Jim Colyer

Jim Colyer Papers

PAPERS INDEX

Aug 25, 2020

TRAVEL, ASTRONOMY, MUSIC & OTHER STUFF by Jim Colyer

TRAVEL.....GREECE 2019.....SOUTH DAKOTA & NEBRASKA 2018 .....HONG KONG, China 2016 .....GRAND TETONS, Wyoming 2015 .....COLORADO 2013 .....ROCKY MOUNTAINS .....BOLIVIA 2012 .....CHICAGO 2011 .....NEW YORK 2009 .....ATLANTA 2009 .....GOING WEST 2009 .....GRAND CANYON .....SEQUOIAS .....MEMPHIS 2008 .....ICELAND 2007 .....LAS VEGAS 2007 .....ALASKA 2006 .....WASHINGTON, D.C. 2006 .....HAWAII 2003 .....AUSTRALIA 2002 .....FLORIDA 2001 .....SWEDEN, ENGLAND, FINLAND 1994 .....MINNESOTA 1993-94 .....NEW HAMPSHIRE & BOSTON l987 .....BIG BONE LICK & TEXAS 1986 .....NATCHEZ TRACE 1984 .....ST. LOUIS 1983 .....OUTER BANKS 1983 .....CHATTANOOGA 1983 .....GATLINBURG 1981 .....THE GRAND TOUR 1980 .....MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 1980 .....NEW ORLEANS 1977 .....GERMANY 1970 .....TRAVEL NOTES

ASTRONOMY ..........ASTRONOMY .....NIGHT SKY .....SUN .....MOON .....SOLAR ECLIPSE .....LUNAR ECLIPSE .....METEOR SHOWERS .....COMETS .....PLANETS .....EXOPLANETS .....DEEP SKY .....WEIRD .....BIG BANG .....MULTIVERSE .....THE RED LIMIT .....PALE BLUE DOT .....ASTRONOMY NOTES .....ASTRONOMY NEWS .....SOUTHERN SKIES STAR PARTY .....NEBRASKA STAR PARTY .....SOLSTICES and EQUINOXES .....MY ASTRONOMY LIBRARY

MUSIC .....MAJOR MUSIC ACTS .....ELVIS PRESLEY .....THE BEATLES .....ABBA from SWEDEN .....ABBA BIOGRAPHY .....ABBA REFLECTIONS .....ABBA MUSIC .....ABBA VIDEO .....ABBA REVIVAL ..... BRIGHT LIGHTS, DARK SHADOWS: THE REAL STORY of ABBA .....CHESS MUSICAL .....THE EMIGRANTS by Vilhelm Moberg .....THE EMIGRANTS (SWEDISH FILM, 1971) .....THE NEW LAND (SWEDISH FILM, 1972) .....KRISTINA (SWEDISH MUSICAL) .....SHANIA TWAIN .....LITTLE BIG TOWN & LUKE BRYAN .....JIM COLYER SONGS ascap

GOVERNMENT .....PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES .....U.S. PRESIDENTS 1-44 - BEST TO WORST .....NUCLEAR .....MONEY

MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS .....JIM COLYER SELF-BIO .....NEW YORK YANKEES .....13 TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS .....MAVERICK .....MOVIES .....HEALTH .....HOUSE .....TRUCK

GREECE 2020

Sep 7, 2019

I will travel with Globus/Monograms. I will fly to Heathrow in London on March 21, 2020, then fly to Athens International. Globus will be waiting at the Airport in Athens with a sign. It is called transfer. Cynthia is my contact, and her extension is 7042. I will take the Greece Escape land tour. I will have companions in the coach. Greece is the southernmost country in the Balkan Peninsula.

Day 1
Athens Airport - Globus/Monograms. Transfer. I meet my tour guide and my traveling companions.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 2
Classical Greece lasted 150 years, the 5th & 4th centuries B.C.

Acropolis means high place. It was built during the 5th century B.C. Several temples on the Acropolis.

The Parthenon is on the Acropolis. It was built between 447 and 432 B.C. and dedicated to Athena. It was completed under Pericles. The Parthenon was designed by the sculptor Phidias and housed his statue of Athena.

The Greeks understood that beauty is a matter of proportion, and that led to the Parthenon.

Rome conquered Greece in 146 B.C. The Parthenon became a Christian church, then a Muslim mosque. Venetians besieged it in 1687, leaving it in ruins. Lord Elgin shipped the "Elgin Marbles" to England, where they are housed in the British Museum.

Greek architecture with its marble columns influenced public buildings in Europe and America. Marble statues are idealized. Not only are gods and goddesses perfect, but humans are given godlike form.

The Erechtheum is a temple on the Acropolis dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. There was a contest between them to determine which one would be the patron deity of Athens. Each offered a gift. Poseidon offered water, which was salty. Athena offered the olive tree as a symbol of prosperity and peace. She won, and Athens was named after her.

The Erechtheum was named after Erechtheus, the legendary first king of Athens. He is the constellation Auriga the charioteer.

Porch of the Maidens - 6 marble statues serve as columns of the Erechtheum, They are called Caryatids. They face the Parthenon.

