Imagination

 

While I was finishing up my degree at Fresno State University in 1999, I posted my first blog post on a new Google application called Blogger. At the time, I felt it was a good place for me to practice my writing skills, share my writings and hopefully gain some insight and pointers about public writing from people of all walks of life. That one blog post blossomed into what is now almost a dozen blogs on various aspects of my life and the interests those aspects have sparked.

I guess I like to write. I'm always at my keyboard, I like to sit and just imagine. Most of the time, those "imagination" articles make sense only to me. 

Imagination operates both spontaneously while daydreaming or during sparks of creativity and deliberately during planning or design. Imagination relies on memory, attention and associative thinking. I sometimes just sit and daydream at my keyboard (like I am right now). Most of those articles don't even make sense to me; but humanity owes a lot to imagination and dreams. Most of our discoveries and inventions were once a dream in someone's imagination. Much like President Kennedy's dream: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." 

I wonder what the world would be like if every person was an academic nerd? I doubt that we would have landed on the moon. Ask anyone at NASA and they will tell you that not all answers come from math, physics and chemistry because sometimes even the problem has to be imagined with solutions coming from an engineer's dream. ... That is how we achieved President Kennedy's dream.

I also write about places I've been and places that interest me. Somewhere on my hard drive is an story about me landing on Pluto, you know, the planet we threw away.  My imagination kind of "ran away" in that article. Although I have not published any of those imaginative and daydream articles, I often go back to them when I am writing factual articles from my research about technology.  After many years spent in technology, I find that dreams and imagination actually lead discovery, fact and solution. So, the next time you see me daydreaming, we could be on our way to Pluto (I'm an engineer ... Retired!). 

I love to research technology. I used to be a "retro" guy, Writing about the old computers and software on a card. I still do, but lately, I have turned to writing about Artificial Intelligence. If you want to let your imagination and dreams run wild, AI is the place to be. 

Take a moment right now, ask yourself, can you get through a day without using any type of computing hardware or software? Everything in your kitchen except, pots, pans, dishes and maybe a 5 year old toaster, has a CPU in it. Your garage door has a CPU, your television and radio have a CPU, your car has multiple CPUs, traffic lights are controlled by a CPU, almost everything in our world today has a CPU (even toothbrushes?). Now, sit back in your chair and daydream and imagine yourself living in the 1800s. Could you do it? The only problem with THAT daydream is that some idiot is going to come along and dream up a CPU, RAM and build a "computer" and you will be back where you started. Sitting back in your chair surrounded by CPUs. 

The hardest thing for me to write about is myself. We are all different. We have different experiences and even if two people have the same experience, they will both interpret it differently. It seems sometimes I always make someone angry with a post. There are many aspects of being human. There's the hardware, consisting of your skin, organs, muscle, and bones; software, consisting of electrical charges, chemistry, and nerve connections in the brain; and firmware of blood and water. Then there are the "feelings". Where do they come from? how are they made? Probably, they come from that same unknown factor that generates imagination and dreams (remember, attention and associative thinking are part of imagination).

 

 

Some folks say I am a contradiction within myself. My early life was hardened by living in a world of racial chaos, war and drugs. During those times I didn't know who I was or why I was here, I desperately wanted the ideals that John Lennon sang of. I wanted peace, unity of mankind and serenity in my life. They say John Lennon wrote this song for the world, but I think he probably wrote it for himself. We should not have to imagine a world in peace, we should be able live it. 

In the 60s, above the roar of race riots, the shouting in Congress and the cries of our men dying in Vietnam, you could hear the shout of the young "All we are saying is give peace a chance."

We achieved Kennedy's dream by pulling together, helping each other out and forgetting our differences. We can do the same for our dream of peace (we all have it!) by stopping our one-up-man ship and forgetting our differences. If we can do that on an individual basis, we will all be pulling together, pulling in the same direction because it won't be a choice, it will be the only thing we can do. 

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

It's always a treat to encounter the Weinermobile! Beside putting a smile on your face, you might get lucky, and score a weinerwhistle too!

The very first Oscar Mayer Wienermobile drove down the streets of Chicago in 1936 to advertise Oscar Mayer hotdogs and has been treating us to a thrill when sighted ever since.The company retired its worn-out Wienermobiles in 1977 to focus on television ads. In 1988, the company decided to make a new fleet of six 23-foot-long Wienermobiles with creature comforts like a microwave, fridge, and even a cell phone.

