Bell Bottom Blues

I cannot sing her praises too loudly or too long
Marie was a keystone in many lives. You could tell her something and know it would never get retold. She accepted and loved people for who they were. She was a friend you could depend on. She was a safe harbor in a storm. She was selfless, loving and kind. She was stoic and strong but soft and tender hearted. She had an inner beauty that radiated. I have never known anybody who did not like Marie. She was the kind of person people would call and talk to for hours about the troubles in their lives. I know I did. Yet, she seldom would complain about troubles in her life.

In December 2005 Marie's sister Martha died in a freak auto accident. It was one of the worst times in her life. It was terrible. It was not her first sudden loss. Marie was a good friend of my first wife, as I said before; she was the first person I called when my first wife was killed in a car accident.

Marie was a cancer survivor. Her strength got her through this and other awful times in her life.

Years ago I took the photo above. I titled that photo Bell Bottom Blues. I hope in the photo I captured a hint of the admiration I have to this day for Marie. She was an inspiration.

She was 59 years-old when she died. Far too young to die. If you believe there is a God, this is a time of reunion for Marie; reunion with old friends and family. It is a time of grieving and loss for us and a cause of hope for me. I already miss her terribly and I hope somewhere, somehow, to see her again. Until then, she lives on in many, many hearts.

I still cannot believe; she is gone

Someone I have known for a long time, and love very, very much died Saturday night. When my first wife died the first person I called was Marie. That night in 1991 Marie and her husband Kirk drove late into the night to be with me. She was my oldest, and one of my closest, friends. I still cannot believe; she is gone.

Saturday night she had a heart attack and died. It does not seem real, she who had such a wonderful heart, who loved people and life; is gone. How could that wonderful heart become still? I had just seen her a week ago. I still cannot believe; she is gone.

Over the years I have taken many, many pictures of Marie. Some came close, but none could ever catch her spirit, her heart and the love she had for her family and friends. I still cannot believe; she is gone.

Last year she and Kirk celebrated their 25th Anniversary. I still cannot believe; she is gone. She was 59 when she died.

An imagining filled with sorrow

There are some events in life that draw us closer to our God, just in order to get through the day. The death of a child is one of those things. I do not know how you could survive such an event if you did not believe in God. The death of a child is about the worst. Robert Thompson describes the death of a child this way, "the death of a child takes you on a journey like a hawk carries a rabbit through the sky. It eventually drops you either dead or wounded. What you see and do on the journey is up to you. The journey itself is not."

There is a word for a person who has lost a spouse and for a person who has lost a parent but no word for a person who has lost a child. I have heard that is because such an event is too sorrowful to attach a word to.

My heart goes out to our friend Deb over the loss of her sweet son Brandon. As a parent I can only imagine the hurt and pain. It is an imagining filled with sorrow.

Giant photos from film camera

Pictures from last month's JMC Giants game
Nicole and I went to the Giant's game with faculty and staff from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications last month. As well as my cameraphone Treo, I carried one of my film cameras, as I often do, and the pictures came out pretty well. I like shooting with film. You can carry a once high end film camera that takes great shots, has no battery weight and would cost only $200 to replace if someone poured beer on it. The downside is it took awhile to get the pictures developed, but that is life with film. I hope you like these photos!

[Click here to see photos on Flickr]

Great seeing Brian Baer!

Visit from an old friend
Brian Baer, an old friend and now political photographer for the Sacramento Bee, came to SJSU Today. Brian was here for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's media ethics symposium in Engineering 189 which focused on covering presidential candidates. It was great seeing Brian and catching up on old times. Brian graduated in 1989, two years after I started working at SJSU.

Technorati Tags: Brian Baer, Photojournalism, San Jose State University, SJSU, J-school, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

How many friends are too many friends?

5001
Facebook has a limit of 5000 friends. More and more people are running into that wall. We used to say, you cannot have too many friends, now, thanks to Facebook, we know that is not true. Questions:

• If you have not yet hit the cieling in Facebook does that make you unpopular?
• Are there two types of friends, those good enough for your Facebook friends list and those not?
• If you have hit your ceiling and now a really good friend comes and so you have to remove another friend to make room for the new friend, how do you tell your old friend that he/she has been delisted without it seeming like a snub?
  

Meanwhile: Gaurdian Blogger Bobbie Johnson talks about people who have over 800 friends as being "Facebook Whales." Well, if you are hot, you're hot and if your not...

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0, Facebook, Scoble, ssloansjca

European Vacation Photos

Europe photos are on line here
I am done. I developed the last three (of 12) rolls of black and white film, scanned them, edited them, mixed them in with the many digital camera photos and have posted them. It has been a long and slow process but I have several hundred photos on line now that chronicle the cruise trip. I hope you like them!