The Temple of Athena Nike is the smallest temple on the Acropolis and portrays Athena as the goddess of victory. It was completed in 420 B.C. during the classical period.

The Temple of Zeus was dedicated to Zeus, head of the Olympian gods.

The Theater of Dionysus was the birthplace of Greek drama and was dedicated to the god of ecstasy and wine. During the 5th century B.C., the plays of tragedians Aeschylus, Euripides & Sophocles were performed.

The Thesium is the best preserved Greek temple. It is older than the Parthenon and was dedicated to Athena and Hephaestus as patrons of the arts.

The Agora was the marketplace and the place where people assembled for politics. Socrates taught here.

The Panathenaic Stadium was built for the Panathenaic games. It is the only stadium in the world made entirely of marble. The first modern Olympic games were held here in 1896.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 3

Corinth is a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth. Paul wrote letters to them.

Corinth Canal - We cross this waterway separating the Peloponnese from mainland Greece.

The Peloponese peninsula looks like a hand with 3 fingers and a thumb. Olympia and Sparta are in the Pelopponese. Athens is not.

Mycenae was a bronze age city in the Peloponnese. Agamemnon was king of Mycenae and led the Greeks in the Trojan War according to Homer's Iliad. The Lion Gate is the entrance to Mycenae, named for the 2 lionesses.

Treasury of Atreus - Called the Tomb of Agamemnon. Atreus was the father of Agamemnon.

Agamemnon's Palace is an archaeological site at Mycenae, 1350 B.C. to 1200 B.C.

Mycenae was the main Greek city when Homer wrote in 800 B.C. about the Trojan War of 1200 B.C. The Iliad and the Odyssey were already old during the classical period 500-350 B.C. Troy was in modern Turkey on the other side of the Aegean.

Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist, discovered Troy in 1870, and Mycenae in 1876. He found what he believed to be the death mask of Agamemnon. Schliemann's wife Sophia was photographed wearing jewelry found by her husband.

Epidaurus is an open-air theater in the Peloponnese. It is still used. The theater at Epidaurus shows the Greeks understood how sound waves travel.

Nauplia is a seaport in the Peloponnese. The Peloponnese is a peninsula.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 4

Olympia - We spend the afternoon at Olympia in the Peloponnese. Olympia was a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus. Temples of Zeus and Hera are here.

The statue of Hermes and the infant Dionysus by Praxiteles is in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. It was found in the Temple of Hera. The statue of Zeus and Ganymede is here. Ganymede is the constellation Aquarius.

The Arkadian Mountains are in the Peloponnese.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 5

Delphi - The Oracle of Delphi
Delphi was the ancient sanctuary sacred to Apollo. It was home to the oracle which predicted the future. It is on Mt. Parnassus. The Charioteer is a 5th century B.C. statue in the Delphi Archeological Museum. The constellation Auriga is the legendary ruler of Athens, Erichthonius (Erechtheum).

Mount Parnassus towers over Delphi. It was sacred to Apollo and the home of the Muses.

The seaport of Patras is a fishing village.

The sirtaki is the dance from Zorba the Greek.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 6 - Meteroa area - The Meteora is a rock formation with Eastern Orthodox monasteries. They are built on natural pillars: Varlaam Monastery & St. Stephens Monastery. Nuns inhabit St. Stephens.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 7
Thermopylae & Marathon
Meteora area - Thermopylae - Athens
Thermopyae - Battle of Leonidas - 300 Spartans fought Xerxes' Persian army.
Lecture about Thebes, Sophocles & Oedipus Rex
Marathon - Athens and Persia were enemies. The Greeks won at Marathon but lost at Thermopylae. Sparta beat Athens in the Peloponnesian War.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day 8 - Breakfast - Transfer - Airport. Globus will help get me checked in and on the plane. Change planes at Heathrow in London and fly to Nashville. Get to Vanderbilt and write my paper. Put it on jimcolyer.com and send it out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Ancient Greece is the cradle of western civilization. Science, democracy, architecture, theater & philosophy have their roots here. The Greeks had science even though it was ignored during the Middle Ages.

1 Thales of Miletus was the first scientist. He predicted a solar eclipse. Ancient Greeks tried to understand the laws of nature.

2 Aristarchus knew the earth revolved around the sun and that the sun was the center of the solar system.

3 Eratosthenes measured the earth's circumference to a degree of accuracy.

4 Hipparchus divided stars into 6 magnitudes, a system still used. He discovered precession, the 26,000 year wobble of Earth's axis.

5 Pythagoras knew the earth was a globe.

6 Anaxagoras knew the moon reflected sunlight.

7 Heracleides Ponticus knew Venus and Mercury orbited the sun because they stayed so close to it.

8 Ptolomy (a Greek living in Alexandria) codified the original 48 constellations.

The great tragedians were:

1 Aeschylus - Prometheus Bound
2 Sophecles - Antigone
3 Eurripides - The Medea

Plays were performed at the theater of Dionysus near the Acropolis.

The philosophers were Socrates, Plato & Aristotle.

Aristotle retarded science for 1400 years. He was wrong about everything, but his teachings became Church dogma.