Oscar Mayer currently has 10 Wienermobiles in its fleet, and an online Wienermobile locator and app can help you find the closest one. You can even apply to become a "Hotdogger" and drive around the country promoting Oscar Mayer. Have you ever encountered the Weinermobile? Did you score a whistle? Do you know the Oscar Mayer jingle?

Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener,

That is what I'd truly like to be-ee-ee.

'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener,

Everyone would be in love with me.

My Generation

The turbulent 60s, the generation I grew up in. Marked by intense social upheaval, political conflicts like the Vietnam War and Cold War tensions, the booming Civil Rights Movement, countercultural shifts challenging traditional values, assassinations of key leaders (JFK, MLK Jr., Malcolm X), and major protests, all leading to widespread activism, cultural experimentation, and deep divisions in America and globally. 

"Many have passed away, and those who are still here are called "the elderly.""

We were born in the 40s-50s-60s. We grew up in the 50's-60's-70's. We studied in the 60s-70s-80s.

We were together in the 70s-80s-90s. We got married or not and discovered the world in the 70s-80s-90s. Adventuring into the 80s - 90s

We're settling in to the 2000s. We became wiser in 2010s. And we’re going strong into 2020 and beyond.

Turns out we went through EIGHT different decades... TWO different centuries... TWO different millennials...

We've gone from phone with operator for long distance calls, pay booths, video calls worldwide. We’ve gone from slides to YouTube, vinyls to online music, handwritten letters to emails and Whats App.

Live games on the radio, black and white TV, color TV, then HD 3D TV. We went to the video store and now watching Netflix.

We've known the first computers, punch cards, disks and now we have gigabytes and megabytes on our smartphones. 

We wore shorts all through our childhood, then trousers, ep pants or mini-skirts, Oxfords, Clarks, Palestinian scarves, jumpsuits, and blue jeans.

We avoided childhood paralysis, meningitis, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, swine flu and now COVID-19.

We've done roller skating, roller skating, tricycle, bicycle, moped, gasoline or diesel and now we drive hybrids or electric.

We played with the little ones. Horses and checkers, ostrich and marbles, 1000 threshold and monopoly, now there's candy crush on our smartphones

And we read... much. And our schoolmates religion was not a subject...

We used to drink tap water and lemonade in glass bottles, and the vegetables on our plate were always fresh, today we get meals delivered. 

Yes, we have been through a lot but what a beautiful life we have had!

They might describe us as “ex-annuals”; people who were born in this 50s world, who had an analog childhood and digital adulthood.

We should add the Biological Revolution that we have witnessed. In 1960, biology was very descriptive. We have witnessed the event of Molecular Biology: the molecules of Life have been discovered: DNA, RNA etc. When you see everything that has come from it: gene therapy, gene fingerprints, and others the progress is considerable.

We kind of have "seen it all"! Our generation has literally lived and witnessed more than any other in every dimension of life. This is our generation that has literally adapted to "CHANGE".

A big congratulations to all the members of a very special generation, which will be UNIQUE.. "

It's really sad that much of the popular music of the 60s, still rings true today.  

 

 

  

 

 

 

What defines my generation?

Although I wasn't there, I would have to say

WOODSTOCK 1969! 

 

 

On the third day of the festival, just before Joe Cocker's early afternoon set, Max Yasgur, the humble farmer who lent his land for the occasion  addressed the crowd at Woodstock:

 

"I'm a farmer. I don't know how to speak to twenty people at one time, let alone a crowd like this. But I think you people have proven something to the world — not only to the Town of Bethel, or Sullivan County, or New York State; you've proven something to the world. This is the largest group of people ever assembled in one place. We have had no idea that there would be this size group, and because of that you've had quite a few inconveniences as far as water, food, and so forth. Your producers have done a mammoth job to see that you're taken care of... they'd enjoy a vote of thanks. But above that, the important thing that you've proven to the world is that a half a million kids — and I call you kids because I have children that are older than you are — a half million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I – God bless you for it!"

 

 ... Max Yasgur, said this on stage the last day of Woodstock as America was sending Kids to Vietnam to die. 

