Austin Riverwalk - Rise of the High Rises

A favorite technique of mine is to shoot buildings rising up behind vegetation in the foreground (or in front of vegetation in the background), leaving all the clues of a teeming, bustling city hidden from view.  Did this in Taipei, New York, Tokyo, Seattle, Denver, and many other cities.

Austin Riverwalk - Cityscape from Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge

...and here's your cityscape from the span.

Just getting off of the bridge in my return to the trail yielded the view below.  Both of these are 2-shot panoramas.

Cannot go to Austin and see a scene like this without thinking about the Phil Crawshay gallery in the lobby of the Omni hotel downtown, where he displays and sells his art.  Absolutely stunning photography, with the most unbelievable cityscapes you'll ever see.  All printed on metal.  I used to have meetings at that Omni and would stare at his work for a long time through the glass wall into his store (which never seemed to be open the hours I was there).  One day I would like to meet the man and take a closer look at his awesome work.

Austin Riverwalk - Foot of Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge

Don't know whether it's new, but I didn't even know this pedestrian bridge existed until I was right upon it.  Very nice - would love to bring a tripod and get some good night shots from it one day.  Since Austin is a little drier than Houston, am sure that it would be a nice (comparatively) cool walk over the river even mid-summer.

Austin River Walk - First Cityscape

During Chenjean's last full day at the conference I took the opportunity to walk on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trial along the riverside.  It was a great day weatherwise, though a little on the hot side, and I love cityscapes so there were a ton of pics from this walk to sort through.  I hadn't been to downtown Austin in a few years, so was surprised at how the skyline changed with all the new buildings going up.  All in all a good day, and productive with regard to the pictures I was able to capture.

This is very close to where I emerged alongside the river after parking the car.  Immediately I fell in love with the weirdly-stacked building, which is a trend now in lots of cities...much of my creative attention was focused on getting just the right angle to capture this guy.

As always, during postcapture I very much appreciated having the huge file sizes and great resolution provided by the Bigger Cahoona.  This allowed for a greater degree of cropping, and more wiggle room to brighten shadows, etc., thanks to its awesome light-grabbing sensor.

Austin - Capitol Interior, Senate Chamber

Probably one of the most iconic, postcard-ish pictures there could be of the Senate Chamber.  Gotta stick one in now and then I guess...

Next we'll take a walk along the river adjacent to downtown Austin.

Austin - Capitol Interior, House Chamber

Austin - Capitol Interior, Hanging Light

Combo window shot and light shot...a favorite of the interior images captured at the Capitol building.  It's these kinds of shots that I'm after, not the iconic chamber panoramas, etc. (two of which are next).

Austin - Capitol Interior, Window Light Play

Though they're not exactly the same, thought of this post from Fort Worth when I snapped the photo.

Austin - Capitol Interior, Window Shot

Austin - Capitol Interior, Baluster

Austin - Capitol Interior, Five-Star Lamp

Austin - Capitol Building Interior, Chilling Monks

Was shooting interiors in one of the chambers - House or Senate, don't remember which - when these guys were basically chilling, watching people or whatever interested them.  This is when I took a leap and initiated a conversation, which was hard for me...what do you say to a monk?

What do you say to a monk?  They are so different in most every way - their appearance, their obvious religious devotion and subsequent peaceful, - well, monk-like - demeanor, the way they swish about in those long, flowing robes.  Not to mention language.  Where are these guys from, and do they even speak English?

Turned out very little, at least with these chaps.  One spoke a little and was able to communicate that they were from Burma, and over here for a couple of weeks to attend some conference.  Once the conversation was initiated I began to relax a little, realizing that they are not on some inaccessible, out-of-this-world plane that I had no way of reaching.  And they appeared genuinely interested and appreciative that I took the time to speak to them.

Austin - Capitol Building Interior, Posing Monks

This was an opportunity where I could snap away without letting on that the monks were my subject rather than the chamber.

