Moon Landing Anniversary

I was seeing news stories as I left the house (greetings from Narita, by the way…) and an e-mail just popped up from my buddy Russ, wishing me a “Happy Landing Day”. 

And so it was, 45 years ago, that we first landed on the Moon.  As I recall, our family was on vacation.  For our family, “vacation” = “driving” as dad tended to throw us in the back seat and take off, touring us all around the Western USA. 

Of course, that was pre-internet, pre-cell phone (“pre-” a lot of things I suppose…).  He was switching channels on the AM Radio (yes, AM) as we drove, keeping up to the minute with news broadcasts (Walter Cronkite) about NASA’s progress, racing to get to a motel in time for us to see the landing live.  (for my international friends, a "Motel", short for "Motor Hotel" is a small, roadside hotel, usually with a small restaurant, designed especially for the American West.  They have a sign beside the highway, and in those days it has a red neon component that said "NO Vacancy".  The "Vacancy" part would be on all the time, but in the late evening, when the motel filled up, the person at the desk would flip a switch to make the "NO" come on, and thus drivers would see the indication and keep on driving, without having to waste time stopping.  You could hit town, without calling ahead, and drive around until you saw a "Vacancy" sign, and drive on in...)

We made it.  I don’t remember where we were exactly, Colorado or New Mexico probably (as soon as he reads this, he will let me know for sure, and I will “update”) (Update:  Dad confirmed it, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and very likely, a Best Western Motel) but we made it to a motel with a black and white (yes, it was pre-color too !) and we saw it. 

There are those times, great events for a country, or in this case, the world, when we all remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news.  Well, this was certainly one of those events.

You can think of it as when “the Americans” landed on the Moon, but here in the USA, we just say it’s when Man landed on the moon, as we, all of us, watched breathlessly and all of us, were represented. 

So, Happy Moon Landing Day All !!

-          Mark

 

Seoul - July

Had another quick trip to Seoul. 
Not a lot of time for photos,
but grabbed a couple walking around at night.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Late afternoon, raining, a protest group had the street blocked. 
Shot through a rainy windshield, only the one man's face is clear.



Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Sejong-daero, a wide esplanade in the downtown area.  
Protests and memorials over the sinking of the ferry Sewol continue. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

...and with any protest in Seoul, comes a dedicated, well organized "No-Nonsense Patrol".  On this evening, there were more cops than I had ever seen, even when President Obama was visiting just up the block.  The Seoul Police show up in buses, on this occasion, I would guess maybe 60 buses, plus the cars and paddy wagons...LOTS of cops.  We felt VERY safe !!



Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

There was a new, very eerie element of the Sewol protest, these photos were texted by the kids as the ferry sank.  You see them smiling in some, leaning up against hallway walls, as the ship lists heavily.  They are not understanding the danger yet...they were not properly informed by the crew.

 

 


Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...lots of photos...


Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So, once the rain stopped, it was a nice evening for a walk on Sejong-daero.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

King Sejong was the developer of the Korean alphabet. 
That's why he has a nice statue and a nice street named after him !
 


Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I ducked over to Insa-dong (Art Street) a trendy tourist area. 
Wasn't very busy for a Friday evening, maybe the rain kept the folks away.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Lots of shopping on Insa-dong, mostly souvenirs, art, tea, etc....

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

And of course shoes.
              As my dear lovely wife would say...
                           ..."It's all about the shoes !"

                                 Y'all take care,

                                               - Mark

 

Vadodara-III ... (India V)

 

Pankil's old neighborhood, the Central Library, the temple, this lake, the Central Market, the buildings below and the vegetable market, are all within a few blocks of each other, near the Center of the City of Vododara. 

 

(When the Brits arrived in India, there were some place names that were hard for the Brits to pronounce, and so, they basically "renamed them for convenience".  Mumbai was changed to "Bombay" for example, and for that reason, you sometimes hear Vadodara referred to as "Baroda".  Bombay has been officially changed back to Mumbai, but Vadodara still deals with both names.)

