Southern Charm...

...and gracious living...that's my Aunt Alta's home.  She invited us to stay with her for a few days, and as always she was a kind and welcoming hostess.

She is a genuine Southern Lady, and I mean that in the truest sense of that term.  Alta represents the best of a better generation, one that grew up with hardship, rose to meet the gravest dangers with bravery and sacrifice, then put their shoulders to the plow and built the most prosperous and powerful nation mankind has ever known.

It was a treat to visit with her, see some relatives, and hear more of my family's history.

One of the best parts of this trip for me was seeing my Uncle John's exhibit in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches (pronounced "Nak-a-tish" for some cajun reason...though try explaining why Mackinac is pronounced "Mak-in-naw".)

The hall of fame building itself is controversial for its architecture.  Natchitoches is the oldest town in Louisiana, filled with quaint homes from a bygone era.  In the middle of that they plunked down a 23 million dollar modernist building that has engendered emotions ranging from outrage to disgust.  It's almost like a giant Frank Lloyd Wright was out for a stroll one day and dropped one of his avant garde creations right in the middle of the historic downtown.  It would be cool and appropriate in Palm Springs, but the effect in Natchitoches is jarring.

tons of concrete make it look like an out of place parking garage from outside.

the interior is modernist in the extreme

My uncle's display is in the horse racing section of the Hall:

John Franks is the only owner to win 5 "eclipse" awards, horse racing's version of "the Oscar"

This was an unexpectedly emotional event for me.  I didn't really know my Uncle John well for a variety of reasons, but standing in the Hall of Fame and reading about his accomplishments made me grieve for a relationship that could have been, but never was.  I'm sorry I missed out on knowing him.  Everything I'm learning indicates he was a special individual who achieved greatness in multiple disciplines, all while remaining humble and generous to those around him.  It's clear he is respected and even revered by all who knew him.

All too soon our visit was over and it was time to fly home:

"the girls" ready for takeoff in Shreveport

An interesting incident occurred in the Shreveport airport.  While we were checking in, an announcement sounded over the loudspeakers: "Please stand for the playing of our National Anthem."

Surprised - I'd never heard an announcement like that at an airport before - I turned and found the flag, then stood along with everyone else in my view, hands over our hearts, as the strains of The Star Spangled Banner filled the airport.

It was "a moment", and though I tried not to, tears streamed down my face as I thought of all the men and women who have given their lives in defense of our nation.

Cut down in the prime of their lives, when they should have been going to school or jobs, loving someone, being loved as sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives...but instead of that they sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom so we can enjoy our God given, blood bought rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Heartrending to think of the incalculable cost of freedom.

It was a long trip home due to disruptions from Hurricane Patricia blowing up from Mexico.  We ended up waiting in the Dallas / Fort Worth airport for six hours, but finally went airborne by 8 pm CDT:

the Dallas / Ft. Worth skyline

Touched down in Grand Rapids at 11 pm EDT, and were greeted by a miniature of that famous sculpture, unique to our city, that makes everyone who sees it ask, "what the heck is that?"

And as always, the answer rings out loud and clear every time: I have no idea.

Today has been all about decompressing and relaxing, preparing for another work week.  Autumn is definitely winding down now...

...but it's a beautiful, sunny, day, and just right for cruising in Mr. T.  Karen snapped a pic as I was returning from a spin around the neighborhood, getting ready to turn into our driveway:

homeward bound...

Later, mcm fans...

Mr. T...

...and me, back from a spin around the block.  Getting more comfortable driving now...it's very cool, just very different than modern cars.

Another view...

...putting him in the garage for the night...and unfortunately, soon for the winter.  It's been in the 30's at night now, and obviously it's an open cab so it's cold tooling along at 35 or 40 mph in 40 degree weather.

Might change the baby blue to basic black sometime next year...would be more appropriate, but the blue is pretty sharp.

Almost time for Mr. Bolts to make his annual appearance...

 He'll be joined by a few more friends this year...will highlight them in the next couple of posts.

Short one this week...

Later, mcm fans...

First Fire...

...of the fall...and it's not even really autumn yet...but it sure feels like it this September weekend...48 degrees this morning, so I built a fire in the chiminea.  Plus this was already the 3rd weekend of the high school football season, so we're a third of the way through (the regular season; less when you count the playoffs of course).

Another view:

Missed a week of blogging due to a major computer conversion at work...biggest one we've ever done, and we've had our share of issues.  Went from a physical to virtual architecture, from single server to multi-server, along with the requisite operating system upgrade.  Way too many late nights and early mornings, but we're finally almost there.

So I missed pretty much all of the Labor Day weekend, but what I did see of it looked like this:

Rainy!  I was outside when a cloudburst struck, so I sought refuge under one of our umbrellas...

big, fat, end of summer raindrops...

...splashing in the pool...

It's tough to watch summer fading...I do love the fall colors and autumn has its own special pleasures...cool temperatures and crisp clear nights...pumpkins and apple pies and cider and football and fires in the fireplace...

But as summer packs her bags and heads for the station like a spurned lover...

yes, it's a repeat, but I like this imagery...