Austin - Capitol Interiors, Stairway Monks

Now this is something you don't see every day in the Texas capitol building.  Saw these guys very soon after entering, and sought every opportunity to capture them without seeming obnoxious.

Turns out they were in a large group, part of which is seen below:

 

Austin - Capitol Interior, Dome from Below

A duplicate of this post captured in Denver, being directly below the dome looking up is a awesome sight.  And dizzying.  Looking straight up, inching here and there to get under the exact center, can easily cause you to lose your balance and fall right over.  Attempting to capture something similar in another building, on the Prairie View University main campus near Houston, I eventually had to lie flat on my back right there on the ground floor.

The thought just occurred to me.  Wouldn't it be an interesting bucket list item to get this shot in all 50 capitols in the U.S...

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Sideview of Entrance Lamp

Lamps are so cool.  Old-school looks with new technology.  Looks like they have LED lights in this one, which could give a warm glow when lit, but depends on how it's adjusted.  Would have to wait until dawn or late dusk in order to photograph the effect of lamps that are lit while still having enough light to create an ambiance with its surroundings.

Next we'll enter the building for a few surprises on what's inside...

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Entrance Lamp / Journey into Yet ANOTHER Language, The Present

Made a bookmark out of this guy.  I'd like to develop the bookmark concept to one day be able to mass produce them for sale or giveaways.  Made about 250 so far in the small, 4" size.  Lord willing I'll print a sampling of all of these in order to choose which to produce in the larger, 5" size for distribution.  Maybe a retirement activity...
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
Lately we've been going through the coronavirus thing; as this is being written everyone's pretty much in lockdown, and even when we're in a place like church we're supposed to maintain a distance of at least six feet from every other family group, plus wear a mask.  Never thought I'd see anything like this in the United States.

It's the beginning of this lockdown period that will be the focus of today's entry.  For the months of March and April no one went anywhere, including my wife's sisters and their families.  Which means that we didn't see them or visit for an unprecedented two months.  Then we all relaxed a little and chanced a visit some weekends.

When regular visits resumed, something hit me like a ton of bricks...something I'd become inured to over a marriage of three decades.  Naturally all of my in-laws are full-blooded Chinese, and a very close family, so speak Mandarin when we get together, leaving me on the outside of things.  Why not do something to better become integrated?

When this came out as a discussion between the wife and myself it was determined that I should make one last push to grow and polish my skills at speaking the language.  This I agreed to do, and we came up with a plan.  I already know enough to have a rudimentary conversation, so starting from there we've determined to speak nothing but Chinese from the time we get out of bed until logging on for work.  This is upwards of an hour, and includes breakfast time, our morning walk, and/or a lesson from YouTube (found a pretty good series for free).  The result of this has been that our walks are a little quieter than they used to be, but I was pleased the other day that we successfully had an argument about which sidewalk to take at a turnoff in the park.  And the day that I can successfully tell a joke will be a threshold.

So here we are.  I'm almost 62 years old, and have found another good retirement/old-age hobby to keep the ole' synapses firing. (the other ones being photography and flight simulation)  Though I don't foresee matching my fluency in Spanish, this is the one that counts the most!

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Centered Flag with Dome Statue / Journey into Yet ANOTHER Language, The Plateau

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
So there we have it, and there I've stayed.  For more than 25 years I've used only the Chinese acquired from the initial push to learn the language.  It was enough to impress and amuse, but not enough to be really conversant or fluent.  I was pretty much satisfied that I knew enough for the time being, and didn't really have a desire to go any further with it.  On one occasion, however, during another visit to Taiwan, I was encouraged that the level on which I chose to stay might not be permanent.

It happened that my brother-in-law - the one who owned the proverbial Chinese laundry establishment - took a half day off in order to show me a huge park situated within the Taipei city limits.  Chenjean had something else going on, so my "Cleaner Brother" - as he came to be called - and I piled into his small sedan and drove almost an hour to our destination.  The pictures of that trip were posted in March of 2010, one of my favorites of which is here.

