A city of Contrast. A center of entertainment. A center of music. A center of cool trendy things and wealth? The city with the highest homeless population in the United States of America.
A little more information
The two main activities in my life: Helping the hungry in the late hours of the night and helping guitar players sound better one amp at a time.
I always try to remember that in order to do good one has to take action and actually do something.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I have watched the city and Southern California change for well over half a century.
As of late 2019 the music related links and prints noted on this page which had their links to by GAB (Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting) website are no longer accessible. I grew weary of updating my GAB website and let it go away. You can contact me on Facebook. Saunders Stewart Models continues full operation but we are not accepting new clients without a referral.
Los Angeles Architectural History
1935 Art Deco at some of its finest: No. 168 - Griffith Observatory- (click on the photo for information)
One of my friends on facebook posted some commentary on the possible strike on Syria. I have my own thoughts on the subject and won't even bring up the issues of getting involved on foreign soil while we have so many issues here at home. I did comment on the history of the subject.
When I was very young I was told that the reason they teach history in the school system is so we can learn from our mistakes.
Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz and Amber Boyd from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. are greeted at the Newport News airport by family and coworkers on Nov. 2, 2011 . The two were part of a group of Airmen that deployed in June, but returned a couple of months early after President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of the year. They were among about 20 633rd SFS members who returned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis from deployment with the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Balad in the past week. About 10 633rd SFS members are still deployed in Iraq, but they are scheduled to return later this month, hopefully by Thanksgiving, although more are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in January. (U.S. Air Force Photo by: MSgt Jeremy Lock)
A few minutes ago I replied to a comment left on one of my posts where somebody apologized for a comment they left. I told them, no apology necessary.
I tend to point out some of the Romney antics but bottom line are my brief thoughts below as copied from my reply.
Both of the candidates are awful options with little to hold in esteem by either party.
If you are one of the troops on duty you can take pride in America for the job you are doing regardless of the stupid antics of you civilian leaders.
If you are in government, the odds are you don't have much to be proud of. Most of you asshats are part of the problem rather than the steps toward an eventual solution. Shame on the lot of you for the most part.
Obama is a weak leader, never one who would a picked as a Captain of a ship.
Romney is a fellow so far out of touch with the majority of the population it borders on pure stupidity.
Anybody who can find more good than bad in either case should go and put their head back in the sand.
Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul conduct a key leader engagement with village elders in Arghandab, Afghanistan, July 30, 2011. PRT Zabul's mission is to conduct civil-military operations in Zabul Province to extend the reach and legitimacy of the Government of Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras)
This photo can be looked at in very different ways. If one is in support of America's actions or against our actions.
I strongly support our troops. That does not mean I support our government. These are two very different things.
For me, this photo took me back to my days in the military when young children dressed in local attire, while I was dressed to kill, would look up at you with eyes that questioned why this was happening to them.
I had no answer then and I have no answer now.
The shot above was taken by a cool fellow and friend, Grovert Fuentes-Contreras. He has taken a lot of terrific shots and I keep an eye out for his work. Side note .... just because you carry a camera and are in the Air Force it does not keep you out of harm's way. All it means is that you have one more piece of gear to carry and one more job to do.
The slide show below - from the jungle to the desert over five decades
Remember, no matter what the job or branch of the military, all active duty personnel generally have somebody at home who miss them and worry about them. All of our troops are in danger in various forms whether on the street searching house to house, in the ocean off the coast of Japan washing down the deck of an aircraft carrier for radiation, moving cargo or explosives to be deployed to other areas or sitting silently under the ocean as the world situation grows in volatility.
Our troops deserve respect and the highest level of support when they come home that this country has to offer regardless of cost. God knows this country spends enough money on things that mean so much less.
To the men and women holding positions at the highest levels in our government: Stop bickering and fix your priorities at least in this one area - Support our troops whether they are on their way to serve, are in service or are back at home.
Afghan children approach a U.S Forces convoy to ask for spent brass, pens and water in the Alingar district of Laghman province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2011. The convoy includes members of the Laghman Provincial Reconstruction team, en route to check on a school construction site and talk with Alingar leaders. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane
The Wall. These folks are from my generation. The names of two close friends which I served with have their names on this wall. There are others who I knew or crossed paths with whose names are on the wall.
Many movies have been made on the treatment of our Veterans. Born on the Fourth of July, Forrest Gump has V.A. Hospital segments. The list goes on.
Since my era of military service and my time spent in a wheelchair for a number of years there have been additional places on the globe where our military have been deployed. With each new conflict the technology advances and our troops are expected to know more and perform at a higher level of proficiency for longer periods of time. When those who come home finally do come home their treatment has not advanced since the days I was in the military. Not advanced? Medically perhaps but treatment as a human being who has sacrificed so much for their country.
I have a very good friend who wrote me today about his treatment by his local V.A. facility. I will copy and paste his writing here and copy and paste my own response:
I just sent this to FOX 24 News
At the the V.A. Hospital in Dublin Georgia they treat you like you are bothering them ,they are very rude and disrespectful.
I started this blog on December 13, 2009 to raise awareness on the homeless situation which is growing due to the current economic situation in this country. Two priorities at this period in my life are helping the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and helping musicians sound better one amp at a time.
It is said that a picture is speaks a thousand words. Here are over three thousand random photos in a slide show. This is what I do, who I know, where I go.
An emotionally draining slideshow which mixes art, whimsy, low production values, a general lack of composition, sexual tension, nausea and the feeling of foolishness you have if you can watch the entire show from beginning to end.
What could be better than an album of nothing but low resolution shots taken with my cellphone (and a few from friends cellphones as well) ... and then, take these low resolution photos and upload them in real time to facebook where the quality and size is reduced even more?
Why I do what I do
To the folks who ask why I do what I do.
For many decades I worked in the corporate sector for very large companies. I worked many hours each week.
On some occasions I actually felt as if I made a change in a life. I could help somebody in their career. I could teach somebody something technical. Those sorts of things.
40-60 hours a week or more was generally not all that rewarding other than the friends I made along the way and the occasional change as I was able to make a difference.
I worked hard to make changes in my own life as most of us do. I made money to buy a house, raise a family. Family and friends are one side of our lives. The outside world is another.
I now have two main "jobs" each day. One is to help guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. I help folks in the music business and pass on what I have learned over decades walking this planet. I also try to help other people who are building their own career. That is one of the joys of being my age. You can help those on their path of building their own lives.
My second "job" is helping the homeless on the streets on Los Angeles. Five or ten hours on the street each week helping people makes more of a direct impact on more people than a month of work in my old life. Whether I feed people a snack, listen to what they have to say, give them a card from http://www.urm.org/ or walk them down to Union Rescue Mission I feel I am making life a little better for somebody.
In order to do something good one generally has to do something as in perform some sort of action. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation. Perhaps I feel as if I needed to do something.
Union Rescue Mission - What they do.
I talk a lot about Union Rescue Mission on this blog. I also talk a lot about them on facebook. I talk about them on my GAB website.
Many of my friends have become friends with Union Rescue Mission and members of their staff. I am sure many of you feel the same way I do about what they do and are a little bit better for knowing them. videos you may learn a bit more about the work these folks do.
This blog was created in December 2009. Statistics were enabled on July 1, 2010. From July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 there were more than 12 million reads of this blog.
As of 9/14/2018 there has been 36,395,500 reads. There were 189,708 visitors last month, August 2018.
Posts are also seen on facebook, twitter, google buzz, blogger, digg it, atom and many other services that have opted to distribute my antics for reasons that are at times a mystery to me.
Thanks for following, thanks for reading and thank you for sending the link of this site to your friends.
Posts
