St Charles, MO – State Capital St Charles is like many other original State Capitals in that is was replaced by another city in later years. Those later years were only five years away. But St. Charles is still very proud of the fact that it was the original. Continue reading Early State Capitals…
I didn’t consider this for many years. I actually thought my experiences rare. I was one of the chosen. I was special. Now I know the truth. God whispers his love in every ear. He isn’t interested in declaring his love to a select few. He doesn’t limit his presence to Vatican City, to the halls of seminaries, to the offices of preachers, or to … Continue reading If Grace Is True…..
Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Museum Let’s revisit Pittsburgh and the Heinz Museum. It is one of my favorite museums because of its layout is so unique. I believe it re-purposes an old pickle factory. Above is just one of many interesting views of the multi-floor exhibits. Continue reading Not Just Ketchup….
I am no way a sports fan but it is hard to ignore the size of the baseball bat in downtown Louisville KY. We spent a pleasant weekend in that city in the Spring of 2010. Continue reading Louisville Slugger
Ft Myers, FL – Edison Thomas Edison was without doubt the most proliferate inventor of the 20th century. He spent most of his time in his labs at Menlo Park NJ. But to escape the winter months up north he also had a home in Ft. Myers. It is well worth the visit if you are in central Florida as we were in 2002. Continue reading Thomas Edison – Snow Bird…
“Now someone else has to choose between working and spending time with their family,” Fisher said. Kmart has said that it asks for volunteers to work on the holiday, but other workers, like Kekoa Wailehua from Hawaii, said that they have been explicitly told they cannot request off on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. The petition has almost 10,000 supporters. SOURCE: Why the poor can’t catch a … Continue reading Shame On Us…….
Disney World, FL – Epcot Disney World is very much a part of America. It is a place where we can imagine a different world. One without all the hatred and conflict. Many of us do just that. I was there in 2002. We didn’t get to the theme park but did spend a day at Epcot. It was almost magical. Due to a very … Continue reading Land of Enchantment
I would like to believe that we are all accountable for our actions. We should all learn that actions have consequences. It is something every father should teach every son and every mother teach every daughter. But there are also things in life that tell us otherwise. Some of us Christians have the idea that since we are just miserable sinners God does not hold us accountable for their … Continue reading You Are Accountable For Your Actions… Or Maybe Not
fCotton Belt – 2002 I’m not sure where this pic was taken but it was obviously in one of our southern States where cotton was, and to a degree still is , king. Cotton is very much a part of American history at both ends of the spectrum. Continue reading King Cotton….
There are various complex models for this, but the general explanation is fairly intuitive: Modern economies are built on a mass market. But if the great majority of people don’t have much (or any) disposable income, then there is no mass market, and it’s harder to start a business relying on any kind of mass sales. And with weak consumer spending, existing businesses have little … Continue reading About Inequality…
Omaha,NV – Native Americans The right to vote is the very bedrock of what it means to be American. One-person-One-vote balances the playing field (or at least it could) for representation in our government process. It is amazing to see how eventually all of us obtained the right to vote. For native-Americans and Women it didn’t come until a century ago. There are effort underway … Continue reading The Right To Vote…
Almost all of these states give their electoral votes based on a winner-take-all system. A candidate receiving 50.1% of the vote in New York, for instance, will garner the state’s 29 votes. Collect 270 total votes, and the presidency is assured. As the National Review’s Jim Geraghty explains, however, there is no constitutional requirement that states allot their electoral votes this way, however. They could … Continue reading Its Time For The People, Not State Governments, To Elect The President..
Omaha, NB – Railroads Although this is a picture from an Omaha Nebraska museum it could have been taken from many other American cities. Railroads were a major part of our industrial age. Many futurists now predict a second coming of the railroad. They believe that much of the long-haul trucking taking place today will be replaced by rail shipments at a fraction of the … Continue reading Railroads…
A Snippet here…. A Snippet There….. Continue reading The Absurdity Of The Beltway Rhetoric….
“Why does Jesus want us to talk to him if he never talks back to us?”… May we empower, listen, learn and be led by this tribe of prophets. Maybe, just maybe, they will show us once again what it looks like to tangibly love God and neighbor SOURCE: Girls: The Hope of the Future | Jon Huckins | Red Letter Christians. The quote above … Continue reading Modern Day Prophets…
Springfield, IL – Lincoln This statue of Abe Lincoln is found on the grounds of the State Capital in Springfield IL. It is where he spent much of his very shortened adult life. Lincoln was a man who seemed to exude common sense. To me he was the epitome of an American president. He was not brash or showy as so many in Washington are … Continue reading Lincoln…
I can’t remember how many times I have been to Mackinac Island, I think four but maybe more. It is a peaceful place without cars. Bicycles are the main mode of transportation. Continue reading Mackinac Island, MI……
Waterford, VA – Mill Waterford VA is perhaps the most picturesque village I have ever visited. There are hundreds of beautifully restored 18th and 19th century homes and business within the town. If you want a peek at what America might have looked like 100+ years ago stop for a visit. Continue reading Waterford, VA….