This was an unusual situation, as I'd never been left without a translator before in Taiwan, and Cleaner Brother knew only about ten words in English.  To his credit, knowing that my Chinese was much more advanced than his English, while we were in the car he did what he could to help me expand my capabilities.  And to my delight I was able to make myself understood and, thanks to his patience, held my own in conversation for almost the entire hour that we were on the road to the park.  In fact I felt the gears of learning start to turn in my head, just like it was after I'd moved to Mexico.  Very encouraging.

But alas, it was only for half a day, and the progress was pretty much erased by the time the visit was over.  So again, there I've stayed.

Until very recently, that is...

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Dome Statue with Flag / Journey into Yet ANOTHER Language, Taiwan

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
So we're off to Taiwan with kid in tow along with my newly-acquired Chinese skills.  I was eager to blend in, take part, and impress all of my relatives across the (other) pond.

Which is why I was confused when, after arriving at my father-in-law's house, I wasn't understanding much of what they said at all.  After two days of this I got discouraged and asked my wife about it: "Why, suddenly, do I not understand most anything they say?  I'm not blending in or taking part at all, much less impressing anybody."  That's easy, she said.  They are all speaking TAIWANESE!!  So much for listening exercises.

Something else was happening that convinced me that I'd just scratched the surface and had a long, long way to go.  The neighbors were curious about me, being the only white guy they see there every year or so, and would attempt to strike a conversation with me as I showed up at the store or passed by on the street.  This was somewhat encouraging, as the conversation always seemed to start well.  But you can only say "snot" and "diaper" so many times before both parties lose interest. (per yesterday's post)

Also I discovered something surprising that kicked in while trying to converse in Chinese.  I would often start a sentence just fine, but midway through realize that I couldn't finish it!  What happened in those cases is that my brain, being in foreign language mode, and without my even thinking about it, would automatically conclude the thought in Spanish.  So here I was, face to face with a near-stranger in the neighborhood, starting my sentences in Chinese and finishing them in Spanish.  And what would they do?  KEEP ON NODDING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE as if they understood the whole thing!  Either they didn't understand anything from the beginning, or it was a face-saving gesture.  Either way a little embarrassing.

Being conversational in a rudimentary way also ushered in some unwelcome gestures of friendship.  One guy, seeing that I was friendly and eager to talk, offered me a cigarette.  I made it pretty clear - in Chinese - that I had no interested in taking his cigarette, to which he appeared mighty offended.  Now I've never given a flip about offending anyone - unless I've discovered that I've made a mistake - but this unnerved me a little.  Chenjean said no big deal.

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Statue Framed / Journey into Yet ANOTHER Language, The Beginning

Was reminded of this post, captured in Paris, when snapping this frame...
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
Within the first couple of years of our marriage I discovered a continuing education Chinese conversation class for adults being held evenings at Rice University.  It was five weeks long and wasn't cheap, but worth every penny, as the teacher was great and to this day I've retained just about everything we learned during that class.  Once it was finished I had the rudimentary knowledge and practice from which to launch into this journey to yet another language.

I took every opportunity to practice my newly-acquired skills on family and (a very limited number of) friends.  Everyone was impressed, but it was short lived, as I only had enough vocabulary to keep a conversation going for about two minutes!  Not to mention a very limited repertoire of topics to discuss.  But I soldiered on at the risk of boring my listeners.  Once, I was speaking to Chenjean's dad on the telephone and when I handed the phone back he asked, "Why does Jim keep asking me if I'm busy at work?"  Case in point...

Meanwhile our son, Andrew, was born.  We hired a live-in nanny from the mainland of China and she spoke nothing but Chinese so there was a little practice there.  And between her and our family full of native Mandarin speakers, Chinese became Andrew's first language.  I learned all of the little-kid words up to about the age of two: snot, drool, pee, diaper, dirty diaper, spank, hungry, thirsty, etc. etc.  In fact, when the nanny left and we had to take Andrew to a nearby Montessori school in Charterwood (suburban Houston) I had to teach the staff all of those words so they could communicate with Andrew the first few weeks.

