In search of Excalibur

Legend has it that King Arthur sought out the famous sword on a small island inhabited by the Lady of the Lake.   It was the first think I thought of when I saw this view of Mary’s Lake in Glacier National Park.  If you look closely, you might see the hilt of a sword….

Should I or shouldn’t I…

After a prolonged absence from this blog, I tripped back in and found that I was still getting hits here.  When last we met, I was a student.  Now, after working in the private sector for 25 years, I am an English/Literature/Drama teacher in a middle school.  It is by far the toughest job I have ever had.  Anyone who thinks that teaching is an easy gig should follow me for a day or two.

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to showcase my photographs…not my prose.  If you like what you see, let me know!

Bruce

The stuff that dreams are made of…

 Well the ol’ Blog class is winding down.  Found this in a collection from Naples FL back in 2004.  Seemed appropriate for the end of a great class!

 Hard to believe that the term is going by so fast!  Found this sign in an Oregon state park last spring.  Made me wonder just how often these signs are needed!  Anyway, it seemed vaguely appropriate for those of us embroiled in research papers, mid-terms, and for those first blockers, FINALS!  Good luck everybody!

What will they think of next?

  OK…

This was what graced the London skyline when I was there in ‘03.  I am not an architect and Lord knows my taste in just about anything is not like anybody else, but this just looks weird!  It’s like a giant bird layed an egg in the middle of London. One might even think that the cranes are trying to tie it down ala Gulliver’s Travels.  What are your thoughts?

Embrace the chance

The Rosetta Stone was one of the highlights of my trip to the British National Museum.  What were the odds against this amazing stone ever seeing the light of day?  This simple stone depicting one of the Ptolomaic Decrees in Egyptian hyroglyphs and Greek opened up the entire Egyptian language to modern man.  If we had such a chance to add to the wealth of human knowledge, would we recognize it?  Would we embrace the chance to make a difference?  Just a thought.

Lessons learned

 This is a small piece of the Trinity Tree in Dingle County, Ireland .  Located just outside St. Mary’s Church, this dead sycamore takes on a new life as art.  The artist, Juan Carlos Lizana Correno is more known for his totems and it shows here, What a gift to be able to see beneath the dead surface and hear the wood speak to you of the images inside!

How many times do we look at something or someone at face value without seeing the beauty within?  I know that I am as guilty as anyone for looking only at the superficial qualities of an object or person.  This week I challenge us all to take a harder look at the inner beauty that lies all around us.

Some things just need to be said.

 OK.  This one is not one of mine, but since I didn’t have one that said what I wanted to say — I appropriated this one.  Torina, one of our classmates, got to do this for real yesterday.  Her husband came home after a tour in Iraq.  For what he and his comrades have done for our us and our country, words are a poor substitute for the joy of seeing loved ones again but they need to be said.

 THANK YOU!   

Whose been sleeping in my bed?

 A comment from Jill made me remember this photo from a couple of years ago.  I don’t know about the rest of you erstwhile student types out there.  But the answer to the question is . . . not me!  I guess the old addage of you can sleep when you are dead applies here.  Anyway, have a great rest of the week!

Gone but still…

I was wandering through an Okmugee graveyard where I found these stones.  Not stones really, they were made from some sort of metal.  The names were as sharp as the day they were cast over one hundred years ago.  It was the statement on the fallen one that caught my eye.  Gone but still… 

It’s a sobering thought, but who will remember us in 100 years?  Who will care that we once lived, loved, and strived? The truth is that our only legacy lies not in what is in the ground but what lives after us.  Our legacy is in the people we touch and the people they in turn touch.  Those future people may not know our name but we will be “remembered”.