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His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji is a visionary saint, whose motto is to establish World Peace by uniting all the inhabitants of the world into one ‘Global Family’ practising Universal brotherhood & human values. His Holiness’s approach transcends the utmost differences of caste, creed, race, class, gender, faith & nationality. Inspired by His Holiness’s appeal, millions of people revere Him as their Spiritual Guru, and experience inner peace, Bliss and harmony.
Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan Founded and headed by Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji is a global network, a mission committed to establishing peace in human mind & actions. Ultimately translating the concept of World Peace into a tangible reality and creating universal culture of peace
Vision:
“From Self Awakening to Global Peace.”
Mission:
“To usher into a world wherein every individual becomes an embodiment of truth, fraternity, and justice through the eternal science of self-realization – ‘Brahm Gyan’, uprooting in its wake all social evils and threat.”
Website : djjs.org
TRACKS ON CD...Dahlia
1) Dreamz
2) Withering Flowerz
3) If walls couls speak
4) My Eyes Adore you
5) Something inside my heart
6) A star is born
7)Heartbrake and Solitude
8) Circuitry
9) this fire
10) rock out
11)The Fashion Iconz
12) you dont love me
13) in the last place on earth
14) miracles
15) Top Doll!
16) the black Dahlia
answears about dahlia
1- how long have you been doing your talent?
answear: I was born with a song in my heart, and music in my body..i have been singing since the day i could say i love you mommy
2- what is unique, and special about my talent is that when i am on stage singing songs i have written, you can really feel the essence of who i am, and what i am feeling..
i would like to thank top doll for letting me share my talent with all of you
love Dahlia :o)
10/53 Realization
Today I finally surfed again, paddled out to Rockaway beach, 51 degree water, winds offshore, 3-4ft waves and it just hit me, Happiness. My heart is so full. I realize that it doesn't take much to be happy, serving Jah, a Board and some waves:) so forget about that girl and Gaining her affections, forget about what those people think of your decisions and the ways you want to go with your life, forget about what people say, Forget about what you don't have right now, forget about your problems that you cant solve right this instant, and be happy. We have a long way to go in this life, so why not walk the road happy, Jah will bless you with that special someone, you will stick to Jehovah and live the life that makes you happy, not anyone else, you will have what you need and more, and those problems will be solved when that day comes. i know that this moment of clarity might become clouded in time again so thats why i write this to remember and to help me realize this again when i need it. All this will require work, but being Happy is worth it.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reasons for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality." - Albert Einstein
My entry for the www.diyphotography.net/bag-o-goodies-assignment-sports.
This young lad had what should have been a calk-walk, the closest opposing player was #24 (green & white jersey) some 30 ft away and open field behind him to the end-zone. The ball arching beautifully through the evening sky into this young man's hands, or so we all thought.
I still recall Coach Pyne's calm, but sardonic tone echoing across the field "We catch the ball with our hands...remember?".
Strobist how-to / setup / lighting info:
No on or off-camera flash used, this is standard community college football field stadium lighting (read: awful!). Using a Canon 1D Mk III with EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM (fast lens), cranked up to ISO 3200 aperture wide-open I was lucky to squeeze out a half decent image at 1/400th sec.
-Rolleiflex Automat 6x6 - Model K4B
-Agfa APX 100
-Gelatin silver lith print 16"x20" ©2000
-Kentmere Fineprint VC F.G. Warmtone Matte
I just created a blog. Why? Well because I have decided to pick up my cross and take up a challenge for me to take a verse of the bible every week ponder upon it and then make a design for it. Yes wish me luck no there is no such thing but there is God. Also I have no real knowledge of how to use Illustrator so I will try my best! Enjoy
I just got off the phone with sasha, and because the realization was so important, I need to document it.
She called me to tell me her thoughts about a movie we watched tonight. i'd found it so hopeful, and inspiring, and she was not so sure. she called to tell me she thought the main character was selfish – he had gone through the entire movie not thinking of anyone but himself. His wife, though also lost, had tried to improve their life together, only to be turned away, numbly. His son had run away from home, and the main character didn't do any more than read the note he'd left and sit down. He felt so completely numb, and closed off, until he opened up to this girl, this girl he happened to love, and suddenly felt things.