In the middle of this came my first real opportunity to practice and grow from the nucleus of what I'd learned in class and at home.  When Andrew was 14 months old it was time to take him to Taiwan to meet the rest of the family...

Austin - Capitol Exteriors, Frontal View of Dome Statue / Journey into Yet ANOTHER Language, Prologue

Moving around the building I took a close-up of the dometop statue for a frontal view.  Zoomed-out shot below:

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
It wasn't something I was looking for at the time.  I'd grown out of chasing skirts, and settled into a satisfactory Christian life, focusing more on things above than around. (Colossians 3:2)  Back to the small Church of Christ at the East Main congregation in Nacogdoches, where I found purpose and satisfaction that I was doing the right thing at the right place at the right time.  Suppose it is these times in life when things sort of fall into place.

But I sure didn't recognize it when it happened.  To flash back a little, my somewhat-elderly neighbor (and landlord) out in the country called one day, asking if I'd like to join he and his wife for Wednesday night service, as they were leaving in a few minutes.  Couldn't gracefully back out, so agreed.

They picked me up on their way to church.  I didn't feel totally comfortable about it since I wasn't active at the time, but here we go.  In a short while we'd made it to town and pulled up to the modest building where services were held.  Not many cars in the parking lot - in fact only two, because that evening only five people showed up, me and my chaperones included.  The other pair was a guy named Doug and a Chinese girl named Chenjean.  I remember so clearly to this day the moment I set eyes on her.  Not because it was love at first sight (which it wasn't) or that she was a ravishing beauty (pretty, but not distractingly so).  It was because I'd never laid eyes on a Chinese before, except on a TV show or in the news.  She was different, and interesting.  Besides, I took it for granted that she and Doug were a couple.

This series is about a journey into yet another language, so we'll flash forward now about a year and a half.  It turns out that Doug and Chenjean were not really a couple - except in his mind - and, upon realizing that Chenjean would make the perfect wife, I proposed and we got married on June 24th of 1988.  So here I am, now married to the Chinese culture.

Go figure...after years of acquiring and honing skills at mastering Spanish, now the advantage would be to learn CHINESE of all languages.

But I didn't.  My greatest and most lasting regret is that we didn't move to Taiwan right after getting married so that I could learn the language.  My mind was much more young and agile in those days, and two years of intense immersive study would have done it.  Since Chenjean and her sisters - and their spouses - here in Houston naturally prefer to speak Chinese, even when I'm around, the entirety of our marriage would have been much more comfortable had I become fluent.  But, I didn't.

However there was an effort very early on, which was somewhat fruitful...

Austin - Capitol Exteriors, Dome with Flag Behind Trees / Journey into Another Language, Back to College and Beyond

As stated in an earlier post, on our morning walks to Chenjean's meetings we cut through the capitol grounds approaching the back of the building.  Being shortly after sunrise the light was favorable.

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
So I was off...I could now speak Spanish and hold my own in talking about almost anything.  I was fluent.  Many of my fellow students notice the difference upon my return from living in Mexico, and I took on a new role as tutor of my classmates.  This is when I discovered that I enjoy teaching.  I would reserve a classroom in the education building on certain evenings there at SFA.  Before my regular Spanish classes began during the day I would write the room number and time for the tutoring sessions on the chalkboard, then my classmates that needed it would show up to get a boost before a test, or just to brush up.  I would be there, chalk in hand, ready with examples and a teaching style that resembled entertainment more than instruction.  It worked; the evening night sessions became popular, and I made a firm decision that teaching Spanish was what I wanted to do.  It was a good time, and a heady experience, but most of all I was proud that I'd accomplished something that no one else in my family had, which made it all my own:  I'd mastered a foreign language.

