Category Archives: LOVE

Route 66

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“If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way take the highway
That is best get your kicks on
Route Sixty-Six”
Bobby Troup

This year is the 100th Anniversary of America’s most iconic roads, Route 66.  It was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. Established on November 11, 1926, with signage erected the following year, the highway ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica, California, covering 2,448 miles.

US 66 became a major route for westward migration, particularly during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and contributed to the economic development of communities along its path. It later faced decline as traffic was diverted to the Interstate Highway System in the mid-20th century. The highway was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985 after being largely replaced by Interstate highways. Many segments of the former route have since been preserved as Historic Route 66, a National Scenic Byway, and incorporated into state and local road systems.

Route 66 has its roots when in 1857, Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was directed by the United States Department of War to construct a wagon road along the 35th parallel. The route, later known as Beale’s Wagon Road, was intended to improve transportation across the southwestern United States and included experiments with the use of camels as pack animals. Portions of this route were later incorporated into alignments of US 66.

Before the creation of a nationwide system of numbered highways, long-distance travel in the United States relied on a network of privately marked auto trails. The route that later became US 66 incorporated segments of several of these trails, including the National Old Trails Road, parts of the Ozark Trails system, and, in the Midwest and South, portions of routes such as the Lone Star Route. These routes were often indirect and inconsistently marked, leading to calls for a standardized national highway system.

Preservation efforts in the late 20th century expanded at the national level. In 1999, President Bill Clinton signed the National Route 66 Preservation Act, which provided federal support for preserving and restoring historic features along the route. The National Park Service developed the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and a Discover Our Shared Heritage travel itinerary documenting historically significant locations along the route. Then in 2008, the World Monuments Fund included Route 66 on its World Monuments Watch, citing threats to historic roadside architecture from development and neglect.

The fervor for Route 66 has been widely represented in American popular culture, reflecting its historical role in travel, migration, and the development of automobile culture. The highway was popularized in music by Bobby Troup’s 1946 song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”, first recorded by Nat King Cole, which became a standard later performed by numerous artists across many genres. The route also lent its name to the television series Route 66, which followed two young men traveling across the United States. In literature, John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath portrays westward migration along US 66 during the Dust Bowl, referring to it as the “Mother Road”, a phrase that became closely associated with the highway. It’s also been depicted in film, including the animated feature Cars, which portrays a fictional town bypassed by an Interstate Highway, reflecting the decline experienced by communities along the route.

Now, in the 21st century, Route 66 has continued to be recognized in popular media and public commemorations, a revival as a heritage tourism destination, attracting both domestic and international travelers. Preservation groups have worked to restore historic motels, gas stations, and neon signage associated with mid-20th-century automobile travel on Route 66.

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Happiness

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“Happiness is letting go of what you think
your life is supposed to look like and
celebrating it for everything that it is.”
Mandy Hall

In Buddhist philosophy, there are four key states of mind that anybody needs to occupy to be happy and to reach enlightenment, and of these four mudită is generally considered to be the hardest, but also the most important.

To show joy is to celebrate happiness and achievement in others even when we are facing tragedy ourselves. Mudita is when you bask in the reflected joy of somebody else’s happiness. It’s the parent who smiles when they hear their children laughing in the next room. It’s when you jump with joy at a friends promotion. It’s when you smile and are grateful when your friend tells you that they are cancer free.

Mudită is a kind of joyous empathy that delights in the vicarious happiness of another person.

Buddhism says that we should bring more muditā to our interactions with all other people — in fact, all living things more broadly. And the philosopher Buddhaghosa laid out a method to do so.

Buddhaghosa says that we shouldn’t start with somebody that we love, because that is too easy. Nor should we start with somebody that we resent, because that is too hard. Instead, find somebody who is cheerful. Find the person who is a half full, optimistic kind of sort, and be around them a lot more. Let their cheerfulness wash over you, because it is contagious. Let their easy laugh and happy gratitude in, and so too will you become that way. From here, you should find a neutral person, and then the person you resent, until finally you are finding happiness in the joy of somebody you don’t even like.

Mudită is a blessing, because it allows us to experience more joy than ever before. We can experience the joy in our own individual lives, but we can also experience everywhere and in everyone’s lives their happiness.