 

My generation of the 1960s could land a man on the moon and bring him back safely, but we could not stop a war that no one wanted or look upon a people freed in the 1800s as our equals. Today is in the year 2026 and nothing has changed. We are headed for the moon again, in a war that no one wants and driving people who are not white from our country. It saddens me to think that in all these years America has still not learned what our fore fathers tried to teach us.  

 

Imagine all the people living life in peace. As we did at Woodstock.  

 

The Answers are Still Blowing in the Wind

 

I was thinking today about how life has changed since I graduated High School and how it hasn't. Much can be told of the '60s from the popular music of that time. Songs like "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. Released in 1967, the words of that song still apply to what is happening in the United States today (1/18/26). "Blowin in the Wind" by Bob Dylan could have been written yesterday, it's still that relevant to what is happening today. 

In the '60s when I was 16, 17, and 18, I didn't really pay attention to what the words of the songs were. I just listen to it because my peers listened to it. But, as I listen today, I hear in the songs of the '60s, the things I saw on the 6:00 o'clock news tonight. Civil rights are being violated by armed government militias, the US is threatening war on countries, there are riots in some of our largest cities against civil rights and marches against war and government policies, when will we ever learn? I think The answers we seek are still blowing in the wind.

 

Society today hasn't changed much from the '60s.  I grew up first on the South Side of Chicago, then in Oaklawn, about 10 miles south; then on to New Lenox, about another 10 miles south of Chicago. I still remember going to the large Sears store and Montgomery Ward store in Downtown Chicago where there were signs over the restroom doors; "Whites Only" and "colored". Separate but equal is what our government (and white America) called it. From what I remember, most of "Downtown Chicago" was "Whites Only". Things are supposed to be different now, anyone can go anywhere, but just because you "can" go somewhere, it doesn't mean you will be welcome. Chicago along with most other big cities is still segregated. There are areas where whites live, areas where blacks live, areas for Latinos, Italians, Irish, Puerto Recons, etc... Still today, you are only really welcome in your designated area. I always lived in the white side of town, went to schools that were "Whites Only", went to churches that were all white. Sometimes, it seemed to me that we were still fighting the Civil War. 

 

I live in Winterville North Carolina now, society is still segregated; not by race now, but by economic status. Greenville is broken up into rich, middle and poor communities. Again, just because you can cross community boundaries, it doesn't mean you will be welcome. What is really sad is that although races can intermix within their economic communities, race still seems to be a factor among whites. I still don't understand how our rich white forefathers who owned many slaves, could write in a Declaration of Independence that all men are free and equal when they, themselves did not believe it. They were good at talking the talk, but they did not walk the walk.  

 

Where ever you are now, look around. Do you see freedom and equality? Or do you see segregation and lack of respect. What our forefathers did not understand was that before we can be truly free, we must have respect for those around us. And before we can have equality, we must respect the race, religious beliefs and economic status of those around us. 

  

"How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind."  

There's Something Happening Here

"There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware"

 

We're reliving the '60s. In America it was a time of lawlessness, shootings, mass killings, thievery, widespread corruption and denouncing the President. It was all over a war that our government perpetuated over the will of the people. It's happening again, the government perpetuating many things over the will of the people. 

 

Those lines above come from a protest song from the '60s. “For What It’s Worth” is one of the most widely known protest songs of the 1960s. Recorded by Buffalo Springfield as a single, it was eventually released in 1967 on their self-titled album. It has transcended its origin story to become one of pop’s most-covered protest songs – a sort of “We Shall Overcome” of its time, its references to police, guns and paranoia remaining continually relevant even to this day.  

 

Buffalo Springfield was the house band for LA’s famous Whiskey A Go Go Club during the time of the LA riots, which led Stephen Stills to pen the song.

 

“For What It’s Worth” was penned solely by Stills in response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in Los Angeles in 1966. It all started in the mid-1960s when hippies and young people associated with rock and roll culture would frequently gather on the famous street in West Hollywood. The commercial merchants on Sunset Boulevard decided that the element of young people on the street every night was not conducive to commercial enterprise. When bunch of kids got together on a street corner and said we aren’t moving, the local government put in place curfew and anti-loitering laws to stop people from congregating at the behest of local businesses.

 

This tension between the free-spirited culture and local government came to a head in November and December 1966 when protesters clashed with police, particularly on the night of November 12 when a local radio station announced there would be a protest over the closing of Pandora’s Box, a popular nightclub for young people. Roughly 1,000 people showed up to protest. Three busloads of Los Angeles police showed up, who looked very much like storm troopers. 