[Photos on Flickr Here]

Looking back on a great birthday

Great birthday thanks to family and friends!
Yesterday I had a great birthday celebration with friends and family. We opened some of the best wine we have and enjoyed some great times and great food. It was a lot of fun!

Brunch at Stacks
We went to Stacks in Campbell for brunch. This is a big favorite of mine. They make terrific breakfasts. Sue's mom Frances, Sons Kenneth and Jeff, Jeff and his wife Nicole's daughter Madison joined Sue and I. We had a great time together as a family.

Model train operation session
After brunch Jeff, Madison and I went to the Model Railroad club in Agnews. It just so happened the club was having an operations session there that day. It was Jeff and Madison's first time at the train club. The club is in an old railroad depot from the 1870's and the mail line is right next to the tracks. So we got to see both little and real trains go by.

Dinner with friends
After the train club we joined Kevin and Jolyce at Viva's in Los Gatos. We brought two of the best bottles of wine we had and had them at dinner (they do corkage.) That was a real treat, thank you! After dinner we met Pam and Patty at our house. They brought some great wine to the evening. Pam brought a bottle of Opus One! It was the first time I have ever had that. It was wonderful. So far, 52 is good.

Still waiting for grandson news
We are still waiting for news regarding Jeff and Nicole's impending birth of their second child. It could come any time!

[More birthday photos on Flickr]

Thirteen Years

Thirteen year honeymoon
Tomorrow Susie and I will celebrate thirteen years together. On Sunday we celebrated by going out to brunch at La Foret, the restaurant in New Almaden where we got married in 1994. A lot has changed over those years including us. When we got married we had three boys in our home and three cats. Now we have three cats, two of which are not the same. We have grandkids now and more on the way.

We have new friends and old friends. One of my oldest friends came to visit us this weekend. Ken Compton, whom I have known for about 25 years came over this weekend. We met at the train club and then on Saturday we hosted the train club over here. Ken and I had a blast hanging out and sharing memories of the many times we went chasing trains. When my train buddies came over we had a big slide show showing photos from my trip north last month. That was a lot of fun.

Ken and I also share a passion for photography. We went to a camera store together, Kamera Korner, one of the last camera stores in San Jose. Ken bought a lens there.

Ken left Sunday morning right before Sue and I went to brunch.

Sue and I had a great time at La Foret. It is amazing how many of the people who were there when we were married there are still there.

On the way home from La Foret we saw a small herd of deer on the road. They were right next to the car. I handed my Nikon to Sue and she fired a couple of shots right out the window. It was very cool. There was even a young buck who was accompanying the does as they walked down to the creek that flows through there.

[More Photos Here]

Fourth of July with Friends

Fourth of July 2007 Party
Yesterday we went to our friends Tyler and Mary's house where we had wine and great food with them and other friends [photos.] That was a lot of fun. After the movie we went to a nearby park and saw an impressive fireworks show. I shot video of the fireworks and edited it into the film you see here. This film is also posted on YouTube.

Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Santa Clara, Fourth of July, Fireworks

The death of a good man

John Maky Died Last Night
John was a just general sweet guy. A fellow train geek he was passionate about trains and radio electronics. He was a regular part of the Winterail team and a friend. I do not know his age, but he was around Sue and my age. Reportedly he died in his sleep, cause is yet to be determined. I just learned of his death this morning. This news is very sad. They had a get together last week that John organized. Having just returned from my vacation we did not go, it seemed too much at the time. Now I really feel bad. It would have been good to have seen John one more time. None of us are promised tomorrow.

Fun weekend with family and friends

A fun weekend!
On Saturday Susie and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with son's Jeff and Ken, Jeff's wife Nicole and Jeff and Nicole's daughter Madison. We had a great time and even had dinner at Bubba Gumps. It was my first time at the aquarium and it exceeded my expectations. Then on Sunday we had a get together with a bunch of Sue and my friends in the bike club. These are the folks we are doing the trip with this fall. We had a great time both days. Family and good friends are the best!

In this photo we see Madison at dinner with her tongue turned blue from eating blue Jello.

Blue Mountains Day Two

Railfanning the Blue Mountains, Redux
I love the Blue Mountains. The only place I have seen more trains is in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The train traffic was amazing and the scenery spectacular. What a terrific place to photograph trains this is. I really appreciate Leslie and Ed turning me on to this place, it rocks! Today Ed was able to join us and they showed me how to get to Durkee Loop. We had amazing luck with light and trains. Since this is double track here we got a meet on the loop that was sheer luck. One train (we saw three) that we saw on the loop had an Olympic unit on it. This was too much fun!

Technorati Tags: Railfanning, Union Pacific, Trains, Blue Mountains, Sloan Family, ssloansjca