Bruce Springsteen - My City of Ruins - 9/11 Benefit

Picture Perfect Freestyle Week Day Two - WHERE WERE YOU?

In the late 90s I spent a lot of time in New York State as an adviser to the Environment and Conservation Services as an adviser on exchange from the UK government working on a Lake Ontario Project, my time divided between NYC and the Project office in Watertown up on Lake Ontario.

NY State became my adopted home for a while and NYC was just by USA standards a short 4 hour drive away I became very fond of that city and my friends I made there  on our weekends off.


In September 11 2001 I was on Vacation in Spain in a little town called Nerjsa on the Mediterranean. When I got up that day and turned on Sky news the world had changed forever. I initially thought I was watching a disaster  Movie, then with a cold chill I released this was the real deal.


My buddies and I like most people I know sat engrossed and unbelieving for the rest of the day as the terrible events unfolded. A day I will never forget for the rest of my life.


When I got back to England the first thing I did was order a ticket to fly to New Youk the following March determined to give my own little 2 fingers up to the terrorists who had perpetrated thsi foul deed.


In fact I Made a pilgrimage to NY for several years after and was lucky enough to be in NY when the Globe  From outside the World Trade Center was set up in Battery Park as a temporary Memorial to the Fallen, I watched Rudy Giuliani and many other people make speeched and dedicate the Memorial. It became a very special place for me and I try and remember it every year at this time.


I am sorry this was a little long winded here is my Picture and a Video I made way back when "Where were you?

9/11 Lest we Forget!

Next Shot Group

The First week of Next Shot Group on Blogger is Posted:
http://nextshot.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/next-shot-week-one-view-through-window.html

FREESTYLE WEEK ON PICTURE PERFECT - ☼ Morning Light ☼

Images With Quotes 175 Abandoned Echoes

Off the Beaten Track?

Did you ever have one of those days, you know, when you wake up inthe morning and you know, you just know its going to be a beautiful day?



Mom and I headed out to Avon Valley Country Park. Its a wild life haven I have been visiting and capturing since I moved here 3 Summers ago.



Somewhere I had got to know really well, or so I thought!



Familiar avenues, familiar old trees that have come to feel like old friends you know so well.




Beautiful sky's that take your breath away?



Vistas that explode with colour.



And water, water you just have to love.



Some spots were created for the photographer.



I could set up camp here and just shoot this view for the rest of my life.



Then just when you think you found your place your comfort zone.

It all changes!

Just a little something, in this case a small bridge across a deep ditch, through the trees and ...................................................?



A whole new world opens up a new perspective on the world you were so comfortable with so familiar you took it totally for granted.




A new angle to look at what you had always known but just could not see.



New vistas new opportunities to experience the beauty of our world from a new point.




and

Finally the thing I love about the natural world the best things come in the smallet packages.



Actually its funny, If you think about it. It is funny how nature mirrors life, you think you know something so well, you take it for granted, then when you step back you find it was not what you thought it was!

A sobering experience!

Have a wonderful day and may your God go with you;)

Good Morning Have a wonderful day;)

An afternoon shooting Ocean side

With the Summer season almost over and most of the tourists gone home, I took Mom down to the coast to to visit Boscome Beach we had not been down there for some time and it had really changes its been modernized considerably.

I took the time to take a selection of landscapes, candids and architectural shots, here are a few I hope you enjoy them, have a great day;)

Good Morning;)

Have a great weekend;)

Sooooooooooooo This is offically my only blogging home now

Hi all, I closed my Multiply account today due to a total lack of interest in communicating, except for a small core of "die hards" and am only Blogging here now. Although I have cross-posted a few bits this is my first Blogger blog.

Its a welcome to my wayward friends from Multiply ands new readers I see on my list of friends.

I only keep a small circle of friends, Not usually more than 50, simply because I can't get around and read blogs from more people that that.

Shortly I will be closing down the Page to public viewing and there are a few rules about this and every other blog I have had that I want to make clear.

This is a place for fun and enjoyment, DON'T come start fights with people  or me on my Pages, you will be blocked.

DON'T add me to your list is your not going to read me and comment.  I will comment on all blogs my friends post except political posts which I will neither read or comment on.

