Mustang Marathon Day 1

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Day 1 of the Mustang Marathon ended here after a 13-hour, 834.8-mile jaunt from Oxnard. I’m moving my car to Akron, Ohio in advance of our planned moved there in September. It seemed stupid for both Amy and I to drive back there in two cars at the same time, so the Mustang heads back this week.

Amy flew to Ohio Sunday, which is very good deal for me. I have all that extra leg room.

Fairly easy drive today. I started late because I was very tired and I slept an extra hour, finally leaving the house at 4:59 a.m. I drove across the top of the desert because the late start meant I was too late to go through Pasadena toward the I-15. Traffic would eventually trap me. Anyway, I took the back roads to Victorville, topped off the tank there and dropped the hammer.

Flagstaff, Ariz. is better than 7,000 feet above sea level and there were clouds waiting for me there and the clouds had rain in them. Witnessed a very picturesque lightning bolt as it struck the ground while I was heading through Flagstaff. It was one of those storms you can see in the distance in front of you and you see the rain as a downward extension of the clouds, like a grey veil. Warm as it was, you could see that in some spots the rain did not reach the ground.

My co-driver, Bucky Weber, was nice enough to call and chat. He had a sudden business situation jump up and was unable to make the drive with me, as we planned. So every time it rained, I groused out loud (to an otherwise empty car) that I was driving his shift. When he called, I informed him of this.

We both laughed. We’ve been friends for nearly 41 years.

Most of today’s area was covered at high speed, as the limit was 75 mph. The Mustang produces good gas mileage (for a V-8) at lower speeds, but I pushed back thoughts of economy in favor of reaching the hotel here before falling asleep.

Sean and Mindy, my son and daughter-in-law, live here and we had dinner together. A nice visit for us but we had to cut it short so I can get to bed at a reasonable time.

Tomorrow’s stop is in Oklahoma City, Ok. That’s a shorter run than today’s lap and I don’t expect to push as hard. From there I go to Indianapolis and then to Akron on Thursday.

Today’s stats do not include the final stint, which was also the longest. However, the first 512.8 miles were covered with 20.1 gallons of gas, an average of 25.5 mph. Much of the distance came with the air conditioning operating and at a good rate of speed.  The first stint, in the dark hours of early morning and without the a/c running, the Mustang hit 27.5 mpg and the second stint, higher speeds and air-conditioned, saw us get 26.9 mpg.

I am not displeased with the fuel usage. The Mustang has well over 143,000 miles on it and I pushed it a little hard. She’s a fun car to drive and it was fun to listen to her rumble.

Thanks for reading.

The Hall of Very Good

As a proud member of the Pro Football Researchers Association, I should have done this weeks ago:

Here are the finalists for consideration for the PFRA’s Hall of Very Good. The Hall of Very Good is the PFRA’s list of former pro football players, coaches and others deserving of recognition but unlikely to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

This year’s finalists are in alphabetical order, along with some info about the PFRA. Finally, there is a list of those already inducted into the Hall of Very Good.

I am thrilled to see several former Los Angeles Rams on the list. Who would you vote for?

2012 Finalists

Bill Bergey

Position: Linebacker

Teams: 1969-73 Cincinnati Bengals, 1974-80 Philadelphia Eagles

Larry Brown

Position: RB

Teams: 1969-76 Washington Redskins

Ward Cuff

Position: WB-QB-HB

Teams: 1937-45 New York Giants, 1946 Chicago Cardinals, 1947 Green Bay Packers

Curley Culp

Position: DT

Teams: 1968-74 Kansas City Chiefs, 1974-80 Houston Oilers, 1980-81 Detroit Lions

Kenny Easley

Position: DB

Teams: 1981-87 Seattle Seahawks

Horace Gillom

Positions: DE-E

Teams: 1947-56 Cleveland Browns

Larry Grantham

Position: LB

Teams: 1960-62 New York Titans, 1963-72 New York Jets

L.C. Greenwood

Position: DE

Teams: 1969-81 Pittsburgh Steelers

Lester Hayes

Position: DB

Teams: 1977-81 Oakland Raiders, 1982-86 Los Angeles Raiders

Harlon Hill

Position: E

Teams: 1954-61 Chicago Bears, 1962 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1962 Detroit Lions

Winston Hill

Position: T

Teams: 1963-76 New York Jets, 1977 Los Angeles Rams

Dick Huffman

Position: T

Teams: 1947-50 Los Angeles Rams

Jack Kemp

Position: Quarterback

Teams: 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1960 Los Angeles Chargers, 1961-62 San Diego Chargers, 1962-69 Buffalo Bills

