Plaque on a bench. In loving memory of Linda Sanford Fleming our Coronado Queen. July 4, 1938 – May 6, 2005. From her devoted family and friends.
During my walk last Saturday I rested for a bit on a bench near Coronado’s City Hall. After looking about the beautiful place, I noticed most of the nearby benches featured memorial plaques. I read a few and was touched by words of love and optimism.
Perhaps you’d enjoy seeing a few of these plaques…
A few tranquil paths near Coronado’s City Hall feature benches where one can rest and enjoy the day’s sunshine.A plaque on another bench. In loving memory – Clarence and Mary Muirhead – 65 year Coronado residents fondly remembered by their family.Bicyclist rides past City of Coronado City Hall, next to San Diego Bay. Coronado Shores buildings, near the Pacific Ocean, rise in the background.In memory of June Lenz, founder of Crown Garden Club, whose legacy was to encourage the love of flowers and the beautification of Coronado.In honor of Sue and Bill Williams. Look at the sunny side and make your optimism come true.More benches offer a view of boats in the nearby Glorietta Bay Marina.In memory of Kathy Griffin, beloved daughter and sister. July 25, 1959 – July 28, 2006. What we have lost Heaven has gained. Love family and friends.In loving memory of Lloyd McKinley Harmon. August 1, 1891 – September 16, 1968. Mayor of Coronado in 1952 and 1953 … and Olive Genevieve Harmon. July 4, 1907 – April 3, 2005. Absent but Dear.A sailboat out on the wide blue water.Ensign Van Andrew Wilson, U.S. Navy SEAL. September 3, 1982 – January 26, 2006. His training was finished here. He achieved his goal. The greatest mission lies ahead.
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Naomi was born in Prague in 1932. She and her parents were sent by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt ghetto and forced to work. The family was then sent to Auschwitz and at age 12, Naomi was murdered.
Today I discovered an inspired project that helps school students learn about the Holocaust, and how to fight injustice and bullying.
The Butterfly Project had a special event this afternoon at the San Diego History Center. By pure chance I saw a sign for the event as I walked through Balboa Park.
Inside the San Diego History Center, I watched as compassionate visitors painted ceramic butterflies–one for each child who perished in the Holocaust.
Then I heard presentations by two speakers who had family members endure the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust. These powerful presentations, complete with photographs and touchable artifacts, are often made to students in school classrooms. The presentations encourage Hope, Optimism, Kindness, Dignity and the Power of One. I learned how there were amazing instances where the courage of one person against brutal Nazis saved many innocent lives in labor and concentration camps.
One person can speak out. One person can take risks for others. One positive person can change many lives.
According to their mission statement, The Butterfly Project is a call to action through the arts, using the lessons of the Holocaust to educate about the dangers of hatred and bigotry through the painting of ceramic butterflies, permanently displayed around the world to memorialize each of the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.
The Butterfly Project seeks to partner with anyone that has or wants to build a connection to history, honoring those who died in the Holocaust. They want to get their beautiful, symbolic butterflies into schools, museums and community centers. They want to be included in classrooms across the country as an important part of Holocaust and anti-bullying education.
Can you help? Click this link to learn how to get involved.
Will you be that one person who steps forward?
An event to raise awareness about The Butterfly Project was held at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.Ceramic butterflies are painted. Each one symbolizes a young person who died as a result of the Holocaust.Some hands add color to the butterflies.Bronislaw almost escaped the Nazis hidden in a suitcase, then in a backpack. Seven year-old Bronislaw was discovered and shot.Holding up a labor camp uniform worn during the Holocaust. Presentations to students make the Holocaust real, and encourage positive, compassionate action.One presentation shows the tragic journey of one man who was sent to multiple concentration camps. He ran into a forest during a forced death march and escaped.The yellow badge that Nazis forced Jewish people to wear during the Holocaust.Painted butterflies recall innocent lives lost. With hope, purpose and courage, we can fight inhumanity and teach kindness.
People walk past the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s building at America Plaza.
I recently noticed new thought-provoking graphics in the windows of the MCASD building at America Plaza.
Last year, a survey was taken of 100 people passing through America Plaza. Questions were asked about racial and ethnic identity. Today an outdoor display at downtown’s Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego expands on the results and explores the complicated subject.
The window graphics are designed to catch the eye and draw visitors into the nearby gallery.
This project was produced by artists with students from local colleges in San Diego and Tijuana who participated in Transnational Seminar 1, lead by Collective Magpie.
On April 20th, 100 pedestrians took a survey here in America Plaza about race and ethnicity. Self-classification data was compiled.Of the 100 surveyed, 83 answered mixed race; 14 white people; 3 people of color.Feelings about racial identity can differ from person to person.One of two panels containing some of the racial and ethnic categories that a person might choose.A splash of words, asking people walking down Kettner Boulevard what the ultimate definition of race is…People might feel differently about their racial identity depending on a range of factors and circumstances, from their appearance…to their dreams…to their immediate environment…to the way they live.Thought-provoking graphics concerning race in the windows of MCASD’s building at America Plaza.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
As I journey through the city I often see mysterious visions underfoot, produced by unknown hands. They are the dreams of wandering souls, made visible.
