Some of you know that I started my career as a scientist a very long time ago 🙂  Now Roni and I are driving around America to explore this amazing country.  Word gets to us of the “March for Science” and St. Louis is the closest large city that has a march so we decide to participate.   The experience was awesome and we hope we have captured a little of our joy in this blog and the links to our pictures.

We arrived two hours early which gave us plenty of time to figure out where to park, lol.  The crowd was small at first but vibrant.  The chill in the air with the stab of cold moisture and the cooling breeze reminded us of spring back home in Seattle.    The first picture I took was of a walking dinosaur, but the first person we spoke to was someone with a captivating sign.

Dan was at the march because of the influence of the younger members of his family and like me, had long since decided he had done too little to support science in the public arena as a young man, so we were both trying to support it now.

As we talked to more people we became very aware of the passion of the marchers and the strong cross currents in the tides of science that were amplified by the current administration.

The crowd ran the gamut from young to old.

And the crowds surpassed our hopes for a successful march.  The police and march organizers worked well together and everyone succeeded in peacefully marching to express their feelings and passion about the importance of Science in our great nation.

Imagine walking shoulder to shoulder with others all sharing the belief in Science and all it brings to our world.  No fake news, no alternative facts, only peer reviewed evidence and sound conclusions to find a cure for cancer, to stop global warming, to feed more people in our world, to entertain us, and so on, and so on.  The crowd chants in solidarity, not hateful slogans, but words talking of their belief in Science to continue to lift up the people on this earth.

There will be another March for Science next year, we hope you can all make it to march with us 🙂   Our thanks and gratitude are extended to all who organized the marches across the nation and to all that marched to help our nation remember the importance of Science for our society and our world.

We have posted pictures on Facebook at http://facebook.com/compositionbyjohn and our gallery of photos at http://compositionbyjohn.com

We hope you can find your picture if you marched in St. Louis !

Thank you for following our blog,

John and Roni

Let’s say at the start of World War II you get the brilliant idea of increasing our air strength by training African-Americans to be military pilots in the US Army Air Forces to help fight Germany.  You realize that with segregation the rule in those days, you will have to train not only the black pilots, but the black mechanics, black cooks, black maintenance, black logistics, etc.  You will have to train the pilots and all their support personnel ! Tuskegee University in AL is an existing all black school that adds curriculum to support the training needed.  Now build the buildings in multiple airfields in Alabama to house all the planes, equipment, maintenance for both primary and advanced Flight programs.  Despite the racism and resistance by some, they successfully trained the 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron and went on to creating the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group.

There were major bumps in the road.  At one point Congress almost pulled them out of the war because of some that felt Blacks were inferior.  Another bump was a white base commander who created two officer clubs on base, one for whites and one for Trainees (blacks).  It took 101 Black officers (pilots) being arrested for refusing to sign a document indicating they agreed with the policy to bring the matter to a head.

Once they reached North Africa, they were relegated to ground support missions until finally the government decided they were here to stay and sent them to Italy to escort bombers dropping their loads on military targets throughout the European Theater.    They earned the respect of the bomber crews with more than one requesting their unit to escort them into battle, high praise for fighting units that had proven their mettle.

Before the war, a lot of “White Americans” didn’t think a black man had the aptitude or ability to learn how to fly a modern fighter and shoot down the enemy, the Tuskegee Airmen showed how wrong they were.  The African-American pilots and support personnel who served so courageously in the war came home to find an America that had not changed much.  But because of their struggles to overcome, it gave hope to many of the black community at home, reading of their successes and cheering them on.  Their struggle helped shape and foreshadow the coming racial struggles through the 50s and beyond.

This was another fascinating look back into history for us.  We love this country and feel we grow a little more in understanding each time we see brave men and women stand up to adversity to help us move forward.

Thank you for following our blog and please explore many more pictures of our precious venture at http://compositionbyjohn.com or http://facebook.com/compositionbyjohn

John and Roni

As in the King family.   Martin Luther King Jr.

April 4, 2017.  It just so happened to be the 49th anniversary of the assassination of  Martin Luther King Jr.  We did not intend to be at the Martin Luther King National Historic Site on this day it was just where we landed.  We thought that was cool.  Right?  We didn’t know how honored we were about to be.

We strolled around the site and were brought to tears at times and at other times in awe of the story and pictures that we had heard of throughout our lives of this man and the many other courageous people who stood up for what things that should have been God given rights.  John and I were somehow taken to the Ebenezer Baptist Church unknowingly and at the perfect time.  A service was about to begin.  I looked at John and hightailed it up the stairs to the chapel.   If a service was about to begin I was going to attend.  After all what a chance to be in the pews of the very church that MLK and his father and grandfather had all preached and been reverends in.