 

According to reports, a fight broke out for reasons having nothing to do with the curfew; a car carrying a group of Marines was bumped by another vehicle. Egged on by that fight, the protesters (some of whom carried placards that read “We’re Your Children! Don’t Destroy Us”) trashed a city bus and threw bottles and rocks at storefronts. 

  

The LAPD instigated a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone under 18. 

 

 

The riot was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip. 

 

Despite having a reputation as being an anti-war song, as it was also written during the Vietnam War, Stills said that “For What It’s Worth” was mostly written in response to the Sunset Strip riots. 

 

“It was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip,” Stills explained in an archived interview, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But I knew I had to skedaddle and headed back to Topanga, where I wrote my song in about 15 minutes. For me, there was no riot. It was basically a cop dance. … Riot is a ridiculous name. It was a funeral for Pandora’s Box. But it looked like a revolution.” 

  

The beginning of the song is a study in understatement. An electric guitar plays two notes, slowly repeated, with tremolo. The drums set up a quiet pulse-like beat. An acoustic guitar enters, strumming two chords, then beginning a quiet riff that is a definition of laid-back L.A. funk. (Audio clip – 80K.) Finally Steve Stills’ voice enters, in a quiet, conversational tone. (Audio clip – 64K.) 

 

[Verse 1]
There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware

[Chorus]
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 2]
There's battle lines being drawn
And nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Are gettin' so much resistance from behind

[Chorus]
It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 3]
What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and a-carryin' signs
Mostly say, "Hooray for our side" 

[Chorus]
It's time we stopped
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 4]
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life, it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away

[Chorus]
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

While watching the news today, this song from my past came to mind and has not left. Once again we have riots in LA, and beginning to start in other cities. We have battle lines being drawn between Trump supporters and Trump non-supporters; Republicans and Democrats; those who want peace and those who want to take peace. When will we learn that nobody's right if everybody's wrong?

We teach our young people to "speak their mind" but we forget to teach them to consider those around them before they speak. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to trespass, steal or destroy other people's property. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to bully or demean any other human.

Nearly 50 years later, and in very different times, we still haven't learned from our mistakes of the 1960s.

 

Imagine By John Lennon

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people livin' for today
Ah, ah, ah-ah

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothin' to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people livin' life in peace
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharin' all the world
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one

  

What Does Family Mean?

What does family mean to you? Take a minute to write down your own definition of family. If you compare your definition with others, I'm sure you will find both similarities and differences. For example, would your definition of family include: 

1. A friend or neighbor who is not a blood or legal relative (maybe a close friend who lost their house and all their belongings in a storm).
2. An adopted or foster child. 
3. Children who were once step-siblings after a remarried couple divorces.
4. A married couple (relative or close friend) without children.
5. A relative or close friend who cannot live independently on their own.
6. The spouse of a deceased relative or friend.-
7. A sibling who married outside the family’s religious faith and/or race. 

You might be surprised to learn how others respond to these different family types. In fact, you might be surprised at how you respond. What would be your reasoning for including a particular family type or leaving them out? Defining who is and is not family is foundational to your identity, and has implications on how you live your life.

My personal definition of "family" includes all of the above. Inclusion of those who need help into my "family", whether or not they are "blood" relatives, has become part of my belief, faith and trust in God.

Rather than simply defining family by a dictionary definition, I define my family by my own standards, being careful when I look inward to not let local society dictate what my standards are. Instead, I look inward, deep into my soul, find love, respect, support, forgiveness and understanding; for those are the building blocks of a true family.

You can have several families in your lifetime, even several families at once if you choose, such as your spouse's family, your "blood" family, work family or family of friends. Regardless of how you define your family unit, whether traditional or unique, your definition is of the family unit should be one that contains the building blocks of “Family”. Whether made up of blood relatives, friends or a combination of these, your family should offer you the love and support you need to thrive.

Part of navigating life’s many challenges, being welcomed as part of a family is one of our most central needs and a gift we can offer to others. We also take comfort in knowing there is no one way to define family. This knowledge helps us understand and appreciate our families in all their breadth and richness as they develop and change over the course of time. Rather than put up roadblocks, we all have an opportunity to benefit, learn from, and support families among our neighbors, community members, and among our own household and extended family.

