No Rhyme or Reason

When we were younger and taking a multitude of pictures, the slide was the media we used the most. The first, and most obvious, reason, was cost. It was quite a bit more cost effective to use slide film than print film. And it was always fun to get the projector out an have an eventing slide show. As the digital generation progressed, the cost factor was greatly reduced to the point film was only used by the "professional". Even as the quality of digital photography has improved, film still gives the best image, unless you spend "boo-koo" bucks for the highest quality camera. However, the average consumer can't really tell the difference so the inexpensive digital camera is the "Brownie" of the past.

Why did I start this post with the above dissertation, you may ask. Well, it was to set up the next part of the post. We have "tons' of slides we rarely peruse because of the hassle of preparing to watch them. So, I have been digitizing them a little at a time. Of course, my slide scanner is not the highest quality so the some of the images may leave a lot to be desired, but at least they are scanned and saved as a digital image. With these new digital images, what am I going to do. Well, to that end, I'm going to share them with you starting today. There will be no rhyme or reason with what I share on a particular day unless there is a theme associated with the series of photos. That being said, today's photos does have a theme.

When we lived in Bakersfield, our neighbors that live across the street from us, Lewis and Debbie Hancock, became very close friends. In some ways, they were surrogate grandparents to Daryl and Amy. Lewis was a teacher and an ordained Baptist minister (the first Cherokee Indian to do that) and Debbie was Dr. D. Hancock, PHD., Dean of Education at Cal State - Bakersfield. Prior to our moving to the San Diego area, Lewis and Debbie had moved back to Fullerton, where Debbie resumed working at Cal State - Fullerton and Lewis reorganized the Indian Baptist Church of Los Angeles. When they lived in Bakersfield, Lewis and I would play golf and we would have gatherings with them. This resumed when we migrated to the San Diego area. Deb and Lewis had a timeshare in Montana, so we joined them there in the summer of 1990. The following photos were from our Montana trip, but keep in mind some are digitized form slides.

Debbie at our house in Bakersfield. I think it was a Thanksgiving Dinner

Lewis, the same day as the above photo.

This was from a day in Montana when we had traveled to a "sapphire mine" hunting for "the big one". I don't remember if this before or after our search but we are enjoying a respite anyway.

Picking through the rocks for "the big one".

The Sapphire Hunters

Another story about Lewis. After we had moved to New York and I began to travel for classes, every time I would go to L.A. to teach, I would visit Lewis and Debbie (there is an additional story about visiting I'll relate another time). Anyway, Lewis and I had very similar tastes in a lot of things and both of us loved the movie "Where Eagles Dare" and we both wanted it on video tape, but couldn't find it. The next time I visited Lewis and Deb, Lewis, with great fanfare, showed me a tape of the movie he had found. He, of course, made sure I was reminded of it every time I saw him after that. Lewis had a major heart attack and wasn't able to fulfill his duties as pastor of the Indian Baptist Church for several months. The doctors finally allowed him to preach one Sunday and after the service, some parishioners took him to lunch in celebration (Debbie was laid up with a bad back and was not there). While waiting for their table, Lewis had another massive heart attack and died. The next time I was in L.A., I went to visit Debbie and she had a few things that Lewis wanted me to have. I was very appreciative of them but I asked her if it would be possible to have the video tape of "Where Eagles Dare". She stated she knew Lewis wanted me to have it but she couldn't remember the name when she was accumulating the things for me. To make a long story short, I still have that video tape and have never watched it. I have the movie on DVD so I still watch the movie, but the video tape is a very special memento.

Just a little nap before dinner after a hard day in Montana. Lewis was just a wonderful, dynamic man with so much to offer the world.

There is another part of the story about our trip to Montana that is very pertinent but I will save it for another day. So until next time, have a wonderful day.