George Kunz

Position: Tackle

Teams: 1969-1974 Atlanta Falcons, 1975-78 and 1980 Baltimore Colts

Eddie Meador

Position: Defensive Back

Teams: 1959-70 Los Angeles Rams

Ted Nesser

Position: Tackle-Center-Head Coach

Teams: 1920-21 Columbus Panhandles*

*Only includes years in the APFA/NFL

Duane Putnam

Positions: G

Teams: 1952-59 Los Angeles Rams, 1960 Dallas Cowboys, 1961 Cleveland Browns, 1962 Los Angeles Rams

Gene Washington

Position: WR

Teams: 1969-77 San Francisco 49ers, 1979 Detroit Lions

Ray Wietecha

Position: C

Teams: 1953-62 New York Giants

Swede Youngstrom

Position: G-T-E-C

Teams: 1920-21 Buffalo All-Americans, 1921 Canton Bulldogs, 1922-23 Buffalo All-Americans, 1924-25 Buffalo Bisons, 1925 Cleveland Bulldogs, 1926-27 Frankford Yellowjackets*

*Only includes years in the APFA/NFL

The Class of 2012 will be announced by the end of the year. 

Begun in 2003, the Hall of Very Good seeks to honor outstanding players and coaches who are not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Professional Football Researchers Association was founded in 1979 as a 501(c)(3) educational organization dedicated to research into and the preservation of the history of pro football. The membership includes many of the foremost football historians and authors. The PFRA publishes a magazine, The Coffin Corner, six times each year. More information is available at www.profootballresearchers.org.

Previous Hall of Very Good enshrines are:

Class of 2011

Ken Anderson, 1971-86 – QB

Cliff Branch, 1972-85 – WR

Bobby Dillon, 1952-59 – DB

Cliff Harris, 1970-79 – FS

Harold Jackson, 1968-83 – WR

Andy Russell, 1963-76 – LB

Lou Saban, 1960-65, 1967-76 – Head Coach

Tom Sestak, 1962-68 – DT

Jerry Smith, 1965-77 – TE

Class of 2010
Robert Brazile, 1975-84 – LB  
Ed Budde, 1963-76 – G
Don Coryell, 1972-86 – Head Coach
Ox Emerson, 1931-38 – G, C, LB
Chuck Foreman, 1973-80 – RB
Bob Gain, 1952, 1954-64 – T, MG, E
Riley Matheson, 1939-48 – G, LB
Jimmy Patton, 1955-66 – DB
Drew Pearson, 1973-83 – WR
Ken Riley, 1969-83 – CB

Class of 2009
Bruno Banducci, 1944-54 – G  
Harold Carmichael, 1971-84 – WR
Blanton Collier, Browns assistant coach 1946-53 and 1962 and head coach 1963-70
Boyd Dowler, 1959-69, 71 – WR
Claude Humphrey, 1968-74, 1976-81 – DE
Ken Kavanaugh, 1940-41, 1945-50 – E
Verne Lewellen, 1924-32 – HB
Walt Sweeney, 1963-75 – G

Class of 2008
Dick Barwegen, 1947-54 – G
Randy Gradishar, 1974-83 – LB
Bob Hoernschmeyer, 1946-55 – HB
Cecil Isbell, 1938-42 – TB
Buddy Parker, 1951-64 – Coach
Spec Sanders, 1946-50 – TB
Jim Ray Smith, 1956-64 – G
Billy Wilson, 1951-60 - WR

Class of 2007:
Frankie Albert, 1946-1952 - QB
Roger Brown, 1960-1969 - DT
Timmy Brown, 1959-1968 - RB
Marshall Goldberg, 1939-1948 - B
Jim Lee Howell, 1937-1947, 1954-1960 - E
Glenn Presnell, 1931-1936 - B
Dick Schafrath, 1959-1971 - T
Jake Scott, 1970-1978 - DB
Ed Sprinkle, 1944-1955 - DE
Tank Younger, 1949-1958 - HB-FB

Class of 2006:
Charley Conerly, 1948-1961 - QB
John Hadl, 1962-1977 - QB
Chuck Howley, 1958-1973 - LB
Alex Karras, 1958-1970 - DT
Eugene Lipscomb, 1953-1962 - DT
Kyle Rote, 1951-1961 - E-HB
Dick Stanfel, 1952-1958 - G
Otis Taylor, 1965-1975 - WR
Fuzzy Thurston, 1958-1967 - G
Deacon Dan Towler, 1950-1955 - FB