There is no perfect family, we do not have perfect parents, we do not marry a perfect person or we do not have perfect children. We sometimes complain about each other. We sometimes offend one another. We are sometimes disappointed with each other. Yes for so many reasons at various times we find it hard to get along with one another. For these reasons, there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the medicine of family joy and happiness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. No matter the offense or who is the offender. Without forgiveness, the family becomes an arena of conflict and a fortress of evil. Without forgiveness, the family becomes sick and unhealthy. Forgiveness is the healer of the soul, the purification of the spirit and the liberation of the heart.

No sin is too big to be forgiven. He who does not forgive does not have peace in his soul and can not have communion with God. Unforgiving is Evil and a poison that intoxicates and harms the soul of the one who refuses to forgive. Keeping forgiveness in your heart, mind and soul for your family is a self-healing gesture. Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally and spiritually ill.

The family must offer respect love and happiness; not despair. A family brings healing through forgiveness and joy and replaces sorrow. A family gives support, not gossip or slander of one another. Families must offer a feeling of welcome not indifference or rejection. When anyone in a family is going through a challenge they need support of others in that family.

Family should offer love and acceptance freely with no strings attached. Family to me, is not just a group of people, it includes a collective group of personal attitudes and emotions from the people around me that accept me and my life as it is, with no apologies, no expectations and requiring no changes.

Family is a feeling of belonging, individual beliefs should not be held against each other; actions or in-actions should not be judged; words should not be manipulated or taken out of context. Family should lend a place of peace and happiness and is a reflection of it’s individuals identity's.

Family is about caring and sharing. Caring that comes from the heart, based on God's love for us and our sharing of that love with those around us. Family is caring and sharing with no expectations, judgments of past or present life experiences or restrictions.

My concept of Family has been shaped by culture, both my wife's culture and mine, along with our families cultures and experiences. My concept of family has also been shaped by my past life and spiritual experiences. Family should consist of people who listen without judgment, retribution or resentment when I reflect on the past; people who do not judge me when I talk about my past or present; and people who allow me to dream about the future. Family is also something I am willing to share with those who try to understand me and my life without judgment or resentment.

My concept of Family is rooted in "love your neighbor" as a way of life, not just a commandment we say should be followed.

My wife and I are under 2 Flags, from 2 Countries, of 2 Cultures, but of 1 Heart. Families should also be of one heart and that heart should be nurtured through love, respect for each other, caring for each other and sharing that love, respect and caring with all those we come in contact with. In my heart, mind and soul, family is not just a group of people, it includes feelings and emotions that are born out of respect, love and caring.

My Catholic Faith teaches me how to be a man and a husband. My Faith also teaches me that we are ALL brothers and sisters of Jesus. Life would be easy if we all lived in the Garden of Eden without sin. But, we don’t live in that garden, we have to deal with the temptations of our world. Because we do not have the knowledge and strength of Jesus, we fail many of life’s challenges. Maybe we would win more challenges if we called on Jesus sooner and worked closer with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

2020 Taal Volcano eruption

 

On January 12, 2020, Taal Volcano erupted with almost no warning, sending a massive column of ash and steam fifteen kilometers into the sky. Within hours, the picturesque lake surrounding the volcano turned into a cauldron, and lightning crackled through the volcanic plume in a terrifying display that lit up the Batangas sky. Nearly half a million people were ordered to evacuate.

Taal is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Philippines, and it sits in one of the most unlikely places: a small island inside a lake, inside a larger island, inside a larger lake, on the island of Luzon. That layered geography sounds like a riddle, but it is exactly what makes Taal so unpredictable. The interaction between magma and water creates phreatomagmatic eruptions that can turn explosive with very little buildup.

What caught the world off guard was the speed of the disaster. Families living on the volcanic island and along the lakeshore had grown up with Taal as their quiet neighbor. Many ran fishing boats, grew crops in the fertile volcanic soil, or guided tourists to the crater. In a matter of hours, their homes were buried under thick layers of ash and mud.

The 2020 eruption was classified as a Level 4 event, just one step below the most catastrophic designation. Ash fell across Metro Manila, airports closed, and schools shut down for weeks. Yet amid the devastation, communities mobilized with extraordinary speed. Evacuation centers filled, relief goods poured in, and ordinary Filipinos once again demonstrated the bayanihan spirit that surfaces in every crisis.