I couldn't disagree on how selfish he was, but I still felt as strongly hopeful, and didn't like him any less. It concerned me a bit how much I related to him, and all of a sudden, we started talking about my innermost emotions.
The last time I felt so fulfilled was just before I left California, and when I went back a year later to regain that feeling, things had changed. I had tried moving to Boston, to find it no different. I had tried moving home, to the same effect. I tried going to bars, shows, dates. Things I didn't want to do, but figured people would be there. I hung out with friends, and I didn't understand why sometimes I could still drive home feeling unsatisfied, as if after an entire evening together, we'd only really chatted about the weather.
It took a while of opening up before I realized much at all. I admitted, out loud to a real human being, how lonely I've been. How much I hold myself responsible for my own unhappiness in the past year. How I feel like I failed by leaving LA in the first place, leaving a fantastic happy Micah to be a depressed and despondent one, but that all the things I'd tried, moving from Boston to LA again, and everything in between, had failed horribly. I didn't expect there was anything more I could do – that I've felt that no matter what I try, I can't get it right. I said all these things out loud to a person, quite probably for the first time.
And here's where the hope comes in, and here's where the benefit of it lies. She saw things differently, she let me get things out, she analyzed a bit. It isn't that I haven't been trying to change my state of mind; maybe I've been going about it the wrong way. But I truly did not know the right way, I felt like I'd tried everything. I had only myself to count on, and I beat myself up for making the mistakes I've made. She didn't tell me not to – she suggested that I might need to open up to people. I'm so closed, I really am. I haven't talked about any of this. I'm not honest all the time, and I just don't trust people besides myself. And I'm starting to not trust myself, while I'm at it. People are best when they count on other people, when they lean and let lean, when they push and pull, but most of what I've been doing is pushing.
I've taught myself to be confident before – to trust my instincts, to be proud of the things I do, to appreciate most of who I am. And learning those things was what made California as great as it was. But in that time, I had one very convenient tool at my disposal. I was in a school, surrounded by people like me, surrounded by tons of people that were easy to meet. And I worked on all the other parts, except how to meet and trust and appreciate other people, because it was provided for me. But now, and for the past year, I haven't had that. And that's the piece, that I can see now at least, that's missing. And shit, that's just one piece, I've done more difficult things with less to go on before. I can do that.
Really, this past year I've felt a whole lot of hopeless, and opening up tonight gave me a little hope. Which, at the moment, looks like proof that this could work. A little hope makes a huge difference.
Sometimes all you need is a walk in the woods. There is not much it can't fix! There is an energy in nature that is all to often missing in modern society. It is a primordial need that we should feed. Spending time in nature regularly needs to become a bigger focus of our society.
Concept, design and realization of the "Museum Mansio Sebatum", a Museum about ancient roman history in the Pustertal Valley (South Tyrol, Italy).
(c) www.gruppegut.it
A beautiful, joyous place. Be sure to see for yourself if you have the opportunity.
www.yelp.com/biz/self-realization-fellowship-hermitage-an...
realization of the day: removing the battery alone doesn't make it safe to open hardware. capacitors are evil.
Harpa color series. The Iceland landscape was phenomenal, but I continued to be fascinated by the Harpa, which is the performing arts center. The architecture is stunning and inspired a burst of creativity.
---- looking for Lady Florence .... ----
The mausoleum of Lady Florence Trevelyan: this is the bust on which the mold was made for the realization of the bronze bust which is located in the public garden of Taormina.
Mrs. Maria, nice and very kind person, is the owner and affectionate guardian of the mausoleum where lie the mortal remains of Lady Florence (location "Francisi" Castelmola). (Originally the tomb of Florence was about 50-100 meters from here, looking like a tomb from the Roman era, then partly collapsed, perhaps following the terrible earthquake of Messina in 1908 ).
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Il mausoleo di Lady Florence Trevelyan: questo è il busto sul quale venne realizzato il calco per la realizzazione del busto i bronzo che si trova nel giardino pubblico di Taormina.
