts are direct. They affect individuals exposed to our behaviors.
   Often they're indirect. Person One performs an action. It leaves an impression on Person Two. Later Person Two makes a decision. He bases it on the impression he'd gotten from Person One. This decision affects Person Three. 
   Everything is tied in. That's how God designed it. We are influenced by actions taken by all people--the famous and the not famous--from centuries ago to one hour ago.

   Physical footprints disappear. Behavioral footprints last forever. The words we utter, the actions we take, and the things we fail to do, reverberate forever in the collective consciousness of the world.
   Someone we'll face a final judgement. Our footprints will be examined. Will these footprints have contributed to goodness or evil?

Drive By Shooting

  
   Some people around the world think Americans are gun crazy. Are they correct or wrong?
   I've driven through lots of rural areas in this country. Few signs--or mailboxes--are pockmarked  from gunshots. One exception is that mailbox in the photo. I photographed it in South Dakota.
   Years ago, road signs often got targeted. That Wild West mentality has subsided. My sense is that most gun owners are responsible, peaceful, and law abiding.
   Hollywood pumps out movies depicting gun violence. The news media reports crimes involving guns. It's no wonder that people here in America, and beyond, get the impression that the United States is a shooting gallery.
   That impression is wrong. Sure, there's episodes of gun violence. Most Americans, myself included, are not affected by it.
   I do not own a firearm. Most people I'm acquainted with do not own firearms. Those citizens who exercise their their right to own guns neither threaten me or worry me.

What is Principle?

   A priest at Saint Peter's Church in Boston shows visitors a sculpture. It depicts Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate.
   Why didn't Pilate release Jesus? According to every gospel, Pilate believed Jesus innocent.
   Some historians theorize that a crisis in Rome influenced Pilate's decision. One year earlier, the Emperor Tiberius had ordered the murder of Sejanus, the empire's second in power. Consumed by paranoia, Tiberius initiated a purge of people who'd backed Sejanus.  
   Pontius Pilate had been appointed by Sejanus to govern Judea. Pilate, as a protege of Sejanus, might have believed himself under suspicion by the emperor.
   Given those circumstances, Pilate must have shaken in his sandals when the mob shouted, "If you let this man (Jesus) go, you are no friend of Ceaser."
   Why do some people stand up for principle while others pursue expediency?
   Principle requires conviction and willingness to assume risks. Many individuals possess one of those attributes. Fewer possess both.

Chilling Out With a Swan

   Ice is closing in on a trumpeter swan. Only a narrow ribbon of open water remains on this lake.
   Swans are notorious for aggression and defending territory. But during a cold snap of late, this bird has shared the ribbon of water with ducks.
   What explains the swan's tolerance of those birds? Does it sense that with ice closing in, its territory is no longer worth defending? When the entire lake freezes, will the swan fly away?
  This winter, I've visited the lake several times. Each stop-by lasts a few minutes. Besides watching the swan, not much else happens; and that's the attraction. Scenery and quietude replace the mind numbing stimuli of modern life. Afterwards I feel refreshed. My work performance improves.
   Regular exposure to nature, even in small doses, makes our lives happier.

Site and Sight

 
   An isthmus cuts through a swamp near my home. Brush, trees, and thorns clutter the terrain. Winter is the best season to explore it. The ground isn't mucky.
   A game trail led me into the morass. There I discovered a deer skull.
   Parts of the head were missing. Pine cones filled a cavity that housed its brain.
   How did the animal die? An ambush by coyotes? Those carnivores are prevalent where I live. During winters they hunt in packs. They might have figured out that deer funnel through this isthmus.
   Have coyotes turned the isthmus into a killing zone? During another hike through here, I found the bones of a different creature.
   People are intrigued by skeletal remains. Why the fascination? Perhaps it's not bones alone that pique curiosity. What's also garners interest are the locations where living creatures took their final steps.
   The site of death--a location--and the sight of death--bones--reminds us off our mortality.