Class of 2005:
Maxie Baughan, 1960-1974 - LB
Jim Benton, 1938-1947 - E
Lavvie Dilweg, 1926-1934 - E
Pat Harder, 1946-1953 - FB
Floyd Little*, 1967-1975 - RB
Tommy Nobis, 1966-1976 - LB
Pete Retzlaff, 1956-1966 - HB-E
Tobin Rote, 1950-1966 - QB
Lou Rymkus, 1943, 1946-1951 - T
Del Shofner, 1957-1967 - E

Class of 2004:
Gene Brito, 1951-1960 - DE
John Brodie, 1957-1973 - QB
Jack Butler*, 1951-1959 - DB
Chris Hanburger*, 1965-1978 - LB
Bob Hayes*, 1965-1975 - SE-WR
Billy Howton, 1952-1963 - E
Jim Marshall, 1960-1979 - DE
Al Nesser, 1920-1928, 1931 - G
Dave Robinson, 1963-1974 - LB
Duke Slater, 1922-1931 - T

Class of 2003:
Gino Cappelletti, 1960-1970 - E-K
Carl Eller*, 1964-1979 - DE
Pat Fischer, 1961-1977 - DB
Benny Friedman*, 1927-1934 - TB
Gene Hickerson*, 1958-1973 - G
Jerry Kramer, 1958-1968 - G
Johnny Robinson, 1960-1971 - DB
Mac Speedie, 1946-1952 - E
Mick Tingelhoff, 1962-1978 - C
Al Wistert, 1943-1951 - T

*Voted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame after induction into the Hall of Very Good.

Veterans of Experience

          Experience is the best teacher. You learn this when you get old and, well, we’re there.

          Do you remember the musical Fiddler on the Roof? There is a bit that does like this:

Our great men have left us words of wisdom to be used when hardship must be faced,

Life obliges us with hardship so the words of wisdom do not go to waste.

          Experience teaches us that no matter how completely you think you have everything under control, you don’t. It is human nature to have a few good weeks and arrive at the conclusion that through personal brilliance, a little luck and good, old-fashioned determination, you have finally gained full control of your life.

          That’s usually about the time a brick falls out of the sky and hits you square in the head. You then arrive at the conclusion that you probably should have planned for that contingency. After all, this could happen to anyone. Bricks are everywhere. Experience teaches us that, if we would only listen.

It doesn’t have to be a brick, of course. It could be lots and lots of hail stones, the kind that look like golf balls or baseballs. The kind of hail stones that fall out of the sky and hit the earth at an estimated 100 mph. If you haven’t seen it in person, you’ve probably seen this kind of stuff on TV.

          It’s the kind of hail that hammered the condo we are planning to buy in Ohio. Destroyed the siding on the outside of the condo and ruined the roof.

          And left all of our extraordinary planning flapping in the breeze like a white flag of surrender. Knocked us from HEEro to ZEEro.

          Will the HOA insurance company replace the roof or try to tell us the roof is fine? Will the roof be replaced before our scheduled move? Will the repairs be made before the next rain storm rolls in? Will a tarp be placed on the roof to protect the inside of the condo from leaks? Will we be hit with an assessment by the Home Owners Association for damages incurred before we bought the place? Will the bank allow us to close the deal before the repairs are completed?

          The simple answer is that we don’t know. We don’t know the answers to any of those questions. None of them. We are like Sergeant Shultz of the old Hogan’s Heroes TV show: We know nothing.

          So, Experience has re-taught a valuable lesson about life. It’s a lesson our parents tried to teach us and we tried to teach our kids.

          “Shut up,” Experience teaches us. “I’ll tell you when you do something right.”

          Thanks for reading.

Those other images



William Wells

          Photography is a very personal thing. It’s an art, a form of expression. The image is a reflection of the individual on the other side of the camera.

G.K. Warren

          Is the photographer organized? Is the image in focus? Are the settings, which yours truly calls, ‘the soup,’ accurate? Is the image framed well? The picture tells all.

          And the selection of subject matter can be very telling as well.

          The reader knows, from pervious blogs, that yours truly enjoys Civil War battlefield photography. Rather than collecting what are termed here the pretty shots of monuments and the like, your humble servant prefers to look for the viewpoints the soldiers might have had.

Union sniper monument

          Still, the monuments and markers are eye-catching and even this grumpy observer agrees that photographs of nicely-produced art (the monuments) can make for exciting pictures.

          Two images in this collection are among the most attractive at Gettysburg, General Warren on his rock at Little Round Top and the Union sniper near the Rose farm.

