Fall Colors

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Fall colors seen along State Route 288 near Young, Arizona

This weekend, we took a drive on the last untraveled road as far as our Arizona travels are concerned. State Route 288 winds its way over the Sierra Ancha mountains and through the Tonto National Forest on the way to the remote community of Young, Arizona, in the idyllic high country area known as Pleasant Valley. We came up from the south via Mesa, Superior, and Globe, turning off at Roosevelt Lake, catching about 25 miles of pavement before hitting about 45 miles of packed dirt and gravel, offering awesome views and diverse vegetation, including pine forests. The roads within the town of Young are paved, but just outside of town, on our way north to catch Highway 260 towards Payson, the asphalt gives way again to dirt for another 26 miles. Taking a break from the gorgeous drive in Young, we stopped to pet and say hi to three donkeys, which grabbed the attention of four short-legged ponies and a horse who trotted over to share the attention. After that, we found a bite to eat and some conversation with Bill and Alice at Alice’s Restaurant and Cantina – open every day but Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the bar stays open till 1:00 a.m.

Rangoli for Diwali

JWise Photo of the Day

Caroline Wise helping draw a Rangoli for Diwali in Phoenix,Arizona

Another year, another Diwali, and with it comes a Rangoli celebrating this joyous time of year – well for Hindus anyway. Caroline is seen here helping Rinku, who actually drew the Rangoli. Caroline helps fill in the color. And this brings me to a point that also might help answer a question, what am I doing recognizing Diwali? Heck, I would like to celebrate everyone’s holidays. We are approaching the end of Ramadan in a few days and Eid al-Fitr is upon us as the Festival of Breaking the Fast – it is feasting time and Muslims are obligated to share their blessings, naturally, I’m all for that. In a little more than a week, Mexicans will celebrate Los Dias De Los Muertos or The Days of the Dead – great, let’s celebrate our relatives who have passed. End of November is Thanksgiving, let’s ask the world to feast on our celebration day, too. Next up we have Chanukah, Christmas, New Years’, Valentine’s Day, and four days after that is the Chinese New Year. If we are going to have globalized business, I’m voting for globalized holidays!

Higher Education

JWise Photo of the Day

Clouds reflecting off the glass facade of a building

Beyond the walls of higher education, up in the sky, clouds slink by admiring themselves in the reflection of the glass facades of anonymous buildings. Caroline meanwhile is hidden away behind these windows taking yet another final on her quest for the almighty degree. Another English class trounced her confidence as she sheepishly crept through the door to face her terror. This dread of taking tests is an age-old bane of Caroline’s as she has been tormented in her dreams by them in addition to worrying about them in her waking days and hours prior to taking exams. Her knees buckle as she attempts to console herself with the idea that if she can just get the minimum she just might pass the course – and of course, she gets another A. Sheesh, what a drama queen I’m married to.

Signage: Inviting

JWise Photo of the Day

Homemade sign at intersection announcing a "Yard Sale"

Homemade and primitive, but not illegal, this inviting sign is also of a temporary nature, camouflaging a warning. This yard sale announcement may be an invitation to find bargains or possibly even undervalued treasures for some, yet I see it for what it is, a warning that someone with too much junk is wanting to make a few bucks from someone else wanting more junk. While I grudgingly accept that this is better than dumping the lot in the trash to find its way into a landfill, my solution is to simply haul it off to a charity, take the tax deduction, and allow my worn stuff to become someone else’s almost new stuff for a good cause. Maybe being a guy and hating shopping adds to my disdain.

Signage: Warning

JWise Photo of the Day

A "Restricted Area Warning" sign from a United States military installation in Frankfurt, Germany

During the early 1990s, Caroline and I met a Canadian bike messenger from the London, Ontario, area who fell in love with Germany after attending a race in Berlin and decided to stick around for a while. Ian Gordon was that Canadian, somehow he landed in Frankfurt, and one fateful day I ran into him at the hot local hot record shop of that time called Delirium. Ian often visited our little office where we attempted to make record covers and various other 3D psychedelic information. Shortly before Caroline and I moved to the United States, Ian stopped over for an ‘evening’, leaving quite late to go contemplate the language of trees when he stumbled upon this sign from the Frankfurt Abrams Complex – the U.S. Army’s 5th Corp Headquarters at the time. Today the sign makes its place on a wall in our bathroom. Thank you, Ian Gordon.

Signage: Temporary

JWise Photo of the Day

Vinyl banner from Airpark Banner and Signs in Scottsdale, Arizona

Need a sign that’s not spray-painted on an alley wall late at night? Don’t need to render Britney Spears on a five-story LCD? Maybe what you need is a temporary sign. Low cost, colorful, quick, and easy to acquire, a vinyl sign just might do the trick. This four-foot-wide, eighteen-inch-high banner was done the same day as ordered and cost about $80 including tax. Probably my favorite of temporary signs though would be the freeway overpass with chain link fence where someone presses paper or plastic cups into the mesh to spell out a personal message.