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LA Central Library

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“I imagine heaven
must be some kind of library.”
Jorge Luis Borges

Today the Los Angeles Central Library is celebrating its centennial anniversary. This headquarters for the Los Angeles Public Library system, includes a total of 72 branches of libraries. The Central Library complex is the third largest public library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings. Its subject departments contain more than 2.8 million books, 5,000 magazine subscriptions, more than 3 million photographs, 10 million digital access U.S. patents, plus language learning and multi-media materials. It also has nine subject departments that provide a variety of reference services over the counter, by telephone, mail, e-mail, or chat. Materials can be ordered by patrons throughout the city and shipped to the borrower’s local branch.

The historic Central Library opened July 15, 1926 to rave reviews and has been welcoming Angelenos and visitors ever since. On opening day, the building featured 538,000 square feet of space on eight floors, nearly 89 miles of shelves, and seating for more than 1,400 people. Hailed as an architectural gem, the building is renowned for such iconic features as the tiled pyramid on the roof; the vast, mural-lined Rotunda; and its more modern Atrium wing, which opened in 1993.

The historic Central Library Goodhue building was constructed between 1924 and 1926 and is a Downtown Los Angeles landmark. Designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, one of Los Angeles’ most elaborate original Art Deco and Beaux-Arts structure. Goodhue was born in 1869 in Pomfret, Connecticut, and became widely known in California for his influential masterplan and building designs for the Panama-California Exposition held in San Diego’s Balboa Park in 1915. For the Exposition Goodhue developed an ornate version of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.

His library design with its rectangular forms layered against a central tower, could only be experienced one facade at a time. The interior is even more spectacular than its exterior. Goodhue created an interior that centered on a great domed rotunda surrounded by stacks and reading rooms. Decorations consisted of mural paintings and patterning stenciled directly on the main ceilings. 

The entrance with its sculptured concentrated on portals with sheer surfaces and pylon-like shapes resemble ancient Egyptian temples. Together with the pyramid that crowns the tower, it makes the library an early example of the Egyptian flavored version of early Art Deco style. The unique Central Library design, echoes of sources of inspiration that range from the Ancient NearEast to the Mediterranean as well as Native American southwest.  Sadly, Bertram Goodhue died of a heart attack a year before the completion of one of his architectural masterpieces. 

The library is having a month long celebration. Included in the celebration, is the opening of the 1926 time capsule they placed in the entry pillar during their opening ceremony.

I’ve lived in California over half a century and never visited this library. But, that will soon change. I certainly will be taking the time to visit this beautiful iconic LA Central Library.

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Keaton Connoisseur

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“A comedian does funny things
A good comedian does things funny.”
Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton was one of the most talented writer, director, producer, stunt man and actor of silent films. His acrobatic ability and his films paved the path for future films. Today, there are several writers, comedians and directors who attribute their success by studying and replicating Keaton’s talent for comedy and action movies. From Orson Welles, Mel Brooks, Steven Spielberg to especially Jackie Chan, they all have copied scenes and stunts from Keaton movies.

As a fan of the TCM channel, I enjoy watching their “Sunday Night, Silent Movies”. A few years ago, they showed several Buster Keaton silent movies I had never seen before. Enamored with Buster’s talent, I found myself watching every silent and talking movie Keaton ever starred in or produced. Most of these century old movies can be found on YouTube.

Obsessed with everything Keaton, friends and family began calling me the Keaton Connoisseur. So I created an Instagram handle dedicated to this amazing talented man, which I appropriately named, Keaton Connoisseur.

As a teenager, Keaton was my favorite silent movie star. Point of fact, he lived just a few miles down the street from my house in the San Fernando Valley but unfortunately he died on February 1, 1966 before I could ever get my chance to meet him.

If you are one of the rare people that’s never heard of Buster, please go to YouTube and watch any of his brilliant silent movies. I suggest starting with, The General which he wrote, starred and directed. It is the first movie produced with Buster performing all his own dangerous and exciting stunts. The film is a comic masterpiece. The best stunt in the movie involves him pulling a railroad tie out from being lodged into the track. Then, with the train steadily approaching, he’s sitting on the cow-catcher of the slow-moving train while carrying the tie. He then tosses it at another tie to dislodge it from the tracks. All seamlessly performed with pure Keaton perfection.

