…from the hot and windy beaches of the Southern Coast.
NOLA was a treat. I was always a fan of the architecture, cuisine, and music of the deep-south, french-infused, jazz-creating community. I wandered up and down Bourbon Street, walked through Jackson Square, explored St. Louis Cemetary No.3, and got lost in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden.
Some of my favorite human expressions are social and aesthetic elements juxtaposing one another in regional combination. I’m going to parallel a theme from one of my favorite games: God of War.
There is a character in it named Brok, who is explaining the finer points of Dwarven magic. He states, “The nature of a thing is more important than the form of a thing”. In that sense, understanding something lies beyond appearance or rote function. By considering the internal characteristics and instances that make up what it is, we may appreciate the form with more clarity.
While driving the steep incline of the Richard Arrington Jr Blvd in Birmingham looking for a place to eat, I was greeted by an imposing statue at the top of a stairway holding a hammer and pointing out over the city.
Further curiosity confirmed that it was a portrayal of the Roman God Vulcan, and the largest cast-iron statue in the world. Sculpted in 1904 by Giuseppe Moretti, it is composed of 29 separate pieces, each internally bolted together to create the awe-inspiring scale. At the base of the staircase was a plaque telling the story of the Red Mountain Park’s creation and raising of funds to transport the massive sculpture in 1938 by the Kiwanis Club. The dramatic lighting at the base was built in 2017, putting the total time between all events over 100 years!
Building something timeless requires a multi generational investment of time. Like the segments of the Vulcan Statue, it involves interdisciplinary teams representing unique components, and a core idea compelling enough to be executed at each phase to reality.
There’s this little island off the southern Gulf Coast you have to cross a series of long bridges to get to. The views are tranquil on sunny days and treacherous on stormy ones.
To compensate for frequent flooding, homes are on stilted foundations. Some appear to be raised at least 10 feet off the ground. Near the end of the island where the elevation drops below sea level, most of the street is flooded, with ducks and birds swimming around road signs.
Elevated bases are not just important infra-structurally. In ancient civilizations, obelisks are a pyramid set on a trapezoidal prism, symbolizing a latitude between earth and beyond. The Freemasons adapted the symbol as inspiration for the Washington Monument, even shipping a 3500 year old original from Heliopolis Egypt and planting it nearby the MOMA in Central Park.
Which brings us back to the homes on Dauphin Island. Surely the first requirement of a foundation is that it’s engineered with stable forms and sound materials. Another characteristic to consider is if it’s set above the plane of disruption.
In a hotel lobby I struck up conversation with an elderly fellow wearing a hat that read “God ♥️s You.”
“Why does God love You?”, I asked him. He proceeded to tell me about his youth and time growing up on the South Side of Chicago, and how he had survived a gunshot wound to the head …twice. The pistol was fired so close the muzzle flare burned his chest. He pointed to a dimpled scar on his forehead where the projectile entered, and informed me doctors were unable to retrieve the bullet and it was still lodged in the back of his skull. The event drastically changed his vector: from a life of chaos, to a life of searching, to a life of purpose.
He wasn’t able to get to the second story, as he had to leave to help with an outreach initiative in the area. As he exited the front door I took a photo to remind myself that tomorrow is not guaranteed. How many unforeseen incidents could have marked the last day for any of us? We are all living extra lives.
If we each make an effort to navigate from this vantage point, perhaps decision making can be more clear than the day before.
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center serves as the Official NASA Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Home to Space Camp, Aviation Challenge Camp, Space Camp Robotics, and U.S. Cyber Camp the it is the most comprehensive U.S. manned spaceflight hardware museum in the world.
The full exhibit is an inspiration to behold, especially the Saturn V Rocket on display: at 363 ft, it towers higher than the Statue of Liberty. Under the Saturn Rocket were scientists that worked on various components of the program, eagerly sharing their stories and recollections of history. It was great swapping stories of their engineering insights and my creative contributions to NASA OPSPARC. It got me to thinking that before the rocket was manifest, it was an idea in the minds of those building them.
...But what are they, anyway?
I have an idea about ideas. Much like energy in the universe, I don’t think they are created or destroyed. Somewhere in the recesses of our mind, like Carl Sagan’s Spaceship of Imagination, we are folding space/time to travel where they exist, bringing them back to our local coordinates.
In that respect, anything made whether it be a piece of art, a composition of music, or an instructional blueprint is more the result of data transmission (∿) than linear output. Either way, it’s a fun mindset to build from. It frees the creator from ego attached to the idea, and celebrates the process as part of a larger continuum.
While in Pennsylvania, I drove through the town of Hershey which is known for its candy bars and theme park.
What I didn’t know until then was the presence of Hershey Story Museum on Chocolate Ave. I wandered in, excited to get more of the story behind Milton Hershey and the candy making method.
I was suprised by the social innovation accomplished beyond consumables and products. Milton encouraged his employees to invest and become home owners in the community his company helped to engineer and build; with residential areas, recreation centers, and structures of the town remaining and operating to this day.
In any industry, short gains are inherent to whatever supply chain, manufacturing process, and development product “x” requires. As an organization scales innovation farther and outward, the tighter it is bound to the inward needs of understanding, community, and autonomy of those involved.
Part of the journey that’s been gratifying is catching up with close friends.
One of them I hadn’t seen in 7 years, since his wedding. Much of our conversations revolved around what each of us have learned in our personal and professional lives since that time. We kept coming back to the theme of “flow state”, and the critical role integrity and values play in unlocking it. His wife gifted me a bracelet from the little words project.
I put it on before my watch every morning to remind me to give up more control and surrender to the process.
For this year, events and convictions have re-oriented life to a new, transforming path.
I am challenging myself to pause the usual routine to make way for perspective and serendipity. More intention, less haste. More real-world, less filters. Internal and external growth often requires travel to places physically and mentally, listening to the stories being told, and building anew from there.
The roads and trails are calling, and I will write here about people and places along the Way.
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.- excerpt from "The Riddle of Strider", by J.R.R. Tolkien