La signora Maria, persona squisita e gentilissima, è la proprietaria e custode affezionatissima del mausoleo dove giacciono le spoglie mortali di Lady Florence (località "Francisi", Castelmola). (Originariamente la tomba di Florence si trovava a circa 50-100 metri da qui, assomigliante ad una tomba di epoca romana, come se ne trovano diverse nei dintorni di Taormina, successivamente in parte crollò, forse in seguito al terribile terremoto di Messina del 1908).
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This is a short and long collection of photographs, almost all made in Taormina (Sicily), and is divided into two parts: the first part I have included a few pictures, I put a few moments I catched in the alleys of the small Sicilian town, in the second part (the first to appear on Flickr) in which I tried to rebuild and at the same time to remember the singular feminine figure of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman, lover of art, botany, ornithology, travels, the arts magical and esoteric; she loved animals, but actively helped a lot of people; Taormina is to her that owes much of its luck; this Lady, hosting famous people of the time, contributed not a little to make known the beauty of this village Siculo to the whole world (and she improved and embellished much Taormina).
Lady Florence was born in Hallington On February 7, 1852, but soon became an orphan at the age of two years (his father committed suicide in 1854); his mother Catherine Anne was the maid of honor of Queen Victoria: the Queen which became attached enormously to Florence, and the Queen loved her like a true daughter. Florence at age 27, in 1879 was forced to leave everything to face a long journey lasting more than two years (Lady Florence fell prey to the notorius charms of the future Edward VII, who was already married; this sort of thing never went over well with Victoria, so Florence was asked to leave England). Lady Florence returned to his homeland for a short period, to be again driven out for an exiled perennial: She never returned to England (though, a generous monthly annuity was given hers on the orders of the Queen Victoria). Florence traveled widely, reached India, went to Burma, arrived in Australia she performed as a singer, and then finally arrive in February 1884 in Taormina: here you will stay until the end of his life (she died October 4, 1907 ). At Taormina she met the then mayor, the rich prof. Salvatore Cacciola, doctor, passionate student and Grand Master of Freemasonry: it is said that Lady Florence fell in love when she sought his help to cure "Sun", one of his dogs; from here to their wedding was a short step.
Lady florence bought several lots of land, created the current Public Garden of Taormina, planted olive trees, cypresses, exotic trees, and built those features buildings in oriental style; She bought by the former mayor the "Isola Bella" (She built an house and She planted trees and exotic plants, Mediterranean pines, as well as the inevitable cypress); She bought many arid and barren lands around Taormina (Mount Venus, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) and they become rich in vegetation, with many farmers she had taught the art of the English garden. Many people went knocking to her door, in financial difficulties, usually farmers and fishermen (also Oscar Wilde, disgraced by charges of homosexuality, received financial aid from Lady Florence), She made a major sewing school for young girls of Taormina, and instituted for their 87 wedding dowries. Fate was once again mocking her: the only child she had named Edward, died in childbirth. It was in use at the time, bathing in bathtubs filled with cold water of the sea (even the photographer Von Gloeden was addicted to this habit), but this proved fatal, Lady Florence died of pneumonia at the age of 55. For her express wish, She was buried in a district of Castelmola (accompanied by large numbers of Sicilian people, it tells of an endless line, to the sound of "ciaramelle", which reminded her bagpipes of her distant Scotland), district called "Francisi" in her memory (this term according to a medieval custom). In her will, Lady Florence forced heirs not to hunt in his vast possessions, not to build, and to accept and to help dogs and birds. Lady Florence was the first woman (not only in Sicily) to be allowed to be part of Freemasonry.
The writer Guido Gozzano, was inspired by Lady Florence, when he wrote the novel "Alcina".