Ancient Greece had its religion, different from the monotheism of Judaism and Christianity. Gods and goddesses ruled special areas. There were 12 Olympians:

1 Zeus was the sky god and leader. He became the swan of the constellation Cygnus and the bull of Taurus to seduce mortals.

2 Hera was Zeus' wife. She resented his affairs and sent a crab (constellation Cancer) to attack Heracles, Zeus' illegitimate son. We know him by his Latin name, Hercules. Greeks thought the Milky Way was Hera's milk.

3 Poseidon was a brother of Zeus and ruled the sea. In the movie Ulysses, Kirk Douglas destroyed Poseidon's (Neptune's) statue. Poseidon cursed him, and that is why it took Ulysses 10 years to get home from the Trojan War.

4 Hades was a brother of Zeus and ruled the Underworld. Romans called him Pluto.

5 Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She sprang from Zeus' head. The olive tree was sacred to her.

6 Apollo was the god of the sun, music & prophecy. Greeks went to oracles to seek advice and to learn about the future. Apollo's oracle at Delphi was the most famous.

7 Artemis was the huntress associated with the moon. She befriended Orion, which made her twin brother Apollo jealous. He sent a scorpion (constellation Scorpius) to sting Orion.

8 Demeter ruled the harvest. We see her in the sky as the constellation Virgo.

9 Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. She was the wife of the crippled Hephaestus.

10 Hephaestus was a metalworker. He made armor for the heroes. Romans called him Vulcan.

11 Hermes was the gods' messenger. He escorted the dead to Hades.

12 Ares was the god of war. Wonder Woman killed him in the 2017 movie.

ITINERARY
Cities visited
Arachova, Athens, Delphi, Epidaurus, Mycenae, Nauplia, Olympia

Tour Itinerary
The Acropolis in Athens dates back to the 5th century B.C. Now we see it on this guided tour. We walk among the ruins of Olympia, where the Olympics began in 776 B.C. We experience an Greek cooking demonstration. This and more await us on our Greek Escape. History comes alive on our visits to Greece's ancient sites. In addition to the Acropolis and Olympia, we will visit ruins in Mycenae, dating from 1350 to 1200 B.C. and described in Homer’s epic poem, “The Iliad.” We will see the well-preserved 2300-year-old open-air theater in Epidaurus. Ancient Greeks traveled to Delphi to seek the wisdom of the Oracle. We will tour the excavations and visit the Archaeological Museum. To add to our Greek experience, we will get a Sirtaki dance lesson. We are accompanied by a Tour Director who will share Greece's history and stories.

Day 1: ARRIVE IN ATHENS, GREECE.
Welcome to Athens! At 6 pm, I meet my traveling companions for a drink with our Tour Director.

Day 2: ATHENS.
Sightseeing with a local guide features a visit to the ACROPOLIS, perched high on an outcrop overlooking the city. Here, see the Parthenon, the Erechtheum with its Porch of Maidens & the Temple of Athena Nike (goddess of victory). We get a view that includes the Temple of Zeus, Theater of Dionysus, the Agora (where Socrates taught) & the well- preserved Theseum. Later, there is a city tour featuring the Parliament House and a stop at the Panathenaic Stadium. Built in the 2nd century AD, it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble. It was host to the opening ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896. The rest of the day is for leisure. Tonight we have a dinner with the local fare. (B)

Day 3: ATHENS, CORINTH CANAL, MYCENAE, EPIDAURUS, NAUPLIA
Stop at the Corinth Canal. Today's highlights include MYCENAE, where excavations reveal the splendors described by Homer. See the Beehive Tombs (known as the Treasury of Atreus), Lion Gate, the remains of Agamemnon’s Royal Palace & the fortifications of the Citadel. Visit the museum before we drive to EPIDAURUS for a tour of its 2300-year-old open-air theater. Stay overnight in Nauplia.

Day 4: NAUPLIA–OLYMPIA.
View the scenery through the Arkadian Mountains. Spend the afternoon in OLYMPIA, where ancient athletes competed. Walk through the remains of the Gymnasium and the Temples of Zeus and Hera. Visit the museum to see Praxiteles’ Statue of Hermes. Tonight, there is a cooking demonstration.

Day 5: OLYMPIA–DELPHI.
Journey to Delphi. The afternoon is devoted to a tour of Apollo's ancient sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. End the day with a visit to the Archeological Museum. See the Charioteer, the 5th-century-BC bronze statue. This evening, we dance the sirtaki, made famous by the movie Zorba the Greek.

Day 6: DELPHI–ARACHOVA–ATHENS.
Leave Delphi this morning and head back to Athens stopping en-route in the town of Arachova located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Panoramic view! Stroll around the town and admire the architecture before arriving in Athens with time to do some last-minute exploring. Tonight, we savor Greek delicacies with an optional dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 7: ATHENS.
The trip ends with breakfast this morning.

2019
___________________________________________________________________________________________

I fly, March 21, 2020. I change planes at Heathrow in London and fly to Athens. There are 3 airports. I fly 4 times. Check in at the airlines desk 4 times. Get 4 boarding passes and look at the blue boardsto get flight numbers and gate numbers. I have done this kind of thing and can still do it. Stay calm, but hustle. Get help when you need it.