I don’t get star struck easily but John and I were so honored to have this opportunity to listen to the words of Martin III and Bernice who had learned so much from this man, their father.  We were the second row back and they held my attention so as to inspire me and make me think of how I might be someone who acts and doesn’t just talk.

As we travel this great land of America we find so many examples of people in our nation standing up to oppression, to evil people, to what is wrong, not for themselves but for the betterment of all members of our society.  We learn so much each time we spend the time listening to their stories and feel grateful our country is honoring them in these National Park Service venues.

Pictures of our wonderful visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site can be found at http://compositionbyjohn.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/compositionbyjohn

Thank you for following our blog 🙂  John and Roni

Yay, we finally left Florida after four months of winter vacation 🙂  Family visits, visits with friends, exploring the wildlife and beauty of Florida were all excellent ways of spending the time, but we do admit to a bit of Florida winter slothfulness also, lol.   Georgia awaits our precious venture now !

First stop in Georgia was the Andersonville National Historic Site.  If you are not a Civil War buff you may not be familiar with the prison camp for captured Union soldiers.   The image below shows

a replica of the shelter the men had, but imagine men packed so close together that it was difficult to move about, with no grass and only dust and mud, with every type of insect and vermin crawling over them, exposed to the extreme hot and cold of the climate, and you might have some idea of what the men were put through.

45,000 prisoners passed though the gates of the prison, 13,000 died over 14 months.  For a while gangs of men wandered the camp extorting the few comforts or luxuries that some possessed before 6 were hung to reduce the threats.

Now pull back to look at the entire camp and see the small stream that cuts through the middle of the camp.

During some periods, the stream would be bounded by fields of mud so deep that men would be stuck up to their waists while trying to get a cup of water that was drinkable.  The Union soldiers pulled water out upstream from where their bodily wastes were deposited into the stream.   Soldiers coming to the camp with existing wounds suffered greatly with their wounds a breeding ground for every type of insect and vermin you can imagine.  The red dust which turned to a black mud coated every part of their bodies.  Food was infrequently made available to the camp, many dying of hunger due to the shortages as the war continued.  The tall fence was topped by guard posts and a “dead line” fence creating an area near the main stockade where you would be shot if you entered it.   If a guard was feeling mean and tossed bread into this zone, he was looking to kill anyone approaching it.

Now step back further and think that these prisoners of war were not unlike POWs of any war.  They all suffered, used courage to survive and endured terrible conditions so that they might feel freedom some day.  The Andersonville National Historic Site weaves the story of Andersonville into the complex tapestry of the story of POWs of all wars.  Roni and I had tears as we read, watched films, and explored the National Historic Site.  It is a truly remarkable story of the sacrifices the men and women of our armed forces have endured for our country.

Adjacent to the Andersonville prison site is a National Cemetery.  When you walk the cemetery you quickly realize that the Union soldiers who died in the prison were buried in mass trenches.  The gravestones are too close together for any other explanation.   After the war the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton and a former Andersonville prisoner Dorence Atwater worked together to meticulously identify 95% of the graves of the Union POWs who died in the prison.

We live in freedom because so many soldiers have given and sacrificed so much for us.  The National Park Service has done a wonderful job in helping all of us to remember and understand these sacrifices at this National Historic Site.

Feels so good to be on the road again sharing with all of you our precious venture !  Thank you for following our narrative and exploring our pictures located at http://compositionbyjohn.com or http://facebook.com/compositionbyjohn

John and Roni 🙂

After coming back to our trailer that we left at Scott and Nikki’s while in Seattle, we headed over to the west side of Florida.  I lived in the Tampa area for over 20 years so I have some history there.  The picture above is of Sharon and myself.  I worked with Sharon at Thompson Cigar & Co. and let her know I wanted to get together with her and anyone else who could see me.  Being the awesome person she is, she set to motion a wonderful Thompson Reunion sort of speak with current and previous employees pictured below.   I love this woman and she holds a very special place in my heart!

I thought I would throw in the picture below because Craig also is very special to me.  He has an awesome sense of humour, a big heart and is kind of a no nonsense guy and anyone in his presence can’t help but smile.

I have never met a group of people (many are not pictured here that I include in this statement) that just click and years after leaving employment with Thompson or continuing employment still click as if nothing ever changed.  I am so grateful for the time I had with each and everyone of them and hope that they all know it.

As always I am thankful to John who is always the man behind the camera for me.  More pictures can be seen at http://compositionbyjohn.com and http://facebook.com/compositionbyjohn

Thanks for reading our blog,

John and Roni