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Questa è una raccolta di fotografie breve e lunga, quasi tutte realizzate a Taormina (Sicilia), raccolta che ho diviso in due parti: nella prima parte ho inserito alcuni ritratti, ho messo alcuni momenti colti nei vicoli del piccolo paese Siciliano, nella seconda parte (la prima ad apparire su Flickr) ho tentato di ricostruire, ed al contempo ricordare, la singolarissima figura di Lady Florence Trevelyan, una nobildonna Inglese amante dell'arte, della botanica, della ornitologia, dei viaggi, delle arti magiche ed esoteriche; lei, che fu una convinta animalista ante litteram, non si limitò ad amare solo gli animali, ma aiutò fattivamente persone di ogni ceto sociale, ebbe ricchezze ma al tempo stesso pagò prezzi altissimi in sofferenza e dolore: Taormina deve a lei molta della sua fortuna, poichè questa Lady, ospitando nei suoi possedimenti illustri e famosi personaggi dell'epoca, contribuì non poco a far conoscere al mondo intero le bellezze di questo paesino Siculo (ella stessa migliorò ed abbellì ancor più Taormina).
Lady Florence nacque in quel di Hallington il 7 febbraio del 1852, divenne ben presto orfana all'età di due anni ( il padre morì suicida nel 1854); sua mamma Catherine Anne era la dama di compagnia della regina Vittoria, la quale regina si affezionò enormemente a Florence, sì da amarla come una vera figlia. All'età di 27 anni, nel 1879 venne imposto a Florence di lasciare l'Inghilterra per affrontare un lungo viaggio, che sarà della durata di più di due anni (si ipotizza per farle dimenticare una relazione che non sarebbe mai dovuta accadere, col figlio della regina Vittoria, il futuro re Edoardo VII, che a quel tempo era già sposato; sembra che non sia stata affatto la gelosia della moglie di Edoardo, bensì la rigidità della madre Vittoria a decretarne l'esilio). Lady Florence dopo questo primo viaggio ritornò nella sua Inghilterra, ma vi restò ben poco, infatti dopo un brevissimo periodo Lady Florence venne nuovamente allontanata in esilio, e questa volta lo sarà per sempre: Florence non ritornerà mai più nella sua Inghilterra (un generoso vitalizio mensile le fu dato comunque su ordine della stessa Regina Vittoria, ovvio che ciò le fu indispensabile, essendo così lontana da casa). Florence viaggiò molto, raggiunse l'India, andò in Birmania, giunta in Australia si esibì come cantante, per poi infine giungere nel febbraio del 1884 a Taormina: qui vi resterà fino all'ultimo dei suoi giorni (lei morirà il 4 ottobre 1907). A Taormina ebbe modo di conoscere l'allora sindaco, il ricco prof. Salvatore Cacciola, medico, appassionato studioso e Gran Maestro della Massoneria: si racconta che Lady Florence se ne innamorò quando lei cercò l'aiuto del medico per curare "Sole", uno dei suoi cani; da qui al loro matrimonio, il passo fu breve.
Lady florence acquistò numerosi lotti di terreno, realizzò l'attuale Giardino Pubblico, vi piantò ulivi, cipressi, alberi esotici, costruì quelle caratteristiche costruzioni in stile birmano-orientale; acquistò dall'ex sindaco L'Isola Bella (vi costruì una casetta, e l'Isola, che altro non era che un ammasso brullo di scogli, divenne rigogliosa come la vediamo oggi, vi piantò alberi e piante esotiche, pini mediterranei, nonchè gli immancabili cipressi, così presenti in quasi tutta la cittadina); acquistò numerosi terreni intorno a Taormina (Monte Venere, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) sicchè da aridi e brulli che erano, li fece diventare ricchi di vegetazione (infatti aveva al soldo numerosi contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese). Alla sua porta andarono a bussare numerose persone in difficoltà economiche, in genere contadini e pescatori, mai fu chiusa loro la porta... (anche Oscar Wilde, caduto in disgrazia per l'accusa di omosessualità, ricevette un aiuto finanziario dalla Lady); realizzò una importante scuola di cucito per le giovanette di Taormina, dando loro la possibilità di potersi mantenere da sole; istituì 87 doti di matrimonio per le ragazze Taorminesi (all'epoca una ragazza senza dote non aveva molte possibilità di formarsi una famiglia). Il destino infine fu ancora una volta beffardo con lei: l'unico figlio che lei ebbe, di nome Edoardo, morì durante il parto, il padre era un medico, tentò di rianimarlo, ma non ci fu nulla da fare. Era in uso all'epoca, fare bagni nelle vasche da bagno ricolme di acqua gelata di mare (anche il fotografo Von Gloeden era dedito a tale usanza, ma lui usava immergersi in acqua di mare calda, riuscendo a trovare in questa forma di talassoterapia una cura per la tisi, della quale era affetto): questa usanza fu fatale a Lady Florence, che morì di broncopolmonite a 55 anni di età. Per suo esplicito desiderio, la Trevelyan fu seppellita in una contrada di Castelmola (accompagnata da tantissima gente del luogo, si racconta di una fila interminabile di persone, al suono delle zampogne, che le ricordavano le cornamuse della sua lontana Scozia); la contrada dove fu seppellita (in quella la Lady aveva un'altra dimora), fu chiamata "Francisi" in sua memoria (tale termine indicava, secondo una usanza medioevale, una generica provenienza straniera, qualinque essa fosse). Nel suo testamento Lady Florence obbligò gli eredi a non cacciare nei suoi vasti possedimenti, a non costruire, ad accogliere e curare cani ed uccellini. Lady Florence fu la prima donna ad essere ammessa a fare parte della massoneria. Importò in Sicilia les tableaux vivants (i quadri viventi) e anche le sfilate dei carri in fiori a Palermo. Lo scrittore Guido Gozzano scrisse il romanzo "Alcina" ispirandosi a Lei.