FLIGHT ITINERARY
Depart Saturday, March 21 @ 8:10pm on American Airlines flight AA6220.
Arrive @ Heathrow Sunday, March 22 @ 9:10am.

Depart Heathrow, Sunday, March 22 @ 12:10pm on British Airways flight BA632
Arrive in Athens, March 22 @ 5:50pm
________

RETURN
Depart Athens. Saturday, March 28 @ 8am on British Airways flightBA631
Arrive Saturday, March 28 @ 10:05 @ Heathrow in London

Depart Heathrow, Saturday, March 28 @ 1:35pm
Arrive in Nashville, Saturday, March 28 @ 5:45pm.

I make my way to Vanderbilt, put my paper on my site and send it out.

2019

SOUTH DAKOTA & NEBRASKA 2018

Jul 1, 2018

I flew to Rapid City, South Dakota, on August 6, 2018, changing planes in Minneapolis. I had a plan, but knew it had to be flexible. I picked up a car and beelined to Mount Rushmore. The presidents on Rushmore are from left to right George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt & Abraham Lincoln. Gutzon Borglum and his team carved the faces into the granite 1927-41. Teddy's face is recessed as if he is the least of the 4. There was a pyramid of chips at the base and pines all around.

Mount Rushmore is in the Black Hills. It is a National Memorial. Memorials celebrate historic people.

I drove east on Interstate 90 to Murdo, then south through Valentine to the Nebraska Star Party. I wanted another experience with the Perseids. There were more mosquitoes than meteors, and I exited the NSP after one night.

I used my senior pass to enter Badlands National Park off I-90. It is a strange place consisting of eroded buttes and spires. A lady said it was limestone. I drove a few miles into the Park and returned to I-90, afraid of going over a cliff.

I stayed 2 nights at the Econo Lodge in Wall, then got the idea of going to Deadwood. This mining town in the Black Hills centers around Wild Bill Hickok. His real name was James Butler Hickok, and he was in Deadwood only a few weeks when he was shot by Jack McCall. It was 1876, and Wild Bill was playing poker. I visited the place where it happened, and the speaker discredited the story of the Dead Man's Hand: 8s and aces.

The annual biker rally was going on in Sturgis, and motorcycles were everywhere. They were as much a nuisance as the flies and mosquitoes.

I sang karaoke in Historic Deadwood at the Oyster Bay Restaurant before sleeping in my rented Kia. Travel is hard work and like all the others, this trip was a struggle.

I have visited 16 of 59 National Parks:

..1 Badlands
..2 Death Valley
..3 Denali
..4 Grand Canyon
..5 Grand Tetons
..6 Great Smoky Mountains
..7 Kings Canyon
..8 Mammoth Cave
..9 Mesa Verde
10 Petrified Forest
11 Rocky Mountain
12 Saguaro
13 Sequoia
14 Yellowstone
15 Yosemite
16 Zion

There are 417 National Park Service sites. Resort towns grew up at the entrances to National Parks.

I call Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota & Nebraska the Maverick states because of the TV western with James Garner and Jack Kelly as Bret and Bart Maverick.

I have been in 44 states and 12 foreign countries on 5 continents.

2019

HONG KONG, China 2016

Apr 10, 2016

I flew to Hong Kong, October 31, 2016, for 4 days and 3 nights. I flew American Airlines and changed planes in L.A. going and coming. My host (Lyona) from Globus/Monograms met me.

Hong Kong is an island city off the Chinese mainland. It was a British colony for 156 years except during the Japanese occupation in World War II. The Harbor's location on the South China Sea is what attracted the British. The Hong Kong archipelago has 260 islands. Lantau is the largest.

With a population of 7 million, Hong Kong is a Chinese Manhattan. Hong Kong Island is across the Harbor from Kowloon (Cow-loon). That tall skyscraper is the International Commerce Center. The currency is the Hong Kong dollar.

Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1997. It is a Special Administrative Region under "one country, two systems." Lyona said there were still about 25,000 British here.

Both Chinese and English are official languages. Road signs are in English, and cars drive on the left side. Hong Kongers love to shop and dine.

The Chinese have no alphabet. Written language consists of characters, squares and lines. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong.

Lyona escorted me up Victoria Peak to see the city and the Harbor. The Peak and the Harbor are named after the British queen.

I was given a sampan boat ride, and we passed the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. We drove through Wan Chai, the red light district in "The World Of Suzie Wong." We stopped to enter the movie's hotel. Of course, it looked nothing like it did in the movie.

Lyona knew about Elvis Presley, and we sang "Love Me Tender." She helped me check into the hotel in Kowloon. The Chinese people I encountered were polite and accommodating. They had thick black hair.

I went to Big Buddha on Lantau Island. It is a gigantic statue. 20% of Hong Kongers are Buddhists. I befriended an Australian couple, and we had lunch in a Buddhist monastery.

I had heard rumors about Hong Kong food. The only bad food I got was the Shanghai noodles. They were rubbery, and I could not eat them.

I watched Fox News in the hotel. Donald Trump was on the verge of winning the 2016 presidential election.

Nearby Macau was a Portuguese colony. Called the "Vegas of the East," it is the only place in China with legalized gambling.