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

After running errands mid-day, Pankil and I returned to the city center in the afternoon, to see the Central Market.  We parked near the edge of Sur Sagar Lake, with its 150 ft statue of Lord Shiva in its center.  Our parking spot was only a couple of blocks from the Central Market, but crossing the river of traffic in such busy Indian streets can be very dangerous for the uninitiated (me) and so Pankil suggested that we catch one of the (absolutely millions of) "Auto-Rickshaws" that putter around every street and highway in India.  We took it for a quick spin around the lake, and over to the market (and let it navigate the street crossings).

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Old gringo in an "Auto" (Auto-Rickshaw)

Now, there are plenty of places around the world where I pay extra attention to my wallet when in a crowded place, even in the good ol' USA, so when Pankil told me to put wallet and cell phone in front pockets, I was already there. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A very crowded place on a Sunday afternoon, this is where folks come to shop for all sorts of things, clothes, shoes, just about anything a family might need.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The hundreds of small family owned shops line several small blocks of very narrow, very crowded streets. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Keep your wits about you...you are constantly encountering folks driving motorcycles, winding their way through the crowds...if one hits you, it's your problem.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 The "Garlic Lady" pulls her cart into the edge of the market. 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Basically, all the buildings once built by the King are now publicly owned, and are used for hospitals, schools, colleges, government offices, etc.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Pankil's dad worked in this one as an Auditor, retiring a few years ago.  If you walk through the archway, through an iron fence with a special gate that let's humans in and keeps cows out, you wind up in a popular...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

...vegetable market.  Pankil says a man with a cart comes through the neighborhood, selling vegetables house-to-house for daily needs (I suppose business must be pretty good with more than half of the people in the area of Vadodara being strict vegetarians !). 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The moms then come down to the central market to buy bigger quantities, when stocking up for holidays, etc.

 

So, that pretty much wraps up my first India Trip. We were off to visit a refinery the next day, and in the afternoon I caught the plane to Mumbai, connecting on to home.  I say "the plane" because the airport in Vadodara is very small.  It's funny, because you don't get that impression out front, or in the ticketing hall, but as you pass through security, you see that the gates are right there, and the plane is just outside.  (yes, "the", it was a 737-size Airbus, but it was the only aircraft on the tarmac at the time). 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

(Lady Liberty, taken from the harbor ferry on an earlier trip)

 

My connection from Mumbai was New York-Liberty Airport (actually in Newark, New Jersey, just across the river from New York, a technicality...).  What I enjoy about landing at "Liberty" is that the Statue of Liberty stands out in the harbor, not more than a half-mile from the runway.  As you approach (when landing from the North), and if you are sitting on the Right Side of the aircraft, you are looking out to the East, as you fly the length of Manhattan Island, with a great view of the skyline.  But the best part is, just as you are about to land, you can catch a quick view of the Statue, standing out there to greet you.  For me, that feels like "home".

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This trip, I was landing just before dawn, but I was still able to pick out Lady Liberty, out there in the haze.  I couple of minutes after landing, I walked down to some large windows and had a nice view of the new Freedom Tower, standing where the World Trade Center's Twin Towers used to be.

Y'all take care now,

 

- Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

 

 

Vadodara-II ... (India-IV)

The Central Library of Vadodara was built in 1910.  The king had traveled to Europe and America, and seeing the great libraries there, believed that access to knowledge and learning was the key to the future of his people.  So, he set about to build a library in Vadodara (and also set up primary and secondary education in his state of Gujarat).

Maharaja Sir Sayajirao III Gaekwad (The King)

("it's good to be da' King !")

Of course, there is a great distance between some good ideas and their successful completion, and a library is a complicated undertaking.  I asked about a familiar photo on the wall...some how or another, the king was introduced to Andrew Carnegie.  Mr. Carnegie is know as a very wealthy American who went across the USA donating money and setting up Carnegie Libraries in many small and medium towns, many of them, in a philanthropic effort to bring the same things to America that the Kind was trying to bring to the people of Vadodara.  It turned out that Mr. Carnegie donated some funds to the effort, and I suspect he was the connection to an American Librarian, William Alanson Borden, who traveled to India to help the King organize and set up the library.

