My Farthest Road Trip So Far

Last month I went on my longest road trip! Broken over three days each way, I went down with my dad and then back up with a friend. We spent most of our time in Florida but also made a few tourist stops in Georgia, and visited family along the way.

On the way down my dad and I each chose places we wanted to visit, and my choice was the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. The picture of the giant hill is actually a picture of the Great Temple Mound. The remains of it were found during excavation in the 1930’s and was restored along with other mounds at the park; the floor in the temple is over 1000 years old. It was breath taking, seeing a structure that has so much history and imagining the city that was built around it. It’s a huge park and I’d like to go back for a couple days so I can explore and read everything.

One of the places my dad chose was The Allman Brother’s Museum at the Big House. The stained glass above is the front entryway to the museum; not original to when the band was living in the house but an awesome tribute to their time spent. There was a former roadie who was giving someone a personal tour, and every time we crossed paths I enjoyed listening in on his stories.

While in Sarasota FL I took a day to explore by myself. A family member had told me about the Tamiami Trail, so I grabbed my water and set off. I took a wrong turn and landed in downtown Sarasota, so I pulled over and walked around the city before trying a second time; again I got lost but I found a plaza with two antique stores so I pulled over and checked them out.

The pink flamingos where at a store called Todburn Antiques in Sarasota. I hope to go back again because it had such cool stuff, and the owner and his friend were awesome people. (Shout out to Don & Janet!)

My third attempt got me on the Trail and I got to drive down it in time for a rain storm.

The ride back home was an experience, and I definitely came home more confident about my driving than I was when I left.

The giant sombrero is called Sombrero Tower at a place called South of the Boarder. It’s a tourist trap that we didn’t get to stop at this time, but my friend and I agreed we have to go back. The amount of money they spend on billboards must be crazy, but they catch your attention! After telling family about it I learned the place has been around for decades, and at one point everyone had known someone who’d been there.

 

vengefuleyes:

ponder - knuckle puck

{i drew this!! please dont remove credit :-) }

 

kain-morgenmeer:

‘Jungfer im Grünen’ / ‘Love in a mist’.
The ‘Love in a mist’ or in German ‘Jungfer im Grünen’ (Maiden in the green) is a symbol of spurned love.

https://www.instagram.com/kain_morgenmeer/

sosuperawesome:

Stickers

Guts And Glitter on Etsy

Chiune Sugihara: This man saved 6000 Jews

 

gdfalksen:

Chiune Sugihara. This man saved 6000 Jews. He was a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania. When the Nazis began rounding up Jews, Sugihara risked his life to start issuing unlawful travel visas to Jews. He hand-wrote them 18 hrs a day. The day his consulate closed and he had to evacuate, witnesses claim he was STILL writing visas and throwing from the train as he pulled away. He saved 6000 lives. The world didn’t know what he’d done until Israel honored him in 1985, the year before he died.

robowolves:

He was often called “Sempo”, an alternative reading of the characters of his first name, as that was easier for Westerners to pronounce.

His wife, Yukiko, was also a part of this; she is often credited with suggesting the plan. The Sugihara family was held in a Soviet POW camp for 18 months until the end of the war; within a year of returning home, Sugihara was asked to resign - officially due to downsizing, but most likely because the government disagreed with his actions.

He didn’t simply grant visas - he granted visas against direct orders, after attempting three times to receive permission from the Japanese Foreign Ministry and being turned down each time. He did not “misread” orders; he was in direct violation of them, with the encouragement and support of his wife.

He was honoured as Righteous Among the Nations in 1985, a year before he died in Kamakura; he and his descendants have also been granted permanent Israeli citizenship. He was also posthumously awarded the Life Saving Cross of Lithuania (1993); Commander’s Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (1996); and the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2007). Though not canonized, some Eastern Orthodox Christians recognize him as a saint.

Sugihara was born in Gifu on the first day of 1900, January 1. He achieved top marks in his schooling; his father wanted him to become a physician, but Sugihara wished to pursue learning English. He deliberately failed the exam by writing only his name and then entered Waseda, where he majored in English. He joined the Foreign Ministry after graduation and worked in the Manchurian Foreign Office in Harbin (where he learned Russian and German; he also converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church during this time). He resigned his post in protest over how the Japanese government treated the local Chinese citizens. He eventually married Yukiko Kikuchi, who would suggest and encourage his acts in Lithuania; they had four sons together. Chiune Sugihara passed away July 31, 1986, at the age of 86. Until her own passing in 2008, Yukiko continued as an ambassador of his legacy.

It is estimated that the Sugiharas saved between 6,000-10,000 Lithuanian and Polish Jewish people.

westsemiteblues:

He told an interviewer:

You want to know about my motivation, don’t you? Well. It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He just cannot help but sympathize with them. Among the refugees were the elderly and women. They were so desperate that they went so far as to kiss my shoes, Yes, I actually witnessed such scenes with my own eyes. Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. Some Japanese military leaders were just scared because of the pressure from the Nazis; while other officials in the Home Ministry were simply ambivalent.

People in Tokyo were not united. I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong in saving many people’s lives….The spirit of humanity, philanthropy…neighborly friendship…with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation—and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage.

He died in nearly complete obscurity in Japan. His neighbors were shocked when people from all over, including Israeli diplomatic personnel, showed up at quiet little Mr. Sugihara’s funeral.

mousezilla: 

Tucked away in a corner in L.A.’s Little Tokyo is a life-sized statue of Chiune, seated on a bench and smiling gently as he holds out a visa. 

The stone next to him bears a quote from the Talmud; “He who saves one life, saves the entire world.”  

I had no idea it existed until a few weeks ago, but it’s since become one of my favorite pieces of public art. 

Journal

I always feel better after a shower, but I don’t like starting with a shower because I don’t want time to go on. I want to hide and pretend that the past three years have not happened. That people are alive, that my relationship still has hope, and the world is still my oyster.

But they aren’t, and its hollow, and its not.

workingclasshistory:

On this day, 27 November 1868, a detachment of US troops under the command of General Custer ignored orders to kill only warriors and massacred 103 sleeping Cheyenne in the so-called “Battle of the Washita”. Just one of many atrocities carried out against Native Americans during the colonization of the Americas.

This is an excellent online book on the treatment of Native American by the colonists: https://libcom.org/library/bury-my-heart-wounded-knee-indian-history-american-west-dee-brown