Museu Blau, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Spain
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron, project 2009-2010, realization 2010-2012
Relocating the Museum of Natural Sciences into the Forum Barcelona building signals the beginning of a new life cycle for both institutions: one where each mutually benefits from the space, program and potential of the other. With its large exterior and interior spaces and its reference to natural processes and shapes, the architecture of the Forum is a particularly appropriate new home for the relocated Museum. And the Museum of Natural Science promises to energetically revitalise the existing building, replacing vacant space with intense new public activities.
The open public space that marks the approach from the Diagonal and extends under the triangular body of the building is now diversified and activated, engaging with the life of the city. The corner addressing the city centre retains its function as the main public approach. This is enhanced by the three existing pavilions which are reconfigured to provide meeting places for groups and general information along the approach to the museum entrance. The second corner, further along the Diagonal is enlivened with lush external planting and the basin under the water patio. And finally, the corner addressing the sea is activated by a new exterior dining area for students and groups, adjacent to a bar which opens onto the plaza. The interior of the elevated triangular building, which is like a vast interior landscape, structured by patios, creates a specific space well suited to an exhibition of Natural science and to the Museum’s demand for growth and need to display more of its outstanding collection.
Architecture and Museography
The core of the Museum is its permanent exhibition. This consists of an outstanding collection of rocks and minerals, taxidermy, microbes, plants and herbariums, meteorites, scientific drawings, diagrams, fossils and skeletons, sounds and dioramas, gathered together over centuries in Barcelona. The exhibition consists of elements from the permanent collection structured around the concept of Gaia – the idea of a living planet which forms and is, in turn, transformed by life.
This exhibition arrangement follows the logic of the existing space and at the same time radically transforms it. It frees the visitor to explore any number of individual routes while still ensuring an overall logical sequence. It also extends into the museum lobby, where the main stair and the dramatically hung whale skeleton forms the central arrival and departure point for all public programs, including shop, restaurant, media library, classrooms, event spaces and temporary exhibition, as well as administration and support areas. The lobby extends down to the plaza connecting to the large covered public space of the Museu Blau, allowing for the visitor to invigorate the rapidly developing area where the Diagonal reaches the sea.
General Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton.
The United States Air Force Thunderbird's First African American Pilot.
The general was born in Ridgeland, S.C., where he graduated from Jasper High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aviation education from Tennessee State University, Nashville, where he was commissioned as a distinguished graduate through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1966.
After completing pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., in June 1967, he attended F-4D qualification training at George Air Force Base, Calif. He flew 269 combat missions from Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, including 79 missions over North Vietnam. The general was selected to join the U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, in November 1974. He held several positions including narrator, slot pilot and right wingman. From 1978 to 1982 he was assigned as an Air Force congressional liaison officer with the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. He has commanded three wings and an air division, and held numerous staff positions. From 1993 to 1995 he was director of operations, J-3, United States Special Operations Command. The general is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in the T-37, T-38, F-4, F-15, F-16, C-12 and F-117 stealth fighter. He assumed his current position in March 1997.