Latitude lines run north and south from the equator. Longitude lines (meridians) run from the North Pole to the South Pole. The Prime Meridian is in Greenwich, England, a London suburb. From Greenwich, east and west longitude lines run 180 degrees around the globe to meet at the International Date Line.

Hong Kong latitude 22 N
Hong Kong longitude 114 E
Nashville latitude 36 N
Nashville longitude 86 W
Louisville latitude 38 N
Louisville longitude 85 W

Revised 2019

GRAND TETONS, Wyoming 2015

Aug 12, 2015

I went to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, August 10-14, 2015. It was the missing piece of the the Grand Tour. I toured the the gateway town of Jackson.

The highest peaks in the Teton Range resemble boobs. The word "Teton" derived from the French word for "tit." The peak known as Grand Teton is the tallest tit. This range is part of the Rockies and 50 miles long. There are no foothills. The jagged peaks were sculpted by glaciers and seem to rise out of the lakes. I stood beside Jenny Lake.

I drove up Signal Mountain, the highest point that can be reached by car. Trees lined both sides of the road. I drove by Mount Moran and saw the Falling Ice and Skillet glaciers.

The town of Jackson, Wyoming, took its name from mountain man Davey Jackson, who explored the area in the early 1800s. The town sits in a valley known as Jackson Hole. Mountain men referred to valleys as "holes." Jackson's population is about 10,000, and the airport is inside the Park.

There is an elk refuge, and antlers are everywhere. "Antler arches" are on the town square. Bicycles and motorcycles are a nuisance.

I hung out with Loretta Scott of the Jackson Hole Astronomy Club. We entered the Cowboy Bar and saw a few Perseid meteors.

Grand Teton National Park lies south of Yellowstone. The Snake River begins south of Yellowstone and flows into the Columbia River.

Revised 2019

COLORADO 2013

Aug 11, 2013

I flew to Denver, August 10, 2013, with Southwest Airlines. I checked in and got my boarding pass. I had a compact waiting from E-Z Rent-A-Car. I had my Mastercard, drivers license & proof of insurance.

I checked into the Ramada on E. Colfax and hung out on the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. There were shops and restaurants. I bought a T-shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe and told the girl about my song, "Save The Planet."

17th Street is Denver's financial district, the Wall Street of the West. The Cash Register Building is the Wells Fargo Center, and I walked around it. I wanted to tour the Denver Mint, but settled for seeing it out of the corner of my eye as I was leaving town.

Denver was founded in 1858. It is called the Mile High City because it is 5280 feet above sea level. I-25 runs north and south. I-70 runs east and west. Denver is in the Mountain Time Zone.

The Rocky Mountains have minerals, and mining is important to Denver's economy. There are companies related to energy and the space program.

I drove north to Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. The Perseid meteor shower was clouded out. I cannot control nature. I found the observatory and listened to a lecture about planets. I slept in McDonald's parking lot.

I toured Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove Trail Ridge Road to the Continental Divide, the point from which water flows east into the Atlantic and west into the Pacific. I stood at the sign marking the Divide.

We stopped at the Alpine Visitors Center 12,000 feet up. It was windy and chilly. Thunder and lightning were in the distance.

Trail Ridge Road is 48 miles long, the highest paved road in the country. Our guide talked geology: glaciers and moraines. Moraines are debris left by glaciers. He spoke of tree lines and tundra. Tundra is treeless.

I stayed at the Discovery Lodge in Estes Park. I watched Little Big Town host the CMA Music Fest. I drove by the Stanley Hotel, built by F.O. Stanley of Steamer fame.

From Estes Park, it is an hour and 20 minutes back to Denver. I dropped the car off, checked in at Southwest, found my gate and flew to Nashville.

Revised 2019

BOLIVIA 2012

Jan 20, 2013

I went to Bolivia for the Southern Skies Star Party in July, 2012. I flew to Miami and hooked up with Jen Winter's group. There were 8 of us. From Miami, we flew over Cuba, Central America & down the west coast of South America. We changed planes in Lima, Peru, and flew to La Paz.

A van took us to the Inca Utama Hotel on Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America. The Southern Hemisphere is a challenge! My goal was to have a second experience with the southern stars and constellations. I was at 12,000 feet in the Andes Mountains.

I took a day trip to Tiwanaku, a pre-Columbian archaeological site. Puma Punku is a temple, meaning "entrance of the puma." I saw ruins, but no signs of ancient aliens!

Myself and 2 others climbed a hill to look at the Andes range. A panorama of Lake Titicaca was on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other. We took the wrong path coming down, and I could see the headlines: "Lost in the Andes!" We kept moving toward the lake and finally came across a farmer, who drove us to our hotel.

Our group toured La Paz, the highest capital city in the world. It sits in a "bowl" surrounded by mountains. Population is over a million. We walked the La Paz streets, where people drive like maniacs and think nothing about walking out in traffic. Dark-skinned women wear wide skirts and bowler hats. Dogs are everywhere, and the Spanish is annoying.

Lake Titicaca is partly in Bolivia, partly in Peru. Bolivia is landlocked. I thought it would be nice if Peru gave Bolivia a strip of land to the ocean. Countries are territorial!