Blogging is a 2 way street if your somebody who blogs and expects comments on your posts, but does not have time to respond, I am not for you either.

My buddies from Multiply know I regularly "Spring Clean" my list if you don't visit and comment,  your gone!

Blogging is about being a community and respect if you don't want to be part of my community and you don't have the Courtesy to comment if you read my posts, then please take me off your list.

If your happy with all the about your most welcome on my site and I will appreciate and respond to all your comments and posts and I believe there is a real chance to make a community here that will be better than Multiply ever was.











 

This is now the only site I will be posting on

I have closed my Multiply site I may be reading there but I am done Blogging

The Club

The Club

The club was very special, probably only one person in a generation, in any country in the world, got an invitation to become a member.

The invitation would arrive one morning in a gilt envelope and would contain a simple message,

" You are invited to a special reception at "Immortals" on Friday evening at 8:00pm"

Brief directions were given.

The strange thing was the directions were different for every person that got an invitation as they had been since Immortals first appeared 10,000 years ago.

You could (if you new where to look, and what you were looking for) find the staircase on the corner or every block in every major city in the world.

A set of simple unadorned steel steps leading  to a large door and an entrance hall leading to a second large door.

Nobody ever noticed the stairs, only that one with an invitation.

Amazing thing, it was always just a short walk from their home!

---------------------------------------

It was Friday morning in Makiki Honolulu, Hawai'i.

A young  man of colour with mixed African and white American descent walked out to the mail box.

It was August 4, 1979 and it was his 18 birthday.

He was eager to see if he had any cards.

When he opened the box there was just one gilt envelope.

He opened it as he walked back up the path to his grandmothers house.

Inside was a simple card with a few words and directions on it.

" You are invited to a special reception at Immortals on Friday evening at 8:00pm"

At a building just a block away from his home.

He thought it was a joke but decided to play along with it.

At 7:30PM it was already dark.

The young man kissed his grandmother and made his way out.

He walked for a few minutes and easily found the steel stair case leaning up the side of an old factory block.

Now he knew it was a joke, but still he played along.

He slowly climbed the steps and  was about to bang on the door when it opened.

A short man from Indian in a white robe opened the door, the young man was sure he knew his face.

The man just smiled and ushered him in.

There was a strange tingling down his spine as he passed through the second door.

First thing he saw was a fat Englishman smoking a large cigar, booming out a laugh in a deep gravel voice

As, A middle aged Italian dressed in a strange monk like garb, held up a sketch of an enigmatic black haired woman with an en witching smile and shouted noooooooooo she was ugly as hell!

At the next table was a guy with a huge shock of curly hair, who from his accent was German, he was saying, "I am convinced that God does not play dice."

The man sitting next to him said with a definite Greek accent "Albert your a rouge" and they both laughed out loud.

As he moved forward he was sure Albert called the Greek, Odysseus, he shook his head, no he misheard!

The young man looked around and all the faces around him were familiar in some way.

A beautiful English woman walked over to the young man and the Indian and said "Thanks Mahatma, I will take over from here", The Indian smiled and said simply "your welcome Florence".

Florence took the young mans arm and guided him across the room to a dark corner where a group of men sat around a  table in the shadows.

They all looked up as Florence and the young man approached.

She said "gentlemen this is the young man we have all been waiting for".

Florence introduced them one by one, as she did the young mans eyes grew wider and wider.

Socrates,

Plato,

Aristotle,

Marcus Aurelius,

Thomas Aquinas,

Voltaire,

Mencius,
 
Confucius,

Al-Kindī,

Siddhārtha Gautama,

Sun Tzu,

The Young man laughed and said "man this is some joke, where are the guys?"

The men at the table looked at him seriously for a long moment.

Then the man introduced simply as Voltaire stood up and said with a thick French accent, "Young man we have been waiting a very long time for you.

Sun Tzu, pulled out a chair and offered the young man a seat at the table.


-------------------------------------------------------------

On August 25 2009 few minutes after 8PM in Washington DC, the sun had gone down.

A middle aged black American of mixed race, slipped out of a door into a service yard at the back of the White House and climbed a set of simple unadorned steel steps leading  to a large door and an entrance hall leading to a second large door......................

