Sorry to keep harping on about it, but, as an Englishman abroad you need to cut me some slack, we headed out on two-lane blacktop, zig-zagging our way north, a thousand acres of sky stretching to and beyond the horizon, to Hairy Larry in California, my brotherman Whitey in Oz, Joe C. In Indiana, Turbogoof in Cinncinatti and everyone else who is lucky enough to live where their daily view is 'big-sky', unfettered by chimney's, buildings, power lines, industry and fucking McDonald's Golden Arches, you are blessed people, I love getting lost in it, vastness. Just consider that for a moment, the ability to just disappear into the ether, take a look around, beautiful, we stop for gas, I stand filling the tank, hot sunshine, petroleum spirit in the air, birds, the tick, tick, tick of the pump as it tops the tank, we arrive in Fredricksburg almost by accident, a German settler town, apparently the original settlers refused to learn English and would only speak German, I resist the urge to jump out of the motor and sing 'two world war's and one World Cup, head butt the local's and shout 'come on Fritz, let's fucking have it!' (Sorry, I've been watching too many 'Family Guy' episodes while I've been out here) and instead just appreciate the town, one of the most surprising discoveries is the Admiral Nimitz and Pacific War Museum, just looking at the Japanese Memorial garden and the memorial brick's set in the pathway's are a jolt to the system, so many lives given, so much sacrifice, fathers, sons and sisters, mums, cousins, daughters, grandparents, best friends and brothers........
Hope your weather is holding, this part of California is clouding up...rain by tonight...20 degree drop in temp..brrrr. Yeah we got skies and a lot of acreage to go with, stateside. But we got big, grimy, cities too. Sacramento is still known as a 'cowtown'....which is kind of a misnomer, because Stockton (Stocktown) is where you find the cows. In two hours or less, I can be gazing over the Pacific. In about 45 mins. be up in the foothill towns. Another 45, be way up in the snow country. Really enjoying your Texas posts, would like to see it myself someday soon.
ReplyDeleteWar memorials do make you pause and reflect, which is what they were designed to do.My WW2 vintage Uncle went to the Viet Nam war wall memorial a few years ago. As a survivor and vet of 'D-day', he was quite moved by seeing it.
Keep up the great posts.
Yes Larry, great shots indeed Lovey, capturing the 'ness' of it all. The thing that freaks me about so many Yank towns and smaller burgs is the width of the streets, amazing stuff, like Laz, I'm five minutes from the beach, and an hour from the middle of nowhere in particular but it ain't Texas . . . coming from a military family, reflection is instant for me, the poor old Yanks got hammered in the D Day affair, as they did in the daylight raids over Germany, in the Pacific . It's kinda sad how many of that generation Poms and Aussies put shit on them for 'coming late' to the party, when really, once again, for a nation founded by those wanting to escape all that was wrong with European Kingdoms and Principalities etc, it was not their fight, and without them I'd be speaking Japanese, and, despite that, hundreds of thousands of Seppos from tiny towns all over the States paid the ultimate price, it's a unfashionable as we know Loveymucker, but I love America, warts and fucking all . . . great stuff mate, keep em coming brother. XXX
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