State of Franklin

 

At about this time in 1784, the State of Franklin declares its independence from North Carolina. Did you know that a state named Franklin could have been the 14th state?

 

After the American Revolution, North Carolina stretched from the eastern seaboard all the way to the Mississippi River. The western part of the state was separated from the eastern part by a mountain range. Especially given the travel difficulties of the day, you can imagine that the westerners felt barely connected to the eastern side of the state—and vice versa.

 

The North Carolina legislature didn’t really want to be responsible for the western lands anymore, but legislators didn’t want to lose an asset, either. The legislature ended up passing an act known as the “Land Grab Act” by which western lands were put on sale. Much of the land was sold to legislators. Hmmm. Let’s just say that some of the sales that resulted probably weren’t entirely above board. Nevertheless, the state legislators passed an act ceding all remaining lands to the federal government. In return, the Confederation Congress was supposed to accept, as valid, all the grants of land that had already been made.

 

The cessation pushed several western counties into action. On August 23, 1784, residents met and declared themselves a new state named Franklin (for Benjamin Franklin). For a time, things seemed to be working. A state constitution was adopted, and John Sevier was elected as the first state governor. But then, unsurprisingly, matters became complicated.

 

For one thing, Americans were in negotiations with the Cherokee to determine who held which territory. Unfortunately, the outcome of these negotiations contradicted the outcome of Franklin’s negotiations. Other clashes occurred between the state and federal governments. Many Franklinites became tired of the situation.

 

In the end, a man named John Tipton became head of a movement to have Franklin reabsorbed back into North Carolina. But Sevier continued to advocate for the State of Franklin. At one point, Sevier even considered getting Spain to annex the state! A skirmish—the Battle of Franklin—brought matters to a head. Sevier was at first arrested for treason, but by early 1789, he had agreed to take an oath of allegiance to North Carolina.

 

After Franklin was dissolved, North Carolina ceded the land to the federal government. A few years later, the new territory became the state of Tennessee. I suppose Sevier got the last laugh?! He was elected as Tennessee’s first governor in 1796.

‪---------------------------

copyright © 2013-2025 by Tara Ross. 

Winterville (in progress 1-10-25)

In 2004 Lolita and I both got jobs at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville NC. After a few months, we found a house in Winterville NC.

 

The area is called East Carolina. About one hour from the coast, its steeped in American and Nautical history, with beautiful mountains to the west, the highest on the East Coast; beautiful rolling plains of the Piedmont area; and the most beautiful and dangerous coastline anywhere in the world.

 

Lolita was faculty in the ECU Lifelong Learning Program.  I started out managing the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) on the main campus. My job was to provide the technology for international University programs and in many cases, assist professors in creating international programs. ... Today, we are both retired from ECU.

Town of Winterville  

Winterville NC 

Town of Winterville - FB 

 

Fresno (in progress updated 1-10-25)

Fresno was great for us, we both had good jobs, Lolly at Fresno State University and me with the city. Even with house and car payments we were able to furnish our house and save money. While we were there, I finished my bachelor degree in Network Engineering. I was lucky, because Lolly was faculty, I could go to the University for $5 per semester. ... Not a bad deal!  

I don't have a picture of our Fresno house, as soon as I find one I'll get it here.

 

Imperial Beach (in progress updated 1-10-25)

After we got married we lived in Coronado Manor Apartments, very close to Imperial Beach and the border. 

We were there for about 3 years? I was working out in the Mohave Desert and came home on weekends. Lolly taught school at St. Charles Catholic School just around the corner from the apartment. Then she got a great job offer at California State University at Fresno. So, we went there and bought our first house.

San Diego (in progress updated 1-10-25)

 

San Diego was where I was discharged from the Navy. I had a GREAT job lined up a month before I got out. I was living in an apartment at the corner of Mission Gorge Road and Zion Avenue.  I was in an apartment on the opposite side of the front. I was living there when I met Lolly.

 

Across the street on Zion Ave. was a small shopping area. It had a grocery store, small hardware store, a barbershop, tavern and Thrifty drugstore. Across the street on Mission Gorge Rd. was another small shopping area with an IHop restaurant (at that time it was called Sambo's). Today, the whole area is one big shopping mall with a hospital behind it. There wasn't much traffic when I was living there, but it's probably hard to get out of the apartment complex now. I'm glad I'm not there anymore. It's REALLY built up.