If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time

Love- Reposted from 2009

As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I notice that, you carry the weight of your years on your shoulders like an old heavy trench coat.
The burden you have carried for so long diminishing the body but not the soul.


As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I see time pass for you like the winding down of an old clock.
The spring slowly unwinding, time ticking down to that final tick.


As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I wonder at the zest for life that has carried you forward, while so many others have fallen along the way.
I wonder at the sheer will power that has lifted you from sleep to meet the mountainous challenges of another day.

As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I reflect on how you carry the burden of pain with you every day.
But packed deep away, so that only those who know how to see can tell its there.

As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I remember the distance that had grown between us for so long.
Now I cherish the bond and love we have developed in the the sunset years.

As I sit across the room and watch you as you sleep.
I finally allow the obvious to surface from the deep recesses of my mind.
I am you.

                       bAZ©2009
(based on a previous commentary)

     

Life's NOT a Safe Haven!

We have two choices in life we can sit around thinking about it, or we can get off our butts and live it!

Faith in spirituality enables us to trust ourselves.

With trust we can let go of the past and have the courage to dare.

To dare with courage gives us the confidence to know that we can achieve what we set out to achieve.

If we begin with doubt then we have sown the seed of possible failure.

Faith in spirituality always allows us to win. Every step of faith opens another chapter in our lives.

The Bridge

The Bridge

Critchley had walked to the bridge and sat on the bench to eat his lunch for the last 60 years. It had fond memories for him, he had met his wife in this park in 1949, he was 23. They had sat on this bench holding hands on their first date.

On the back of the bench carved into one of the boards was a heart with the initials JC and AM inside. Jim Critchley was 83, born during the last days of 1926. He had married Amanda Morrison in 1951.

They had 4 short years together before she was taken after being struck down with meningitis. He sat at her hospital bed for 12 days while she was in a coma, never moving from her side.

On the evening of the 12 day as he sat in a chair next to her bed, he felt her fingers close on his hand, he looked up and her eyes were open, her lips were moving, but her voice so weak he could not hear. He moved close to her his ear near to her mouth. "I will be at the bridge" is all she said and a long sigh escaped her lips. He looked up her eyes were open, but Amanda Morrison was gone. He bowed his head and wept long groaning sobs.

The Hospital staff took 2 hours to persuade him to release his embrace on her lifeless body.

After that Critchley had existed, simply going through the functions of day to day life, working, eating, sleeping  and going to the bridge every day at lunchtime. Summer and Winter. Autumn and Spring. No matter what the weather, he was there. He did not notice the years pass. In reality Critchley did not notice much of anything.

Today Critchley picked up his Pastrami on Rye from the Deli on the corner of 25 and Idaho and walked slowly with the aid of his stick to the park and the Bridge. He eased himself down onto the bench with a soft groan his bones aching more than ever. He did as he always did ate his lunch and thought about his short time with Amanda and what she had whispered in his ear.

Life went on around Critchley without him ever really noticing, passers by a blur of movement and sound. Unusually Critchley slowly dozed off, half his lunch sandwich falling to the ground for the birds to quickly scavenge.

It was dusk when a voice jogged Critchley from his sleep. A soft familiar whisper, "Critch", "Critch" "Its Time Darling", he rubbed his blurry eyes and looked up in the half light he saw a woman standing on the bridge, there seemed to be something familiar about her in his half dream state. "Come on Critch, its time for us to go".

Slowly Critchley eased himself up from the bench, and was suddenly shocked to find he had no pain, he looked up and noticed a strange glow around the bridge and the woman was standing her hand held out towards him, with an oh so familiar smile on her face.

Critchley ran to the bridge and looked into the eyes of his one and only love, Amanda Morrison.
She took his hand and guided him over the bridge into the shadows of the park, the glow around the bridge was gone.

At 11.50pm Sergeant Patrick O'Shaunasey was taking a short cut home through the park from the station house. He found Critchley's body still sitting on the bench with the crumbs left by the birds around his feet. His eyes were still open he was looking in the direction of the bridge with a grin on his face, but Jim Critchley was gone.

Journey

Journey

We travel the road alone, we arrive alone, we depart alone.

Along the way friends and loved ones come and go.

They colour and paint our lives in the most extraordinary ways.

Father to Son, Father to Son.