Life went on.  After the summer of 1980 I made regular trips back to Mexico where I'd lived near Allende, Coahuila.  My abilities grew and I ended up becoming a high school Spanish teacher...had some good years, others not so good, but stuck with it for fifteen years.  At times in church I preached and taught in Spanish, and at the Jersey Village Church of Christ was a deacon in charge of Mexico missions, making one or two trips into the interior of the country per year to check up on our missionaries.  I had done it, and was making use of my abilities to be a blessing to others.

So it was with surprise that I ran head-on into the fates that interrupted that flow, and took me on a journey into yet ANOTHER language...

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Dome with Statue Behind Wall / Journey into Another Language, Mexico

Not too many shots of the capitol building's exterior, but hopefully some from perspectives not often seen.  Certainly this is one of the most photographed buildings in the country, with millions upon millions of images captured.
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
At SFA I enjoyed the Spanish, and the general experience of hanging out at the Modern Languages Department, so much that I dropped forestry and changed my focus altogether.  In order to keep my hand in science I double-majored in Spanish and biology, with a biological emphasis in herpetology.

Thus, by my junior year in college I'd whizzed off on a trajectory that was totally unforeseen, yet I knew it was the right thing to do.  Though difficult at times, I was learning a lot of Spanish, earning my way up to the sophomore level in both conversation (course 209) and grammar (232 and beyond).  This plus another summer in Amarillo with Ramón and his bunch gave me confidence in my progress at becoming fluent.

Yet I wasn't really fluent, and grew frustrated because I'd plateaued in my development.  So what to do?  Answer: MOVE TO MEXICO!  Must become immersed.

This strategy worked well.  The summer of 1980 was the summer after my junior year, and I'd heard about a good program out of California State University at Sacramento.  To greatly simplify probably one of the happiest and most formative times of my adult life, I enrolled, moved down to Mexico to live and spend time with Ramón's family, went down further to attend classes with the program in Guanajuato, then emerged truly fluent in the language.  In fact by the fall of 1980 I was dreaming in Spanish, and at times had to reverse-translate back into English upon my return.  The angels were with me that summer in many ways...

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Supplicant / Journey into Another Language, College

This ranks as one of my favorites of the entire Austin shoot.  Interesting how a concept is born in the field, then can develop further during post-capture.

Wider view of same below:

Next, pictures of the capitol building itself, then going inside...
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
I started out at SFA as a forestry major.  In those days the forestry program at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches was the number one school in the nation for those interested in such things.  I was operating on the assumption that once a person has a degree in forestry a lot of time is spent frolicking outdoors and communing with nature.  Soon it became evident, however, that this is not the case - having a degree in forestry means a lot of time in the office and, worse, having to use a lot of math!  Though we did spend some time outdoors, my interest waned with each passing semester.  Thus, my grades waned also, and that put me in trouble.

Trouble because my father would only foot his portion of the college funds so long as I maintained a 3.0 average.  I could see the clouds of poverty looming on the horizon.  So what to do?

Well, by my fourth semester at college something had to be done, and the solution hit me in a flash - I'll take Spanish to bring my average up!  And so it was that I chose to dive back into the language as an easy way to maintain a grade point average that would keep the money flowing into my coffers.  This strategy worked like a charm.

More importantly, it got me back into a flow that I very much enjoyed.  I got along well with most of my professors, and seemed to fit with the kind of crowd that gravitated to such a course of study.  Besides - per the plan - it was easy to maintain a very good average and be recognized as one of the top students in the field.  I was on my way.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Statue (the Masses) / Journey into Another Language, The Slaughter House

The incredible detail here - to think of the precision and technology needed to cast this in bronze!  The message is also clear, of a downcast people looking to the right source for supplication.  I once told a friend that I envied the slaves of the American south for the purity of their faith.

Closer shot below of the central figure:

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
Because of Mrs. Herrera's compassion I was able to continue with Spanish, and signed up for Spanish II in the tenth grade.  We had a different teacher and it was a forgettable experience, but I sailed through with a B for the year, I think.  I moved to Beaumont for my last two years of high school and chose not to take Spanish while there.