Minnesota monument at sunset

          Look at the sunset shot of the monument to a Minnesota unit at Gettysburg. The clouds just wouldn’t cooperate and they stayed too low on the horizon to allow for a really neat image. A bit more above the horizon and this would have been a nicer image.

          Lots of monuments allow the photographer to grab what can be termed a ‘star shot.’ Let some sunlight in through a small space near sunup or sundown, make sure the framing area has some irregular shapes and you’ve got a star shot. Make sure the soup is right: You have to meter with the right idea or you lose the effect. Prepare in advance because many locations have only a few minutes per morning or evening to get this type of shot.

Meade's star shot

          The image of Abner Doubleday, the Union general best known for not inventing baseball, came shortly after sunrise, a silhouette image. Doubleday is at the bottom of this blog. The image of General Meade on his horse, here, is a silhouette/star shot.

          A very nice monument located among the Round Tops at Gettysburg is the one dedicated to William Wells; a Union soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg. His image is at the top of this blog. Wells mustered out of the army in 1866, a steady stream of promotions behind him. His career is reflected well by his monument.

Mississippi monument

         

     The Mississippi state monument at Gettysburg is among the more interesting to photo because there are so many ways to look at the thing. The image here shows the detail produced by the artist that created the statue. You have to be impressed by the craftsmanship. A better photographer could write thousands of words about the image options with this piece of art.

    Thanks for reading.

Abner Doubleday

The Vincent Collection

Colonel Strong Vincent is one of the important figures in the battle of Gettysburg. It was Vincent that brought four regiments to defend Little Round Top from the Confederates on July 2, 1863, the second day of the famous fight.

          His quick reaction to the summons by General G.K. Warren is the reason the Union army was able to defend the small hill that became so famous. Vincent could not have been faulted for deferring to his commanding officer instead of rushing off to Little Round Top. Checking with his boss first might have even been the right thing for Vincent to do. But what Vincent did saved the day for the Army of the Potomac.

          Vincent was wounded during the fighting that day and died a few days later. He is a hero.

Vincent's rock.

          What is odd about all this is that there are two memorials to Vincent on Little Round Top. One of those memorials is a few words chiseled in a rock, perhaps marking the exact spot where Vincent fell. The other memorial is a marker, just a few yards away from the big rock.

          The two images here, jointly titled, “The Vincent Collection” show both memorials. The rock is located on the top of Little Round Top, immediately next to what most visitors call the castle, a memorial to the 44^th New York regiment. The more formal marker is slightly down the hill, to the Union left of the castle, among the trees on the side of the hill.



Vincent's marker.

          These images were collected less than a week prior to the 149^th anniversary of Vincent’s last battle. Like a lot of markers at Gettysburg, Vincent’s collects personal memorials from visitors to the battlefield. There are times when a photographer needs to recognize such a moment and walk away.

          You see small flags and the like next to markers all around the battlefield. The 20^th Maine marker collects its share. Confederate markers also collect mementoes.

          Vincent’s markers are unique because of their proximity to each other. Then again, his actions on that day so long ago were among the most heroic in a terrible but important moment in our nation’s history.

          As we commemorate the anniversary of our nation’s birth and all the great things the United States stands for, let us not forget the soldiers and sailors who made those things possible during the dark days of our Civil War. Men like Vincent and Palmer did their duty and lost their lives in the process.

          Politicians make great decisions and get credit for it. But men like Vincent and Palmer end up paying the price. They deserve our lasting thanks.

          Just as I thank you for reading.

Culp's Hill: It ain't Mt. Everest, but nobody shoots at you on Everest

One of my favorite parts of a visit to Gettysburg is finding locations that I know little or nothing about. This happens every visit because I look for new locations. The East Cavalry Field was entirely new for me this year and I saw parts of Culp’s Hill for the first time.



A view of Culp's Hill from a spot near Baltimore Street, a short
distance from the Gettysburg Battlefield Park's Visitor's Center.

            Some day I’m going to start taking a new trail up Culp’s Hill each visit because so much happened on the slopes of that hill that it is obvious there is plenty to see. I’ll have to work out a defense against poison ivy (boots, long pants, long-sleeved shirts and gloves seem likely) and I’ll want a hiking companion – common sense precautions everyone should follow – but once those pre-hike arrangements are complete I’ll start climbing.

            What we call Culp’s Hill is, I believe, really a combination of more than one hill. My knowledge of the topography is a bit uncertain. I do know the roadway up to the summit is lush with trees and grass and is packed with large rocks. The hill has a beautiful, harsh environment.

The tree-lined, rugged Culp's Hill area is dotted with monuments and
positions markers.