Mother to Daughter, Mother to Daughter.

From friends we learn throughout our lives.

They rally to us in moments of need and uncertainty.

The journey is indeed an uncertain one, for we know not its direction or terminus.

Most of the time we travel in the light our path clear and certain.

At other moments the way is dark and undefined.

At these times those closest to us, are our guiding lights.

This closeness not measured in distance

But in love and comradeship

There is I have no doubt, a way, a route, a path to what we seek

The journey different for each of us but a journey it is!

If we  are diligent and with a little luck we may find  Enlightenment along the way

If as the song says you still have not found what your looking for.

Don't stop Looking.

It is out there.

Somewhere!

A Buenaventure Love Story

It was a perfect evening, the sun slowly sinking in the West. Painting the sky with golden and red hues.

He had tied the boat up for the night in the prearranged place, just a few miles outside the city.Sitting in the cabin he waited for his visitor to arrive.

There was excitement and nervousness in his mind.
Opening the door of a small cabinet he took out a bottle of Glenmorangie - Single Malt Scotch Whisky, dropped ice in a glass and poured a double shot.

Tonight was going to be make or break for Mike. What happened between him and Alejandra would decide his future.

The Fact she was so beautiful made things even more daunting for him. He could not get her sensuous curved body out of his mind.

But he knew that he had to convince her that what he was offering was the real thing. So he would keep his mind clear and be sure that she accepted him for what he was.

She had to drive out to the bay from Buenaventure and depending on the traffic should be there anytime.

Mike sipped his scotch and considered how he was going to get from Alejandra what he wanted. He knew she was interested in what he had to offer and what he wanted from her.

A broad smile had crossed her soft lips when he had suggested meeting on the boat in a secluded place. She had kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear so that none at the party would hear.

So here he waited at the appointed time, praying that everything would go as smoothly as it had in his dreams.

There was the sound of tyres on gravel and lights cast shadows through the cabin windows. A car door slammed and he could hear the crunch of the gravel as she walked to the dock.

Alejandra was a beautiful 37 year old woman who knew what she wanted. Tonight was going to be make or break for Alejandra.

What happened between her and Mike would decide her future. The fact he was so handsome made things even more daunting for her.

She could not get his strong muscular body out of her mind.But she knew that she had to convince him that what she was offering was the real thing.

So she would keep her mind clear and be sure that he accepted her for what she was.

They met on the dock and he kissed her on both cheeks and welcomed her. Putting an arm around her waist he guided her up the ladder and onto the cruser.

He noticed that she had a night bag with her and that surprised him a little. He had not expected that she would be that prepared for what he had suggested to her at the party.

He offered her a drink she said she would drink what he was drinking. They talked the small talk for a while and then Mike suggested that they sit down and discuss his proposal.

That broard smile crossed her lips and she said that no discussion was needed and that he should show her what he had to offer.

Mike grinned that stupid boyish grin as he did when he knew he was going to get what he wanted.

He turned and went to the cabinet and pulled out a briefcase clicked the locks and opened the lid.

As he turned he heard the sound of a zip being slowly slid open, that grin returning to his face.

As he looked into her eyes, his grin disappeared in an instant.

Alejandra Escobar Gaviria stood before him with her fathers Uzi Submachine Pistol in her hand that she had taken from the night bag.

As Mike went to speak she fired off 2 shots, both hitting Mike squarely in the forehead, the case fell from his hand and he was dead before he hit the floor.

Alejandra Escobar Gaviria was a beautiful Colombian woman, but more than that she was the daughter of imprisoned, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria the most notorious and violent drug lord of the Medellín Cartel.

She looked at Mikes body almost sadly as she picked up the bags of white powder that had fallen from the case, he had been such a beautiful man.

But far more importantly, tonight a new dynasty of the  Medellín Cartel had been born!

Tears of a Clown

Tears of a Clown

Tears you can not see
Tears inside his head
Arms out stretched and a sad refrain
Can not belie his inner pain
Time upon time had come and gone
Child to man
to grave and on
Each best friend
The same sad fate
To make the final journey to heavens gate
But here he waits for another chance
A child to protect and life enhance.
Age upon age
Eon to Eon
The tears of the clown
flow on and on
Grief for Friends
now all long gone