The Starship Sforza

Why do dogs stick their heads out of the car window? I'm pretty sure I've always known but I really liked this answer...

"Nobody really knows," says Dr. James A. Serpell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, "but we could hazard some good guesses. They can get their senses into the smells. And dogs really like speed. They like to feel the wind in their fur, the same reason that dogs enjoy running just for fun. They run because they enjoy the sensation of traveling fast, and I think they get the same kick out of sticking their nose out of the car window, feeling the speed, and watching the landscape rush past."

Shortly after making the photo of Noah launching himself out of the pool I received a call from Georgia that our van had thrown the Serpentine Belt. We knew this could happen because it was diagnosed by our friend Lisa's son, Jeremy. We had plans on getting it fixed. Now we were for all intensive purposes...stuck in Fallon. And to make things even more interesting we needed to replace the crankshaft pulley or harmonic balancer. Harmonic balancer? This sounded familiar to me. Familiar in a Star Trek sort of way, e.g., warp drive, dilithium crystals, and the port necelle. See post 54. On Friday Lisa's husband Theron got under the hood of the van and worked some mechanically magically enabling us to get back on the road and homeward bound Saturday morning. Hence my dog like behavior as we headed out of town, homeward bound. Thanks Theron, you're better than Scotty any day! We spent the rest of the day turning a eight hour 447 mile trip into 16 hours, 620 miles and multiple stops.

We visited our good friend James Ku in Reno who turned us on to a great breakfast at funky little place called the Squeeze In. James and I commiserated over the current state of newspapers, both vowing to survive...in some fashion.

We stopped to dip our toes in Lake Tahoe at Sand Harbor State Park not far from where we were married 27 years ago.

Hunger, gasoline and a driver seat swap found Noah and Domenick goofing on an English Telephone booth in Bishop.

And in the finals hours of the day we were treated to nature's own light show as a passing storm struck lightening on the desert floor off in the distance. For all of you photo geeks...I was pushing the envelope on the Nikon D3. Here's the data: Lightening photo shoot at 1/10 sec, f/2.8, 6400 ISO with a 14mm.

It was one of the best vacations we've ever had. The memories we revisited, the places we revisited and best of all the time we spent with our friends Lisa and Theron.

We're All Wet

Today Noah and I visited the City of Fallon Municipal Swimming Pool. It was built in 1940 by the President Roosevelt's Work Projects Administration. Part of the president's New Deal that was designed to help bring the country out of the Great Depression and bring jobs and income to the unemployed. I wonder if any of today's stimulus packages will bear such testament 70 years from now.

The testament today is, this is the same pool I swam in 28 years ago and where Georgia grew up swimming in with her sisters and brother. It was another nice way to introduce our children to the kind of life their mother had growing up and one more place their parents had been during their early courtship, without boring them to death.

Noah and I jump off the diving board, swam, he tried to drown me...more than once...and splash, frolic and have a great time. And by the way, the water was great. I hope the pool is still here in another 70 years and I hope Noah will remember this small moment in time.

Romance vs Reality, Form vs Function

Fallon, Nevada is the place I met my wife, Georgia. We were both very young, married a year after we met and moved away shortly after that. I believe we, well me anyway, endear ourselves to a time or place based on a romantic notion of what we did or who we met. Point in fact...Fallon. I will always have fond memories of our, mine and Georgia, time in Fallon. Though for different reasons for the both of us, because it is where Georgia grew up.

We would spend hot Summer days swimming in irrigation canals. Yes the same green and murky ditch resplendent with floating agriculturally cast offs pictured here. The romance of it is the fond memory of splashing about on hot dusty days and lazily floating down the canal drinking beer. We watched movies in a turn of the century (the other one...not this one) theater, named after the city, oblivious to the uncomfortable seating, small screen and mono sound. The quaint rusty nature of the Pony Express town was and is more function over form. And the guys who wear cowboy hats because...well...they're cowboys.

Now, 28 years later, Fallon still holds romance and form for it's still a place of magic where a young man found the love of his life.

Road Trip

We departed Redlands on Saturday for Fallon, Nevada for a one week vacation visiting friends and memories. This is the place Georgia and I met. One of the things we loved best was the eight hour drive from Fallon to Southern California to visit with my parents. And the drive and sights along the way evoke powerful memories and emotions. During those drives we loved were sealed in our own little bubble without distractions. We'd talk, laugh, talk, cry, sing and talk some more. I believe it was the basis and strength of our long lasting relationship. So it was exciting to include our boys on this trip. We talked and laughed, and while we didn't cry or sing I hope we're building memories with our boys that they'll talk about for years to come.

It's as Clear as Black and White

Bumper stick on the lid of a teenager's laptop computer sitting in a local coffee shop:

"Remember who you always wanted to be."

I liked the straightforward simplicity of the sticker. Though, I doubt the young man behind the computer sucking down an endless stream of overpriced IBM's and surfing a variety of social networks, simultaneously, had little understanding for its impact. Or, the profound nature of those words as we move through our lives.

I came across this photo recently. That's me with the six-shooter and toddler body armour to fend of the Michigan winter. I'm holding my grandfather, Alberico "Al" Sforza's hand. He's holding my brother Dan Sforza. And my father, Frank Sforza, is in the background shooting home movies. I had the photo in a journal following a church meeting where we were asked to bring a photo of ourselves as babies. As I flipped through my journal today it served the purpose of reminding me of my life. My life so far that is.

I've known since I was 15-years-old that I wanted to be a photographer. And occasionally I remind myself to ask the question, "Am I who I always wanted to be?" Sometimes it goes much deeper than simply fulfilling my teenage dream of being a photographer. But today that's the question I asked myself. And the answer would be yes. And I suppose I sold the caffeinated teen short. I'm sure he can understand the statement. I did at 15. And I hope he's on the road to becoming the person he wants to be.

Above it All

"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you long to return."
~ Leonardo da Vinci ~

Top and bottom photos are Lake Havasu, Arizona shot from about 13,000 feet. And the middle photo is the Grand Canyon from around 3,000 feet. Both were taken following an aerial refueling mission while on duty with the Air Force Reserve.

The Great Outdoors!

It is a mere 20 minute drive, and a easy 15 minute hike. And we had really forgotten about it. This past weekend my wife, the boys and I headed out for Forest Falls, located in Mill Creek Canyon at the edge of the San Gorgonio Wilderness area in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Okay, so that's the geography lesson.

We had a wonderful day and I had forgotten how beautiful the area is. I have learned some people even refer to it as the "Little Yosemite." It was apparent from the lack of trash and graffiti few people venture all the way up to the falls. There were and few tell tale signs of people. But for the hour or so we enjoyed the scenery it was just us and one small nosey brown bear. I did not include a photo of the bear because my son Noah did a much better job and you can see the bear here on Noah's blog.