And that would have been the end of it were it not for an encounter in the locker room after my first day of work at Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) in Amarillo the summer of 1978.  The encounter was related in this post from a few years ago.  I asked a guy a few lockers down from mine, whose name was Ramón García, where to take my clothes to be washed.  When it became obvious that he didn't know a word of English (in fact he was an illegal immigrant fresh from Mexico at the time) I saw an opportunity to practice my skills after a three-year hiatus of not using the language.  He patiently listened to my very broken Spanish, and was delighted to help me out once he understood what was needed.

Encouraged that this guy was so friendly and patient with my Spanish, I tried talking to him every day, and soon it became easier.  Within a week or so we got to talking about the Bible; I had been elected president of the Lutheran Student Movement on campus at SFA, and told him it was my goal to learn something about it that summer.  This led to an invitation to his church, which I eagerly accepted since the service would be conducted entirely in Spanish.  It was an enriching experience spiritually and gave me plenty of practice, as I attended every Sunday for the duration of the summer.  By the time I headed back to college for my sophomore year it could be said that I was somewhat fluent.

So I was back in the running with another language.  Little did I know that Mrs. Hererra's consideration, and my contact with Ramón later on, was steering my life onto a trajectory that would deliver me much deeper into the language and culture of Mexico than I could have ever guessed at the time.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Memorial (Top in Sunlight) / Journey into Another Language, High School

The only decent pics taken in the full sun were these.  The dove, alight on top of Lincoln's Proclamation, is a fitting emblem of peace in the midst of one of the great struggles of mankind.

Same against a blue sky below...

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[continued from yesterday's post]

So it was that during my freshman year at Orange Stark High School I elected to take Spanish I.  Our teacher was named Mrs. Herrera, a 400-lb Cuban lady, and I'm not exaggerating about her weight.  But she was a nice lady who did what she could to survive day by day, as her mind wasn't exactly on school but rather on her tumultuous home life, which she freely shared with the class at times.  Nevertheless, there was a good-faith effort to reign us in and put some Spanish into our heads.

But I didn't cooperate very well.  My own home life was not at all in order, and that plus the fact that I had friends in there equaled delinquent shenanigans and lack of effort.  I was able to eek by until the third six weeks, when I ended up with a 37 average.  I was on my way out, but can't say I thought about it too much.

Mrs. Herrera did, though.  She recognized my facility in the language and didn't want to give up on me or see me leave the class.  At the end of the semester she called me out into the hall, and showed me that big fat F on her grade sheet.  She explained that I had potential, and that if I could show real effort and apply myself she would change the grade to a 66, which would pass me for the six weeks (in those days a 66 was a D and considered passing) and bring my semester grade to something in the acceptable range.  Sure, why not.  I can do it.

And I was good for my promise.  Recognizing that she was doing me a favor, starting in January I listened better and actually did homework once in a while.  Speaking the language came naturally to me, so I excelled in the conversation part of the class, though I didn't recognize it until one day Mrs. Herrera call me out of class again, this time to ask me for a favor.  Her son Jay - who was a friend of mine - was not being very cooperative at home.  From the time he was little he refused to speak Spanish, though he heard it all the time growing up.  Now her mother-in-law was staying with them for a while and an impasse developed which caused Jay to shut down and not want to communicate with her at all.  He wouldn't listen to Mom or let her help, so could I please shadow Jay at home one day to translate (both ways) and help break the ice?  Sure, why not.  I went over to her house on the designated day, and was encouraged that I could actually help fill the gap and make their home life a little easier.

I will forever be indebted to Mrs. Herrera for that opportunity, but especially for the fact that she went out of her way for me in changing my grade so that I could stick with the class.  Countless times I've walked into a Spanish class of my own with the thought that she would turn over in her grave had she known that I was destined to become a Spanish teacher myself, and stick with it for 15 years in public schools.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Memorial (Base Portion) / Journey into Another Language, The Beginning

And speaking of memorials, we now come to probably the best statue I've ever seen in terms of quality, variation, and message - the African American History Memorial.

