Unless you caught the full program on TV, you probably missed how "Together We Thrive, Tucson&America" moved people to tears, cheers and standing ovations. Not the usual kind of memorial service for a massed shooting where six died and fourteen were wounded including US Representative Gabb… Read full post »

As his train crossed the Harlem River on that cloudy morning he never thought the journey would ever end. Perhaps it was due to the distinguished passengers aboard but it seemed that the train would never get to the other side.

In any case, he always enjoyed the ride, especially… Read full post »

"Let there be peace, and let it begin with me," that's the motto for this year. May it be with you.

The year of the Metal Rabbit promises to bring some much needed peace and tranquility. If you are like most people, you probably feel like you were on a roller… Read full post »

This is the third of three short videos I made in the '90s where I visit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and "contemplate the nature of the universe."

There's really not much I can say about it as when I watch it my talking brain shuts down just as… Read full post »

This is the last of the vintage desert videos. It documents my actual life experience after coming back from the desert and riding up in the elevator to the 24th floor of Building #4 in Osaka, Japan, where I led small group discussions at the NHK Culture Center for people who… Read full post »

This is the second of three short videos I made in the '90s and starts with the drive north out of Twentynine Palms, California, over Sheep Hole Pass to Amboy which used to be a major stopping point on Route 66 but became almost nothing when Interstate 40 opened.

Traveling… Read full post »

This is the first of three short videos I made in the '90s and shows the Jimenez family rock climbing in Joshua Tree National Monument, now Joshua Tree National Park. The climber, Ian, is my grandson.

Although I didn't know it until much later, Joshua Tree has been in my… Read full post »

If you grow salt and you harvest salt, it must be on a salt farm, right? Nope, the four main people out at Danby Lake call it a salt mine and they all grew up in the desert and should know. It doesn't make a lot of sense to people… Read full post »

While some may call it mining, the people at Danby Lake in the Mojave desert say they're growing salt. Seems strange until you understand the process where salt actually grows.

Common salt (NaCl) is a basic material for living beings. Mankind, as well as fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and… Read full post »

A few weeks ago, David Trojan asked if I knew of any military crash sites in Aguila. I didn't, but it sounded interesting so I spent a day with him reviewing an existing site, visiting another and looking for a third.

Dave lives in the Phoenix area so we met… Read full post »

After I'd returned from my journey down the Midland Road from Rice to Blythe, I searched for information on Midland, the ghost town I'd found, and learned that it had been a company town owned by U.S. Gypsum between 1925 and the 1960s. Large amounts of gypsum found in the area… Read full post »

"The Tea Party is phenomenal, a political phenomena, because it's a leaderless revolution, and a leaderless movement, and that's where its strength comes from.

"I'm a Tea Party of one, and so is everybody else here, we just happened to come here at the same time. And all across… Read full post »

The Midland Road runs south from California 62 at Rice, crisscrossing the railroad line that runs south through Midland and Blythe to Ripley, California. Also known as the Blythe Road, it ends at Lovekin Boulevard in Blythe which continues south and intersects Interstate 10. Ripley is further… Read full post »

Recycling Our Highways: Part 4

Marty Pigue has continued collecting cans, glass, and plastic throughout the heat of summer, only things may change if and when the California budget gets approved.

I went over to Vidal Junction, Marty's home base, last week and found him still hard at work… Read full post »

"Hi, I'm Dave McLane. I've been taking pictures, of people in Japan and how they live, for about a year now."

These words were spoken in one of the first videos I made back in 1995 when I lived in Nagaokakyo-shi, Japan when online connections were dial-up and modem speeds… Read full post »

One thing that holds Aguila, Arizona, together is the Tuesday Market. Also known as a swap meet, it's a kind of moveable shopping center that sets up in Hispanic areas in and around Phoenix.

The main street is US 60 which used to be the main route from Los Angeles to… Read full post »

Last night was just about full moon and this year the Arizona monsoon never materialized where I live some 100 miles north-west of Phoenix -- three days of average dewpoint 55 F (13 C) or higher.

There were fleeting clouds and off in the far distance I could see silent… Read full post »

Harvesting chili peppers starts just after sunrise when there's enough light to see what you're doing. It's also quite cool at that time of day, often around 80 F (27 C), while it can get to well over 100 F (38 C) in the after noon.

The chili pepper field… Read full post »

While most of American agriculture has been mechanized, there are still things that need a human touch, like separating melons from the vine.

If you've driven US 60 west from Wickenburg, Arizona, to where it disappears into Interstate 15 at Brenda, you've passed through what used to… Read full post »

Maybe times have changed, but full-body tattoos were an indication of yakuza when I lived in Japan, especially if they were on women. However, not-quite-full body tattoos were in evidence at the sento (public bath) that I used and were on working class men, carpenters, electricians and the lik… Read full post »

Komyoji is the largest Buddhist temple in Nagaokakyo-shi, Kyoto-fu, Japan. Built in 1198 it's the main temple of the Seizan-Jodo Sect and is famous for its brilliant red leaves during late autumn.

I would often go to Komyoji to hear monks chanting and one time managed to sound the bell… Read full post »

Actual Life Autumn 1995 is composed of eight short stories showing what my life was like when I lived in Nagaokakyo-shi and held classes at NHK Culture Center in Osaka.

Haruji Nishikoji had gone to college in the United States and worked with his brother in the family business/… Read full post »

I don't remember exactly how I came to meet up with Peter Berg in Kyoto back in 1995. Most probably because he'd contacted me through Aegis, one of the two computer-based systems in Japan that allowed ordinary people to connect with BITNET, JUNET, USENET, and send e-mail.

Peter was coming… Read full post »

The Taisho Era Elementary School Moral Book was published on November 28 in the second year of the Taisho Era (1911) and includes the "Imperial Rescript on Education" by the Emperor of the Meiji Era written in the twenty-third year of the Meiji Era (1890).

Books such as… Read full post »

Recycling Our Highways: Part 3

I hadn't been over to see Marty Pigue since the beginning of May but I'd kept in touch so I could be there when he cashed out the stuff he'd collected along the highways.

We finally found a time when I could accompany… Read full post »