            The fighting on the hill was severe. The Confederates tried for two days to take the summit, spending the night between those days on a portion of the hill and then attacking again the next day. The Union soldiers who held the hill, protecting the rest of the Army of the Potomac by keeping an important artillery position in Union hands, deserve the same kind of praise thrown at the regiments which held Little Round Top for the bluecoats.

            It was a tough job and they did it.

            In this collection of images are some of the new discoveries, new for me that is, that I made near the summit of Culp’s Hill this summer.

The 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry monument.

            One of the locations I found this summer is the monument to the 66^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. It sits just a few steps below the top of the hill, down a clearly marked hiking trail from the parking lot surrounding the observation tower. I went down there hoping to find a shot that illustrates the difficulty the Confederate soldiers experienced while climbing and fighting. Instead, I found this neat monument.

            I noticed the rocky surface descending from the 66^th OVI’s monument, so I carefully stepped down to find a point where I could point up and get an image illustrating the severity of the grade. That’s when I found the marker on the spot where Major J.G. Palmer, of the 66^th Ohio, was mortally wounded. That image, which I used in an earlier blog, shows that marker and the walking trail which continues down the hill.

            I got the image of the rocky distance between the two markers, then had to climb my way back out of there. Making that climb emphasized to me the severity of the angle.

The marker honoring Major J.G. Palmer of the 66th
Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

            It is important to note here that I am convinced every time I stroll around Culp’s Hill, or any place like it, that a nest of venomous snakes is just around the next corner, in a bad mood and waiting for lunch. I fear snakes. Normal humans do. I’m very careful each time I go around the next corner. But even I sometimes wonder why I keep going around those corners.



            Of course, you can find snakes slithering around pretty much anywhere. I remember one a coworker caught working its way through the offices of a radio station where I worked in Corona, California. The radio station snake was a non-killer, according to the co-worker, as was true of the rabbit that ran down the same hallway a few weeks later.



The area between Palmer's marker and
the monument.

            No snake attacks during my stroll through Rose Woods, either. One tree was down across the path, but I was able to walk under it and continue, passing from the Triangular Field toward the Wheat Field. I tried to imagine making the same walk without the benefit of shoes, since about 30 percent of the Army of Northern Virginia was shoeless on any given day during the war.

It will also be interesting to walk the various paths through the fields where the big Confederate attack passed during their attack upon Cemetery Ridge in July 3, 1863. I’ve walked two of those paths now, but there are plenty more.

That’s the thing about Gettysburg, there is always something new to find.

            Thanks for reading.

Gettysburg: Sun spots and fun shots

                The battlefield at Gettysburg is a great place for a photographer. There are challenges, but there are terrific opportunities as well.

          I strongly recommend a visit and that the visitor bring along a camera.

The memorial to the Confederate soldiers and sailors.

          But I also recommend, very strongly, that the visitor do a little pre-visit reading about the battle. Even if you just read a little bit of the history, come here with a basic understanding of what happened. You’ll walk with respect and I think you’ll enjoy your visit more, too.

          After my early start, the battlefield was filling up by noon today and I headed back to the air-conditioned hotel room to download this morning’s photographs. I found a few fun shots.

          One is a sun shot at the memorial for Confederate soldiers and sailors, taken from behind the statue. This is actually a fairly simple image to capture if the sun and subject line up together. This type of shot needs more time to execute than I gave it in order to really create a good image.

The more traditional view of the same monument.

          The Confed soldier/sailor memorial (my shorthand) is on the southern end of the Confederate line that starts along Seminary Ridge. I have added a more traditional shot of the same monument.

I really like the colors in this image, the red, white
and blue popping out of the deep greens. The solid
gray of the rocks set a nice weight to the image.

          Also included in today’s blog is a small toy flag I found a few steps outside of the 20^th Maine’s line on Little Round Top. The flag stick is about six inches tall. The flag itself is a replica of one of the Confederate national flags, so it seems logical that the flag was positioned by a visitor to indicate approximately how close the fighting was in that location on the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

Ever ready to defend Little Round
Top, the statue atop the
memorial to the 83rd Pennsylvania.

          The final shot of the day was also taken from the ledge defended by the Maine men. This one shows the statue atop the memorial to the men of the 83^rd Pennsylvania as seen through the trees between the two locations. The 83^rd was the regiment directly to the right of the 20^th during the defense of Little Round Top. The flank position markers for the 83rd, which are not shown here, are also very well done.

          I hope you’ve enjoyed the blogs from Gettysburg. Thanks for reading.