EDUCATION
1966 Bachelor of science degree in aviation education, Tennessee State University, Nashville
1978 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
1985 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C.
1985 Master of arts degree in public administration, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
1987 National Security Senior Executives Course, Harvard University, Mass.
When he was a teenager, Air Force Gen. Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton's father asked him and his brothers, "What's the most important four-letter word in the English language?"
The boys scratched their heads in deep thought, toying with such words as "love."
"No!" he said to all their answers. "The word is 'know,' as in 'knowledge.' "
"He told us, the more you know, the better off you're going to be," said Newton, 54, currently(2000) the Air Force's only African-American four-star general. "And now, I invite all youngsters to 'know.'
"For an individual who only went through the second grade, my dad was a very bright man with a very bright vision," Newton said. "My mother only went through the sixth grade."
For the first time in history, the three military departments have African-American four-star officers serving at the same time. The other two are Gen. Johnnie E. Wilson commander of the Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA.; and Adm. J. Paul Reason, commander of the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, VA.
Newton, commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph AFB, TX, is responsible for the recruiting, training and education of all Air Force personnel. His command includes the Air Force Recruiting Service, the 19th Air Force at Randolph, the 2nd Air Force at Kessler AFB, Mississippi and the Air University at Maxwell AFB, AL. His command consists of 13 bases and more than 43,000 active duty service members and 14,000 civilian employees.
As a youngster, Newton often stood in the fields of the family farm in Ridgeland, SC, watching airplanes flying overhead but not thinking about being a pilot, he said. At that time, military uniforms fascinated him more than airplanes.
"My second cousin was in the Army, and I always looked forward to him coming home in his uniform," Newton reflected. "I said, 'When I grow up, I really want to be like him.' "
His fascination with uniforms turned to airplanes at Tennessee State University in Nashville. "They had an aviation program at Tennessee State; ROTC was mandatory at that time," said Newton, who worked his way through college on work-study programs. "The advanced part of Air Force ROTC had some flying involved, so I changed my major to aviation. I got flying as part of my major curriculum as well as part of ROTC. That's when I really got interested."
Graduating with a bachelor of science degree in aviation education, he was commissioned as a distinguished graduate through the ROTC program in 1966. Newton completed pilot training at Williams AFB, AZ in June 1967.
His interest in flying was also sparked in 1964 when he saw the Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team perform during his junior year of college. He said he became consumed with a burning desire to be a Thunderbird. At the time, the team had never had an African-American pilot. That didn't deter Newton.
"When I came into the Air Force my goal was to become a Thunderbird pilot," he said. Three tryouts with two rejections didn't thwart his quest. "Roughly ten years later, it happened. In the fall of 1974, as it turned out, I was the first African-American Thunderbird pilot."
He held several positions in the Thunderbirds, including narrator, slot pilot and right wingman.
Newton went on to become a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in the T-37, T-38, F-4, F-15, F-16, C-12 and F-117 stealth fighter.
Two of his brothers, Donald and Lester, also majored in aviation at Tennessee State and became Air Force officers. "We've all been in the flying business," Newton said. "My youngest brother, Don, was a weapons controller on an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft. He's a full colonel, a detachment commander at the University of Maryland.
"Unfortunately, we lost Lester in an aircraft accident in 1985," Newton said. "He wasn't a combat pilot, but he flew C-130's in and out of Vietnam."
Newton left for Vietnam on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. He said he was confused about going because "I wasn't sure whether the war was in Vietnam or here in America."
Racial strife abounded across the nation while Newton was fighting the air war in Southeast Asia. He said flying combat missions helped dispel negatives others tried to attach to black Americans. He flew 269 combat mission from Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, including 79 missions over North Vietnam.
"We in the military ... were no different from American society," he said. "What was going on in society was going on in the U.S. Air Force. ... The leadership buried its head in the sand.
"They said, 'We don't have those problems in the U.S. Air Force, which was obviously wrong." And before the war ended, the Air Force was forced to admit having racial problems because they were manifested by demonstrations and riots on bases, Newton noted.