I thought Bolivia would be my last trip out of the U.S. until I decided to go to Hong Kong. Traveling is work! Airport security makes it hard, as do foreign languages. I get a certain knowledge, and it draws me to new experiences.

I have traveled on 5 continents: 44 states and 12 foreign countries. I am a songwriter, an astronomer & a world traveler.

Email...
I did not bring anything back. No coins or pictures. I write! Memories are my souvenirs.

We entered a church on the square in La Paz. Bolivians are Catholic, descended from the Spanish conquistadors who conquered the region. Bolivian history is in 3 parts: pre-Columbian, colonial & the Republic. Bolivia got its independence from Spain in 1825, led by Simon Bolivar, for whom the country is named.

I hate foreign languages. Spanish in particular gets on my nerves, and here I was surrounded by a million people speaking Spanish. I was nice to the Bolivians, especially to our guide and the ones who worked at the hotel. The hotel was clean and the food excellent. We ate llama.

The Milky Way was a grand spectacle, as it was in Australia 10 years earlier. When we look into its thickest part, we are looking toward the center of our disk-shaped galaxy. There are 400 billion stars in the Milky Way, and our solar system lies toward the outer edge, safe from the chaos.

Alpha Centauri is the 3rd brightest star and closest system to Earth at 4.4 light-years: 25 trillion miles. Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri were called the "eyes of the llama" by pre-Columbians. I still see those bright stars shining over Lake Titicaca!

Stars are suns, and exoplanets are being discovered. The search for extraterrestrial life is on! There were telescopes behind our hotel, and members of our group located objects and showed them to me. A globular cluster called Omega Centauri stood out. That fuzzy ball is composed of millions of stars.

There is a South Pole star! It is much dimmer than the North Star, but constellations like the Southern Cross appear to circle it.

Earth revolves around the sun with its axis tilted 23 1/2 degrees, causing the seasons. Summer in the United States is winter in Bolivia. Winter in July! It was mild, however, the temperature no colder than 40 degrees.

We visited Tiwanaku and Puma Punku, ruins featured in the Ancient Aliens series. Some people think they were built by aliens. I do not. Nor do I subscribe to UFOs, which are made-up stories. Not to say there is no extraterrestrial life! With billions of galaxies, there could be.

Revised 2019

CHICAGO 2011

Jan 17, 2013

Chicago June, 2011
Michael and I drove to Chicago for a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees won 4-3. They have won 3 out of the 5 times we have seen them. We found Wrigley Field on the north side of town after cruising by Sears (Willis) Tower and Lake Shore Drive. It was good being on the road with my son.

Chicago November, 1974
I drove to Chicago to see The Guess Who. It was weird because the concert was in an auditorium and somewhat formal. I lit a cigar, and the usher came and made me put it out. I saw The Guess Who 3 times. Their music inspired me to return to school and get my degrees.

Chicago June, 1966
My cousin and I were talking after watching The Avengers on TV. We got the idea of driving to Chicago and took off in the night. In Chicago, we drove along Lake Shore Drive and saw State Street. We saw an old fashioned burlesque show, then ran out of ideas and headed home. One must have a mission if he is to travel. I had read Theodore Dreiser's novel, "Sister Carrie," about a girl who went to Chicago to find work. Chicago sits on Lake Michigan.

Revised 2019

NEW YORK CITY 2009

Jan 14, 2012

Michael and I made our second trip to New York, September 24-26, 2009. We made our way from Kennedy Airport in Queens to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. We again ferried to the Statue of Liberty. The Statue is a National Monument. They were taking 200 people a day to the crown and were booked until January. We headed for Times Square and the Portland Square Hotel, where we checked into our room and prepared for "Kristina in Concert." The Portland Square Hotel is located at 132 West 47th Street and now called the Sanctuary Hotel. I used my AAA card.

"Kristina in Concert" was at Carnegie Hall, and we saw it on September 24. The characters lined up in front of the orchestra to sing their parts. It was nearly 3 hours, and the melodies were full of emotion. Even though it was in English, the lyrics were still difficult to understand. Of course, I knew the story. Leaving the theater, Michael asked me what I thought. I told him it was an accomplishment, and I saw it with my son! We sat high in the balcony, close to the edge. A dangerous spot! Benny and Bjorn were in the audience and came to the stage at the concert's end. The song getting the biggest ovation was "The Gold Turned To Sand." Carnegie Hall was built by industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1891. It is located at 57th Street. After the show, Michael and I went to a karaoke bar at Times Square. I sang "Dancing Queen."

We walked from Times Square to the Financial District. We entered the New York Life Building. We were given a tour of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and were taken to its Gold Vault underground. We saw $190 billion in gold. Michael remembered that one bar was worth $118,000. I was biting my nails, and he asked me if I was nervous. It was the gold! We returned to the charging bull and got pictures. Michael rubbed the bull's balls for good luck.

We took the subway to the Bronx, to 161st Street and the new Yankee Stadium. It was built beside the old one. It is Steinbrenner's legacy. The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5. The Stadium was the star, and we walked around it, viewing the game from every angle. There were huge posters of Yankee greats: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio & Mantle. I choked up as we entered the Cathedral. We were among friends.