And what a message it is.  Imagine a people plucked from their home countries to be brought here under the shackles of labor and persecution for generations to come.  Very sobering.  I've read probably 20 books on the subject, and the state-sponsored crimes against an entire population can only be compared with the state policy of murder under the Nazis.  And to think that my African-American friends, if born 150 years ago, would have been treated thus breaks the heart.

So it's fitting, in my opinion, to erect one of the great statues of the world in commemoration of Emancipation.  I was amazed when I first saw it and knew that its beauty and message must be captured.  Unfortunately, for the next two days the sun was out strong so didn't get the pictures I wanted, and got worried that it may not happen.  However on our third day there the clouds stuck around long enough to even the light, enabling a few blogworthy pics such as the one above and in the next few posts.
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I have always been fascinated by languages.  This has set me apart from my siblings - and from all of my nuclear and extended families for that matter - for as far as I know I'm the only one that has ever expressed a serious interest and actually learned one fluently (other than English).

Not sure where it came from, but two happenings come to mind that sparked this passion.  When I was very young, probably nine or ten, I discovered an interesting book while rummaging around in my brother's bookshelf.  Don't remember the title or what it was even about, but I would spend hours poring over the foreword because the entire section was printed in 41 languages, each on a separate page.  I thought the characters used in so many different parts of the world to be beautiful, with all of their squiggles, slashes, curls, diacritics and letters.  And the fact that it was the same thing in all of these languages provided the awesome opportunity to compare word-for-word...or at least guess at such an endeavor.

The other happening involved our doctor.  My mother's best friend where we grew up in Orange, Texas, was the family pediatrician, Dr. Jeannine Stewart.  When I was eleven or twelve Dr. Stewart moved to a town called Alamo, in the Texas valley across the border from Mexico.  Once in a while we would all pile into our station wagon and drive down from Orange to spend a few days.  Of course we took the opportunity to cross into Mexico, at what must have been Reynosa.

Hearing all of that Spanish in Reynosa was music to my ears, and I couldn't get enough of it.  That Christmas, Dr. Stewart, remembering my enthusiasm, bought me a little paperback dictionary titled "See it and Say it in Spanish", a book that I have to this day.  She wrote a note inside, but unfortunately the corner of the page is torn off and the date is missing.

So those two things contributed to my interest in other languages, and now I had a resource to get started in Spanish!  To be honest I didn't use the book at the time because it moved a little fast for my understanding.  But I did take the opportunity later on, when Spanish was offered during my ninth-grade year at Stark High School in Orange.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, War Memorial

Now this is taking care of a busy background.  Took a long time to accomplish but think it was worth it.  On the way discovered a blur effect called average and used that to replace the background - after I'd made a layer of just the statue and its base.

And I suppose that this is a fitting post for the Fourth of July.  So many citizens (and non-citizens) of the U.S. forget that our freedoms were hard fought through times that were far tougher than anything we've experienced in our lifetimes.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Mounted Soldier

Busy backgrounds were mentioned a few posts ago.  This shot definitely has that, but couldn't resist the opportunity for a teeny bit of humor as I happened by.

We'll see how this busy background was taken care of in tomorrow's post...

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Horseman Statue

A little bit postcard-ish, but decided it was good enough to post anyway.  Actually this is a portion of a 5-shot panorama.  I was surprised at how few people roam these grounds, but wasn't complaining because it allowed for more people-less shots like this, which I prefer.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Bird in a Bush

I've been told that the backgrounds of my photos are generally too busy...true enough I suppose, since in reality my favorites tend to be those with either an abundance of bokeh or manipulated in Photoshop to blur or simplify the background in some way.

But in some this busyness is an enhancement, such as in the pic above, a favorite among everything captured on our trip to Austin.