Dreams of the searchers . . . the restless . . .
Wherever you happen to walk, countless others have walked.
Free yourself, with a heart.Grace, one step up from fallen leaves.
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This morning I wrote a short story titled One Thousand Likes. It touches upon the human heart, the pleasure produced by facile happiness, and the dark, isolating effect of social media.
I spent another New Year’s Day by sparkling San Diego Bay. My feet seemed drawn to the water, as predictably as the Earth orbits the Sun. The rippling water and sea breeze always makes me feel reborn.
Today I walked from the Hilton San Diego Bayfront to a spot north of the Grape Street Pier, not quite as far as the Coast Guard Station.
Come along and we will relive the journey. Even on a relatively quiet New Year’s Day, we’ll observe fishermen, boaters, bicyclists, musicians, artists, friends and families. We will move through life.
One forward step leads to another.
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Spaces from Yesterday is a collaborative exhibition at the SDSU Downtown Gallery featuring the art projects of three San Quentin inmates. (Click image to enlarge for easier reading.)
There’s a fascinating exhibition right now at the SDSU Downtown Gallery. It’s titled Spaces from Yesterday and features the artwork of three San Quentin inmates.
The artwork was created in collaboration with San Quentin State Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho, who also has a few related pieces in the exhibition. But the work that I found most interesting came directly from the hands of the inmates.
All three of the artists summon happy memories from their childhood. These images are warm, but also hard-edged and unpeopled. One work, The Hallway by Dennis Crookes, almost looks like a long, harsh, narrow prison hallway that finally leads to a home’s light-filled kitchen.
I could find no explanation why these three were incarcerated in the San Quentin correctional complex, which contains California’s only death row for male inmates. That would seem to be an essential part of the story, and might explain certain qualities of the art. But the anecdotes that are written do reveal a common yearning for a past life that is fondly remembered.
The following photos show a description of each piece, followed by the actual artwork.
Spaces from Yesterday will be on display through January 28, 2018. Those interested in art, creativity, and often hidden aspects of human life should check it out. Admission to the SDSU Downtown Gallery is free.
Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho and Dennis Crookes began planning The Hallway collaboration while Crookes was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.The Hallway, Dennis Crookes, acrylic on canvas, 2016.The Garage, a collaboration with inmate Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., contains warm memories from a playful childhood.The Garage, Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., mixed media on cardboard, 2016.Chanthon Bun painted memories from a childhood that included a play fort in an abandoned lot, comic books, baseball cards and a fish pond he created with his siblings and young relatives.The Last Summer, Chanthon Bun, acrylic on canvas, 2017.
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Whenever I forget to look closely at the world, I miss the hidden beauty. And the unexpected inspiration.
These photographs were all taken today at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park.
This special garden’s breathtaking beauty has inspired several very short stories. I wrote A Short Bloom, The Child and the Koi and Waterfall Tears while sitting quietly by the stream that bubbles through the canyon.
I hope these photos–these small scenes of beauty–inspire you, too.
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A few dead leaves cling to branches that frame a new skyscraper.
The days pass by.
Memories gather . . . slowly fade.
Whenever I walk downtown, I see visions right and left of what is old and what is new. It’s often hard to remember how and when those visions first appeared.
I suppose the passage of time makes every walk a completely new adventure. Always new surprises, new mysteries, new beauty to discover.
Here are a few photos of my walk through downtown San Diego this morning.
Every time I walk near Seaport Village, my eyes pass different buskers and an ever-changing gallery of art.A beautiful windblown feather and I meet for a moment.Removing what is discarded and unwanted.A fountain near the entrance of San Diego’s Old Police Headquarters, now a destination for shopping and dining. I visited this building decades ago. I suppose the fountain is original, but I cannot remember.A colorful bird painted on a utility box near Pantoja Park seems just as alive as when I first saw it years ago.Dying leaves turn to the same color as new paint.A sculpture titled Flame Flower stands in front of the Westin Gaslamp. Years ago an obelisk rose here–5 or 6 or 7 years ago. I can’t remember.These bricks of a Gaslamp building appear to have been patched long ago.A once fashionable car turns to rust.Every so often entrances to the Gaslamp’s subterranean clubs are painted with intriguing new artwork.The building on Broadway that was home to Superfly West Tattoos is being demolished to make room for a new downtown high-rise condo development.The front of the YWCA building on C Street has remained unchanged since its design in 1926. The ornate Spanish Colonial Revival architecture was made popular by the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park.Shoveling weathered stones. Wheeling them about.Another walk through the city as time moves forward.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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