...and Autumn prepares her brilliant, colorful dance across the stage of Life, I can't shake the melancholy that almost always accompanies endings.

Rather than end on that down note, a few recent, random pics of life in and around the Wild_Hare kingdom:

cool looking replica of an antique radio...matches the decor...

10 am, Sunday morning...

clinging to the kitchen window, wondering when o when will we toss out a few more peanuts for the hungry horde?

yes, that's the infamous Kitty, chillin' up in the garage rafters...

fading glory of our black eyed susans and a solitary daisy...

last of the grape harvest...

the salvias were glorious...

a single morning glory...

Later, mcm fans...

1923...

...Model T...and apparently I am the proud, new, owner, of...

But this is no ordinary Model T...Ray Miras of Northville put this one together himself, and used a rebuilt 1923 engine, which is why it's registered in that year...but the pieces and parts were from various and sundry T's he had laying around...and the top and bed are custom made by a cabinet maker friend of his.

Not another one like it in the world:

love the spare tire on the side...

driving it will be a new experience...3 pedals on the floor, none of them the accelerator...

Karen said we needed a truck...now we have one...

Ray is an interesting guy, 85 years old, a marine, Korean vet...I'll write more about him in future posts.

Long day...

Later, mcm fans...

1928 Ford...

...Tri-Motor...aka "The Tin Goose...at the Sparta airport this weekend, and Karen and I flew on it.

That statement conveys some factual information, but doesn't come close to communicating my emotional response to this event...and as much as I like to think of myself as a writer, I'm not sure I can put into words the feelings today's activities evoked.

Marilyn posing in front of the Tin Goose...

...and ready to board...

empty seats...

...now filled and ready to soar...

Designed by William Bushnell Stout and financed by Henry Ford, this was the epitome of aviation technology in 1927 when the first one rolled off the assembly line...and this aircraft launched the civil aviation / airline industry.  The combination of its unprecedented capacity - 2 pilots, a stewardess, and 10 passengers - its range of 560 miles with a cruising speed of 120+ mph, and perhaps most importantly, Henry Ford's substantial reputation behind it, provided just the right mix of publicity and practicality, romance and reliability, to make airline travel legitimate.

Between 1927 and 1933 they produced 199 of these aircraft, and they flew commercially until the mid 1960's.  Now there are perhaps a dozen or so still around, and only two offer rides to the public.

We flew on one of them today:

So what's the big yank?  Took a 20 minute ride on an old plane...so what?

It's complicated, but 30 years ago I walked away from a career in aviation...having earned my commercial pilot's license with an instrument rating for fixed wing, single engine, land aircraft, I stood at a crossroads...and I decided I did not want to be a bus driver in the sky, so landed solidly in an IT career.

Today, for the first time in 3 decades, I seriously second guessed that decision.

I love vintage things, and especially those from the mid century modern and art deco eras.  Watching the grey haired pilot settle into the cockpit of this magnificent machine, I thought to myself, "that could be me".

He pressed the tri-handle throttles forward, the three legged beast roared to life,  its tail rose up, then we leaped off the runway and into the wild blue...that took me back to my youth in a way I never expected, and the thrill I used to experience daily but hadn't in years made me wonder...what if??

Later, mcm fans...

Mid Century Modern...

...Horror...well, sort of...that's a Grandin Road "Haunted Clock" on top of my 1958 GE tv...here's the video of the clock doing it's scary thing...

13 O'clock?  It's either haunted or that's a reference to Bobby Goldsboro's "Watching Scotty Grow"...

Got my TV back, and I truly love its mid century / Danish modern vibe...I rearranged the living room to include it:

It does work...

That's strong man Peter Lupus in the 1st season of Mission Impossible...

...and that's the famous opening scene of M.I. with the match lighting the fuse as Lalo Schifrin's iconic theme music plays in the background...

Recently got a tip about the right lubricant to use for antique clocks, so I tried it on my KEM Webber clock from the 1930's/40's, and so far it seems to work...it's keeping great time now, and before it was always slow:

Love the art deco styling of this classic timepiece...

So I said I'd highlight some of the other Grandin Road items I bought for the upcoming All Hallow's Eve celebration...you've seen the jumping spider and the haunted clock...here are two, slightly more studious props:

(studious bc they involve books, of course...)

The haunted books are better than the witches' spell book...for animated props, I want them to be a few seconds of "scary sounds" and maybe a few guttural groans...I can definitely do without 60 seconds of inane monologue...there are few things more annoying than a public speaker who doesn't know when to shut up, but this prop may be one of them...not sure if I'll use it this year or not.

We've had a couple of storms in the last few weeks with high winds, and even though we closed our patio umbrella, it still got pretty messed up...so we replaced it this week:

love the orange / red color, and this one should be a little sturdier since it's not connected from one point at the top...looks good imho.

Karen's up north with her progeny this weekend, so I'm doing the bachelor thing again...got some projects done around the house, and then settled in the theater room to watch one of my favorite flicks:  The Rocketeer.  Here's a scene from the "South Seas Club" just as they start to play "Begin the Beguine":

More 1930's art deco elegance...great film, great scenery.

Later, mcm fans...