Todays Nightmare - at the Dentist

Today was a pretty tough one after spending five hours at the dentist office.I was so ready to run out of there. I have never liked going to the dentist. For me it is almost as invasive as my gynecologist. I guess with the latter, I have come to expect it and am use to it, and it is usually pretty quick. However, when someone is in your head sticking and poking and prodding for five hours, you are ready for them to get the hell out. I don’t know anyone that likes the dentist, but I like it even less than most. I always associate a dentist with a construction worker. These days they do pretty much the same thing. Often times they build foundations to put a crown or a bridge or even an implant. Then they sit back and admire their work. They say things like, “that is a beautiful crown, it’s porcelain”, even before it is in your mouth.
They use a great deal of tools for pushing things in the gums, in the teeth, around the teeth and for clean-up during and after their construction. Not too mention, they often times use a great deal of pressure to make things stay in place. We will not even talk about the DRILLING. Like I say, very much like a construction worker. One of the differences may be that a construction worker often times have a larger space, or parcel, to start his construction, when the dentist has a hole in the front of your face to go through, frequently forgetting that there are lips in front of those teeth. After they finish rubbing every instrument and cleaning device over them, you want to forget that the lips are there too. Sort of like building a small city in a gourd. It takes patience, precision, and if you are lucky, a gentle hand.

Santa Monica Mall

The Santa Monica Mall is now re-opened after closing for reconstruction two years ago. Of course I was anxious to see it and I did just that. It was impressively designed, but I still think the Promenade is my favorite. This new mall is three stories high and is an open air design. The concern I have with that is the fact that it gets pretty cool out there as it was yesterday after five, and what happens when it rains?
However it is beautiful. My favorite store is going to be there, Nordstrom, but it was not opened as of yesterday.

I love shopping in Santa Monica and now there is somewhere else to go.

Westward Migration

Finally I worked my way to the Autry Museum and it was well worth it. I have been fascinated with the natural landscape of California every since I arrived here.

This exhibit shows the importance of the contribution of women in the development of the west along with many African Americans.

There was something that I read in the museum's brochure about a female doctor named Justina Ford.
Dr. Justina Laurena Warren Ford was the first African American female doctor in Colorado, and was still the only female African American doctor there when she died in 1952. She demonstrates perseverance and dedication to her dream as many pioneers have and did not let the obvious roadblock deter her. Her home in Denver has been moved from its original location, and is now the home of the Black American West Museum.

I was quite surprised in the number of African American Cowboys there were in this migration west, now realizing that one-third of the cowboys were black. They had established all black townships, and owned a great deal of prime real estate. Information that is not in our history text books. It make me angry that so much of our history is omitted as though it is not American History.
There is also a beautiful exhibit throughout of the American Indian and their contribution to the westward migration of the cowboy.

There are more photos of the exhibits here.

Realizing Memorial Day

Deciding to go out to Santa Monica Beach is always something I want to do, but this being a holiday weekend I wanted to go take in the sun and sights before the holiday crowd came on Sunday and Monday.

I discovered that the older I get the less I like large crowds. Well I was not able to avoid the crowd, but I knew that it would be worst the more we got into this holiday weekend.

After parking in the first parking lot right on the beach, we decided to walk back toward the Santa Monica Pier. It was a nice breeze on the beach and there were people everywhere. As we started to walk along the pier trying to decide where we will eat, we noticed a memorial down below, actually on the beach. It was at that moment when the real meaning and purpose of this holiday hit home for me.

The white crosses were for those lost in the war in Iraq, and the red crosses were for those lost in Afghanistan.

We decided to go down and take a closer look and there were names and pictures as well as an area where you could write what every you wanted in memory of our fallen troops. When I read the names and looked at the faces and read what had already been written there, I started to feel that pull at my heart and became a bit emotional. I found that there were many others there having the same experience.

This was actually the first time that I got it. I was living through this war, that we often try not to think about, because it is actually occurring on foreign soil. At first I was sad that so many lives were lost and so many families forever affected by it, and then I started to feel a sense of pride and gratitude. That is what I left with.

I was also grateful that whoever decided to put the memorial there did so. It reminded those that were on the beach to have fun in the sun,
why they really are able to celebrate this
day with such freedom.



