Our last day, we found Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studios. We saw the statue of Prometheus, and I told Michael about the Greek myth, how Prometheus gave the gift of fire to mankind and was punished by Zeus until Hercules set him free.

Our trip ended with a ride through Central Park. We stopped at the John Lennon Imagine Mosaic, and Michael took my picture giving the peace sign. Everyone else was flashing the sign, so I did it. The Dakota was nearby, and I recalled how Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman in December, 1980, and how I called Karen after seeing the story on the front page of the Tennessean. Chapman made no attempt to escape. He sat on the steps and waited for the police. Our driver said Yoko still lives in the Dakota.

Flying back to Nashville, I told Michael how I fed him a bottle in the bedroom in Lebanon while reading about New York. I read that Central Park got its name from being at the center of Manhattan. Michael told me it was his dream to go to New York. He has been twice!

NEW YORK CITY 2005
Tuesday, August 9 (Day 1) - Michael and Karen came to my apartment at 4:30 in the morning. I met them in the garage, and Karen drove us to the airport. We left Nashville on Delta Flight 5405. It was Michael's first time on a plane, a good thing about the trip. We changed planes in Cincinnati and arrived at Kennedy Airport in New York. We took the airbus to Lower Manhattan. The first day was hard! We spotted the Empire State Building in the distance and kept walking. The Empire State Building is at 5th Avenue & 34th St. It was built 1930-31, and the architecture reflects the period. It is shaped like a pencil! There are 102 floors. The observatory is on the 86th. The line was long, and I told Michael the story of how I came here in the army. It was a cold, windy night. My hat blew off, and I had to chase it. We looked down on Manhattan as I had years ago. 20,000 buildings can be seen. Back on the street, we entered Central Park. Joggers ran past. I felt we were getting in deep, so we retraced our steps. We found Times Square! Michael was elated, and I realized what Times Square meant to him from seeing it on television. He took pictures from every angle. Night fell! We were turned away from hotels and went into TGI Friday's. The Yankees were playing the White Sox on the Yes Network. We watched the game and talked about staying up all night. We went looking one last time and found the Portland Square Hotel. A miracle! The room was small but clean and quiet. Best of all, it was right around the corner from Times Square and the Palace Theatre, where we had tickets for a Broadway show. Nothing was cheap, and I tried to keep the spending under control while doing what we came to do. Michael had his cell phone and stayed in touch with his mother. People were everywhere! We dodged them. Horns blew, and cabs whizzed! Michael and I stayed close. We had a flexible plan and adjusted it as we went along. We walked for long stretches, then sat and rested.

Wednesday, August 10 (Day 2) - We made our way to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx by subway. It is at 161st & River Ave. We were in the upper deck down the third base line. The game took up a good part of the day. I wanted a day game so there would be light when we hit the street. The Yankees played the Chicago White Sox. It was traditional American League baseball. The Yankees lost, but the main thing was that we experienced a game at Yankee Stadium. There were some leftovers from the great team of the 1990s: Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada & manager Joe Torre. The Stadium itself was the attraction. I noted the big "NY" behind home plate and the facade in the outfield. I recalled how Mickey Mantle came within inches of hitting one out. The Yankees dugout was on the first base side.

Thursday, August 11 (Day 3) -
This was the day we cracked New York! We rode the subway to Lower Manhattan and Ground Zero. It was fenced in, and we walked around the perimeter. It was a solemn site, not unlike Pearl Harbor. It was not so emotional at this point, but we wondered what things were like on that day. Michael pointed to the cross. From Ground Zero, we hoofed it to Wall Street as I had done before. Wall Street is the country's financial center, and Michael wanted to see the New York Stock Exchange, where stocks are bought and sold. NYSE lists 2800 companies and has the largest trading volume of any stock exchange except NASDAQ. This was an education for Michael. Wall Street got its name from the wall built by the Dutch to keep the Indians out. The British took New Amsterdam and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. We moved toward Battery Park. A German girl took our picture as we ferried to the Statue of Liberty. She was from Hamburg, so we talked about The Beatles and the Star Club. Michael and I spent an hour on Liberty Island looking up at the green Statue. His Liberty pictures are like post cards. He was seeing New York for the first time! The Statue was a gift from France, done by sculptor Bartholdi to commemorate French support during the American Revolution. Lady Liberty holds a tablet reading July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals. Her official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World." Her arm is straight, and she holds a torch. 7 rays on her crown represent the 7 continents. Battery Park is so named because of the guns that defended Manhattan. We returned to our room to rest. It was a hot day! I was thirsty, and water fountains were not to be found. I secured our tickets for "All Shook Up." The show was at the Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway. I remembered the address because it was the year Shakespeare was born. We sat in the balcony. The theatre was ornate, and the usher said it was about a hundred years old. "All Shook Up" combined the music of Elvis Presley with the plot of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. We went to our room for our last night in New York.

Michael had to see Trump Tower, so we found it. It is residential, condominiums for the rich. Donald Trump is a real estate developer and Michael's hero. I took a picture of Michael against the backdrop of Trump and his wife, Melania. Michael bought shirts at Brooks Brothers, and the clerk told him Trump's assistant came in the day before. We passed Rockefeller Center and got pictures of Prometheus and Radio City Music Hall. We ate at ESPN Zone.