AT&T has completed upgrading its fiber-network in Austin, Texas, to 1-gigabit-per-second broadband speeds, the carrier said Monday.The Dallas-based company, which started the Austin upgrade in August, has been working to increase the speed of its U-Verse with GigaPower fiber network from 300 megabits-per-second to 1Gbps. AT&T is racing to bring faster Internet to customers before its competitors. SOURCE: AT&T finishes rollout of 1Gbps connection in … Continue reading AT&T finishes rollout of 1Gbps connection…
Mercer County, NJ – Grounds for Sculpture The “Grounds for Sculpture” in NJ is an absolutely fascinating place to visit. I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling through that area. The many sculptures throughout the grounds are for the most part of average people going about their daily lives. In fact the guy or gal who gets up every morning and does his job … Continue reading The Working Man…
Self-driving cars would also create all kinds of positive possibilities in urban design. Tech-enabled transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft believe they can undermine the idea that every household should own a car or two. While the drivers for these companies are all human now, automated cars would be even easier to share because they could spend all their time on the roads. This … Continue reading Community Cars….
Somewhere in Missouri… Grave markers are an important way that we track down our ancestors. Continue reading Grave Markers…
How many of us are guilty of buying a certain brand of jeans or sneakers because we liked the way they made someone else look? We don’t just want to look like that person, we want to embody a bit of their identity by wearing the same costume. Brands are everywhere, and sometimes, as Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz told us in “The Paradox of Choice,” … Continue reading Just Who Are You???
Cleveland, OH – Emporium This emporium in downtown Cleveland while pretty much vacant now was once a vital part of the city. These were the first shopping malls in America. Like this one they are pretty much abandoned now because everyone now goes to the modern ones in the suburbs. Continue reading Emporiums….
Are we depriving our children of the ability to take risks in the future. Many of the things I did as a child would never happen today. Things like walking five blocks to school without an adult. Or discovering the mushroom plant four blocks from our house. Yeah maybe I fell out of a tree I was climbing there and fell on an iron picket … Continue reading Keeping Safe vs Taking Risks…
The Bethesda fountain in Central Park is a central piece for visitors to see. There was a florid of activity on the Sunday that we visited there in June of this year. With so many people in NYC crammed into such a small area it provides a respite from the crowds. Continue reading Central Park….
That is what you do when you are not doing your grown-up things. They allow you to at least for a while forget about the world around you. I don’t have a direct source for this quote but it was from the NYPD Blue TV episode where Bobby Simone was dying. It was about his pigeon coops he maintained on the roof of his building … Continue reading Clear Your Head Periods Of Time….
Columbia River – Washington The Columbia River played a vital part of the history of the Northwestern U.S. It is also one of the most serene landscapes we came across during our month-long trek through that area in 2009. Continue reading The Columbia River
I was recently part of a Bible study where the tone – and apparently intention – was quite different. As the leader asked a series of programmed and predictable questions (literally from the back of the book), I noticed that almost everyone seemed to be looking at each other warily as if they were searching for the ‘right’ answer. And they seemed to share the … Continue reading Those Comfortable Christian Questions…
NYC, NY – Empire State view This is a view from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The World Trade Center is to the left and the Statue of Liberty in seen in the harbor in this picture taken in 1999. All are very American things. Continue reading NYC from on top the Empire State Building..
One of my long time hobbies is to take pictures of barns, that is the old wooden barns of the past. This is a prime example of an elegant one in the Midwest. Continue reading Barns….
Niagara, NY – The Falls Niagara Falls is very American indeed even if the picture which was taken in 1999 is looking at the Canadian side. Yeah I was one of those brave souls who went in those little boats under the falls…. 🙂 Continue reading Niagara Falls…
Call them the invisible rich. How do they do it? Sure, money like that sometimes comes from an inheritance or another fortuitous break, but more likely it’s the result of diligence, smart choices and, well, deferred gratification. SOURCE: Wealth-building secrets of the millionaire next door – Yahoo Finance. Wealth-building secrets of the millionaire next door It seems like there are thousands of articles and books … Continue reading Common Sense…..
Ellis Island, NJ Ellis Island was the entry point for many of our forefathers. It is a piece of America that everyone should visit in order to understand the character of America Continue reading Ellis Island
“They want Peace, but they want a Gun to help get it with.” – Will Rogers, 9 February 1930 Yeah Will, nothing has changed much in this area since your day. About the only thing different is that we have MUCH bigger guns now. It goes back to the old quote “If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail”. I love … Continue reading Wanting a Gun….
Neenah, WI – Down on the farm For many of us Baby Boomers or before the farm was where we grew up. This picture is of my wife taken in 1950 in northern Wisconsin. She still relishes those days. It is something totally unknown by many around today. Continue reading Down On The Farm…
RJ's Corner 