These are the names and it goes on and on. It makes these people more than just a casualty, it makes them human. Somebody's son, daughter, husband, wife, mother, father, or friend. It made you feel the sacrifice of so many people.









Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, when many women would decorate the grave sites of fallen soldiers. After the Civil War, there were said to be celebrations all over the country to mark the end of the war and to memorialize those that died.

A history professor from Yale University believes that the first observance of memorial day was in Charleston, South Carolina, where the was a prison camp for captured Union soldiers as well as a mass grave. After the hostilities of the Civil War, in 1865, formerly enslaved people exhumed the bodies from the mass graves and reinterred them into individual graves. They then put a fence around the grounds and called it a union graveyard.This was all finished in about ten days.

It was reported in the Charleston newspaper on May 1, 1865, that a crowd of approximately ten thousand people, predominantly black, gathered at this graveyard where there were sermons, singing, and picnics.

Many years later it was changed to Memorial Day and observed by all 50 states.

Annenberg Space for Photographers

Today as I paced the floor trying to figure out what I was going to do with this beautiful holiday weekend, I searched the internet for goings on in Los Angeles. Well of course there are always lots of things going on, but I was looking for some kind of festival, a great photo opportunity. I did not come across any festivals, but I was so anxious to get out of the house before all of the holiday traffic and mishaps filled the city.

I decided to go to the Annenberg Space for Photography, a place that I intended to visit for almost two years. I first heard about this place when I became a member of this local photography club, Photographers and Digital Artist of Los Angeles, but never found the time to go. There has been numerous lectures and exhibits that I intended to see, but never made it.

Today I decided that it was time. After mapping my way with Google Maps, I decided that I would catch the bus to avoid parking fees as well as traffic on a Friday after noon before Memorial Day weekend, and I headed out.

Annenberg is located on Avenue of the Stars off of Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. The main exhibit was a collaboration with National Geographic on the state of fresh water in our world, and it was beautifully done; as is anything with National Geographic. The space is smaller than I expected, however not too small, and beautifully designed.

Being a photographer myself, it was well worth the visit and a place I hope to frequent.

The above photo was taken from http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/

Sam Elliot- Star Sighting

While hanging out in Malibu, I decided to stop to the How's Market off Trancas Canyon Road to get me bottle of pomegranate juice. This is small How's market and quite conjusted, but also quite adequate. As I am walking down the left side of the store where they keep cold bottled drinks in an open cooler, my friend is walking behind me. As I barrel around this corner I almost bumped into the buggy of a gentleman that was headed my way, I said, "I am sorry excuse me" as pulled his cart more to the right side to keep from bumping me with it. He then said something that sounded like' no problem honey", as I had already passed by, and I immediately turned around, and pointed to him, and my girlfriend said yes that was him. I recognized the voice, more than the face because I didn't look him directly in the face. But it was Sam Elliot.



So I went on and got my pomegranate juice but as I was going back to the register he was headed my way again, so I said hello again, and as we were passing told him that I loved his movies, and he said thanks and blew me a kiss, and a great big smile.

Park at the end of Malibu Canyon Road-What a View

I was out to a park on near Peppidine University in Malibu and there was this long path that leads down to the water. If you look closely at this picture you can see it going toward the water. My friend told me that I should walk on down there, but I was hesitant. I know where there is water and brush there are usually rattlesnakes or water moccasins. I told her that if the gentleman with the dog went down that trail I would go along or behind them, because I trust the instincts of a dog.


This little lady's name is Sadie.

I started talking to the dogs owner telling him what we were talking about and of course he agreed about the instincts of a dog. His name was Jim and he told me that a couple of weeks ago there was rather large rattlesnake there off to the side of the walkway, and before approaching Sadie started to walk to the opposite side as though she sensed something directly in front of them in their path.

As they got closer he saw the rattlesnake and the dog was walking further and further away.


Jim went on telling me more stories about Sadie, how she was raised by the cats that he and his wife have at home, so often times, she acts like a cat. She gets excited and will chase something as small as a leaf blowing in the wind. She was picking up on the light caused by the sun shining on my camera lens. It appeared as though she wanted to chase that as well.

He told me how Sadie was a really friendly dog but sometimes when he notices that she does not like a person that he may come in contact with, he will just speak and keep going. He has learned to trust her instincts, because often time we ignore our own.

At this point Sadie was just enjoying the cool breeze and the warmth of the sun.