 

Bordon

One particularly cool feature of the library was its glass floors.  Yes, glass.  The King saw a problem trying to illuminate a library, suitable for finding and reading books, in a region that at the time, had no electric lighting.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So the design of the building, and the spacing of the windows, spacing of shelving and all are coordinated.  The shelves are spaced well apart for access and for letting in light.  There is a window corresponding to each walk space between shelves.  There is an ironwork system of shelf supports that results in 3 or 4 levels, with glass flooring on each level, to let light in and through.  It's a cool arrangement.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Also, the high, white ceiling bounces light around, and allows for air circulation, because they didn't have air conditioning either of course.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This gentlemen explained that he is retired from the library, and just comes in at opening time to help prepare for a days business at the library, and enjoys giving tours to visitors.  He reached up on top of a shelf and brought down a sample of the floor glass, around an inch thick, that he obviously shows off frequently.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

It was interesting to see photos on the wall of the King, Borden, Carnegie, and Ghandi.  (Mr. Ghandi also comes from the state of Gugarat, and of course, they are quite proud of him).

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I didn't see that many cows in Delhi, a more urban environment (although there were monkeys), but cattle and water buffalo are all around Vadodara, you see them everywhere.

 

Next stop, the Central Market area on a busy Sunday afternoon.

Y'all take care,

- Mark W. Laughlin



The Central Library of Vadodara
Bank Road, Mandavi, Vadodara-390 006
Tel:  +91-0265-241-5713


 

4th of July !!

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July !!

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

It's a time here in the USA for celebration, but also for a vacation-time Safety Message...

 

Near Houston, on July 2nd, we had a collision of two recreational boats, early evening, bad visibility, one came around a bend and struck the other broadside, 2 people were killed.  So, as we run around on our vacations, let's all be careful.  Heat could be dangerous in some places.  Alcohol is consumed in excess in many places as well.  And many of us are out on lakes, beaches, etc., and many drownings happen. 

 

Let's all keep a close eye on the kids, and a close eye on our own drinking, and let's all arrive back from vacations safe, happy and relaxed.

Y'all take care.

-Mark

 

Vadodara-I ...(India III)

Sunday morning, we started off in Pankil's old neighborhood.  His grandparents had lived there, and the whole family was living in the old house until a couple of years ago.  They still go and stay there on certain festival days, when travel into and around the city is difficult.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This small temple (with the blue walls) is the family's favorite temple, but it was quite early in the morning, and the door was closed.  So, we were just standing outside talking, when we hear the voice of a lady from the balcony next door.  She must have asked Pankil where I was from, because he answered in the local language, and the only thing I got was "America".  Now, as an American, when you travel around, you never know what to expect when meeting people, they may be welcoming, or they may not be.  But in this case, the very nice lady welcomed us and invited us inside.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This Oil Lamp inside the temple is lit continuously. 

"Knowledge chases away ignorance as light chases away darkness".  

 

In the photo up top, the lavender structure is a "Lamp Tower".  Its an octagonal four-story tower, and each of the "pockets" you can see on the walls, all around and all the way up, will have an oil lamp in it...for certain holidays.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This lady was sitting there in the temple, and I motioned to her, asking if it was ok to take her photo.  Pankil translated, and she started to move.  I thought, "Oh no, I hope she didn't think I wanted her to move."  But she didn't, she was just repositioning.  She placed her hands together, in what Pankil had told me is a sign of respect, and let me take her photo.  Nice lady.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This is the lady who had invited us in.  She visited with us, allowed us to walk around, and me to take photos.  Then I asked her if I could take hers, so she straightened up, and posed on the stairs.  Another nice lady.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The door of the temple...

 

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Pankil explained that this is likely a "street dog" with no owner, who has taken up residence on this door step.  The owner of the house lets him stay on the step, and occasionally tosses him some scraps of food.  In return, the dog keeps all other humans away from the house.  It's the kind of relationship, between human and dog, that has existed for some thousands of years, and it doesn't matter what language the human, or the dog, speaks.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Cows.  They are all over.  Some owned and producing milk for their owners, some older ones are "turned out" when their calving days are over.  The lady (behind the pole) is feeding them.  You can see water troughs people have put here and there.  These were eating at the curb just in front of the Central Library of Vadodara (...our next stop.) 

 

All in all, being from Texas, hot weather and the sights and smell of cattle nearby...

...didn't seem so different from home !  :-)

 

More to come,

 

- Mark W. Laughlin