Friday, August 12 (Day 4) - On our way out of town, we stopped by New York University. Washington Square Park is on the edge of NYU, and we saw the Arch. We entered the book store. Michael compared its business books to MTSU's. We got to Kennedy Airport with time to spare and ate at Chili's Too. It was a straight flight to Nashville. Karen met us.

I had in mind to take Michael to 3 sections of the United States: up east, down south & out west. New York and Washington, D.C. were up east. Daytona Beach was down south. Las Vegas and California were out west. My earlier trips were preparation for these trips with Michael.

NEW YORK CITY 1984
I spent 2 days in Manhattan in October, 1984. My first stop was Dinosaur Hall in the American Museum of Natural History near Central Park. Dinosaur-mania was talking hold, and I saw tyrannosaurus, brontosaurus, triceratops & stegosaurus. Some fossilized eggs added credibility to the existence of these creatures. I attended a show at the Hayden Planetarium.

My second day began at the top of the World Trade Center (the one without the tower). I looked down on the Statue of Liberty. It was being renovated. From the Towers, I hoofed it to Wall Street. The street was short and nearly deserted. George Washington was inaugurated here in 1789. I rode a bus up the Avenue of the Americas to Midtown, where I saw the statue of Prometheus against the RCA Building. In Greek mythology, Prometheus taught man how to use fire. The statue shows him descending from Mount Olympus encircled by the Zodiac. I wanted to see the Rockettes, but they were not performing. In my room, I watched the presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. The morning before I left, I took a bus out 42nd Street to the United Nations. I entered the building but did not take the tour. I glimpsed Madison Square Garden.

NEW YORK STATE April & August, 1974
With Chester on the truck! We went to Erie, Pennsylvania, and across upstate New York: Rochester and Syracuse. We spent the night in Binghamton. We were in New York when the tornado hit Louisville on April 3. The closer we got to Louisville, the more we heard about it. It took the roof off Candy Heim's house.

PHILADELPHIA & NEW YORK CITY December, 1970
In Philadelphia, I saw the Liberty Bell through the window of Independence Hall. In New York, I ascended the Empire State Building and blitzed through Greenwich Village. I was in the army and made these trips with 2 guys from Valley Forge Hospital. It was cold and windy in New York, and my saucer cap blew off at the top of the Empire State Building. I caught it before it went over the edge.

Revised 2019

ATLANTA 2009

Jan 13, 2012

Michael and I returned to Atlanta, June 24, 2009. Michael drove, and we discussed Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson & the Civil War. We headed for Stone Mountain east of the city and took the Skyride to the top. We saw the skyline in the distance.

Michael had been to Turner Field. It was my first time. The New York Yankees were playing the Atlanta Braves and, of course, we wee Yankee fans. We saw a classic game, baseball at its best! The Yankees won 8-4, and I could not have written a better script. Mariano Rivera struck out the side in the 9th inning and got the save. Manager Joe Giardi's ejection sparked a Yankee rally. Turner Field is a modern, family-friendly ballpark and a tribute to America's sport.

Michael and I drove to Atlanta and back on January 10, 2006. We went straight to SunTrust Plaza. SunTrust started in Atlanta and had its corporate office there. There seemed to be a branch on every corner as we drove around. SunTrust was in 8 states and Washington, D.C. Michael and I talked about his job. I wanted this trip to be oriented toward his career. We meant to get a hotel but realized we could see everything and be back in Nashville that night. We strolled through town and spotted the CNN Center. Michael and I discussed Ted Turner. We crossed Centennial Olympic Park to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest in the world. We saw thousands and thousands of fish! There were no great whites, but there were whale sharks that get as long as buses. We drove through the suburb of Buckhead before heading back up I-75 and I-24. It was a learning experience!

Karen and I spent Memorial Day weekend, 1983, in Atlanta. We took I-24 to Chattanooga and traveled I-75. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn and began with what was most typically Atlanta: the downtown area. We went to Peachtree Plaza, entered the Omni and the World Congress Center. They are laden with shops, restaurants & convention halls. Next, we went to the Georgia State Capitol Building. The dome is done is gold leaf, and the State Museum inside is strong in natural history. Karen knew I would like Stone Mountain! It is a state park, and the carving in the granite makes it a southern Mount Rushmore. The figures from left to right are Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson. We rode the incline to the top. Sun-bathers were strewn on the rock as if it were a beach. The Atlanta skyline was in the distance. Our second day began with the Atlanta Zoo. Right away, I felt an urge to take animal notes. Karen got some nice photos. After some Major League Baseball with the Braves and Cubs, we headed back to Nashville.

December, 1977 - Atlanta
Peachtree Street is the main thoroughfare in Atlanta. I visited Emory University and the Hartsfield International Airport. The buildings at Emory are gray and foreboding. The Atlanta airport is the second largest in the country, and nearly everyone changes planes there when flying to or from southern cities. Atlanta is more cosmopolitan than Louisville or Nashville. I went to Atlanta Underground, a subterranean row of bars and boutiques, early in the morning. Everything was closed.

Revised 2019