"That's when we confronted the problems head-on, and I'm proud to say the Air Force took a leadership role in solving racial problems in the military," he said.
He later decided that going to Vietnam had been the right decision. "It taught me many things. As a young second lieutenant, I grew up very quickly," Newton noted. "There was also a true realization that America is one of the greatest nations on Earth, and I was as much a part of America as anybody else."
That insight stimulated a desire to return home and enjoy "all the freedoms and opportunities America should offer to all of its citizens." He also vowed to help others recognize and take advantage of those freedoms and opportunities.
"Being in combat is certainly a difficult time," the general said. "There were missions I was scared on, but that's combat, and the things that help mature a young American, no matter who you are."
Newton today likes speaking to groups of youngsters and encouraging them to get an education.
"My point to youngsters is, they can grow to be anything and anybody their capabilities will allow them to be," he said. "What's important to them is to continue to develop themselves to reach the summit they're trying to get to. The opportunities are out there. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy, it doesn't mean that someone won't try to stand in their way. They have to learn how to negotiate themselves around those problems."
He said education is the key to any door they're trying to open. "That's the one medium that helps to level the playing field," said Newton, holder of a master's degree in public administration.
The general also pointed out that military veterans play a pivotal role in America's success as a nation.
"Whether you're looking in local government, local organizations, the state and federal level, you'll find veterans scattered throughout making great contributions to their communities and ultimately to the nation," he said. Many of them are engaged with youngsters across the nation and trying to be their role models.
"I certainly encourage them to continue doing that," Newton said. "Veterans certainly have the leadership skills, the commitment and the traditional values we desire in the nation. The more we contribute during the early ages of those youngsters, the less we'll have to do to help to take care of them later."
He said values taught by his parents and learned on the family's small farm were catalysts to his success in adult life.
"I grew up in a segregated environment with reference to school and other kinds of public facilities," Newton said. "It's quite different now. We were in segregated schools under the concept of separate but equal. We certainly know that was not the case, unfortunately. Our schools didn't have the same kind of quality and equipment as white schools. It was separate, but not equal."
Living under a cloud of discrimination and a lack of jobs available for African Americans, his parents strived to instill traditional and important values American citizens should have, he said: respect for others, treat others as you'd like to be treated, don't steal or lie, and always work hard.
"The values they taught us on that little farm, in that little town, have paid big dividends for me over the years, and they're still doing that for me today," the general noted.
His parents also always stressed the value of education, Newton said. "Their vision of education was a bit shorter than we have today," he said. "Their goal was to ensure that every one of us got through high school. Fortunately, they were able to achieve that and more; all of us made it through high school and several of us made it through college." The general has a sister and five living brothers.
Today, Newton is the pride of Ridgeland and Jasper County and affectionately called "Ridgeland's highest flying son." A book, "Flying High with General Lloyd Newton" is displayed in the county's museum, along with mementos of his career.
The town and county honored him last October as grand marshall of their annual Gopher Hill Festival. He and his wife, the former Elouise M. Morning of St. Petersburg, FL., rode in a large, white, horse-drawn carriage driven by a driver decked out in a white tuxedo.
The nickname "Fig" was bestowed on the general during his senior year of college by a classmate, Howard Baugh, the son of the ROTC detachment commander at Tennessee State.
"He started calling me 'Fig' because my last name is Newton," the general said. When he and his classmate went on active duty for pilot training, his friends always introduced him as "Fig." "It just caught on," he said, "and in Vietnam, I started wearing it on my name tag.
"Of course, I've eaten a lot of Fig Newtons, too," he said with a laugh.
We set out to do a two hour hike to a small, secluded beach in the hard to reach Cala Tuent. There we wanted to swim a bit, then head back the way we came. Two hours in, and after a 200 meter drop, we realized we had badly miscalculated, though the full extent was still unknown to us. A signpost around here said "Cala Tuent 2,5 hours". We laughed.
about a year and a half after he first did this - created a play-doh interpretation of a transformers robot, the constructicon devestator. except this time around it has a lot more detail.
copyright © 2011 sean dreilinger
view play-doh re-realization of decepticon constructicon devastator - MG 0911 JPG on a black background.