When I first saw The General, I couldn’t help but realize this film is one of the first silent action movies. As I watched, it reminded me of the best action movie from 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Coincidently, I recently saw an interview with Steven Spielberg talking about how The General inspired his movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The General was released a century ago in 1926 at the end of the silent era. Buster’s hobby was model trains and the history of trains. He had read the 1889 book, The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger and wanted to make a movie based on this book. At the time of its initial release, The General was billed as an action comedy adventure film and was not well received by critics and audiences.

In a 1963 interview, Keaton said, “I was more proud of that picture than any I ever made. Because I took an actual happening out of the history books, and I told the story in every detail too.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Buster Keaton, I highly recommend starting with watching The General on YouTube. Then I recommend reading James Curtis book, “A Filmmaker’s Life”.

There was no CGI, special effects or even professional stunt men when Keaton made his early movies. He preformed his own stunts; often he sustained major injuries and several times risked his life.

He was the real deal in movies and in life. A rare performer, writer and director and my favorite silent film icon of this Keaton Connoisseur.

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Yearning To Breathe Free

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“Give me your tired
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me
Lift my lamp beside the golden door”
Emma Lazarus

Statue of Liberty

Most American’s don’t know who Emma Lazarus was or why she’s very relevant today. They don’t know she was an American author of poetry, prose and an activist for Jewish causes. Emma’s fame came not from her writing and activism but from a few words on one of our countries most iconic symbols for freedom.

Emma Lazarus was born on July 22, 1849 in New York City, the fourth of seven children. Born to a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese descent, her father, Moses, was a successful sugar merchant who made certain his children got the best education.

Her siblings and she studied with private tutors and learned multiple languages including German, French, and Italian. Excelling in academics, by the time she was seventeen, she had already written a book of poems called Poems and Translations: Written Between the Ages of Fourteen and Sixteen.

As she continued to write, she used her poems and essays to speak out against the persecution of Jews in Europe and growing anti-Semitism in the United States. She publicly proclaimed her identity as a Jewish poet and advocated for Jewish issues internationally. Lazarus wrote in various publications promoting Zionism and a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In addition to her writing, she also met with immigrants and refugees, volunteered at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and helped establish the Hebrew Technical Institute in New York to provide Jewish immigrants with vocational training.

In 1883, Lazarus formed the Society for the Improvement and Colonization of East European Jews. That same year, she wrote The New Colossus, to be presented at auction to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The organizers decided to print the poem in the Catalogue of the Pedestal Fund Art Loan Exhibition at the National Academy of Design to inspire continued work on the statue. Then late in 1883, one of the lines from Colossus was inscribed on a bronze plaque, and in 1903 wss installed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The last stanza of the sonnet was used by many creative people. It was set to music by Irving Berlin in his song “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor” for the 1949 musical Miss Liberty, which was based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty Liberty Enlightening the World. The stanza was also set by Lee Hoiby in his song “The Lady of the Harbor” written in 1985 as part of his song cycle Three Women.

From what I’ve read about Emma, those words on the Statue of Liberty are among her proudest accomplishments. She was a champion in helping immigrants. She knew first hand immigrants experiences coming to a new country and assimilating. She knew how badly they were treated. Her work always produced sensitivity and enduring lessons regarding immigrants and their need for dignity. She contributed toward shaping the self-image of the United States as well as how the country understands the needs of those who immigrated to the United States.

As we celebrate the 250 Anniversary of this country, Emma’s words must be embraced. Because in the current climate of this country, our democracy, our freedom of speech, our immigrants and future immigrants are all in danger.

Now and perhaps more than ever in this country’s history, the inscription on Miss Liberty, rings true for all of us. Especially our immigrants, most of which were our own parents, grandparents and great grandparents. None of us are native to this country except all the Indigenous people.

She never married or had children. Sadly, she died at the young age of 38 years old on November 19, 1887, from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her short lived life was dedicated to her family heritage. Her tour de force in life was helping those like herself, yearning to breathe free.

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