Taking Off

In May of 1987, a small group of us drove out to Death Valley. One of our stops was Ubehebe Crater. Ubehebe is about 2,400 feet in diameter and 500 feet deep. The hot wind blows across the east rim, then down inside and funnels through a passage, builds up speed and up the west side of the rim at a 45-degree angle. Sometimes winds can blow up to 100 miles per hour.

We stood at the west rim, opened our jackets and like kites, were lifted up by the force of the wind and all enjoyed a short yet eventful flight.

A Walk Through Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the “county fair” of diversity, poverty, wealth and individualism. Some sections of Downtown are dirty and dangerous. Other parts are not. I am more interested in the gritty, the impoverished and spiritually hungry sections of LA than the glitz and glass buildings.

I recently took the Goldline into LA and walked all afternoon. Below are a few of the photos I took during my three-hour jaunt.

A homeless man sits fidgeting on a bench with the decaying Pantages Theater behind him. Built in 1919, the LA Pantages was once the city's most prestigious vaudeville houses. It is now a jewelry center.





The street was blocked off for a car show and skateboard exposition.



Three boys proudly displaying their giant zucchini


"Killer Cops" sprayed above a mural of a police officer overlooking the 101 Freeway

Men crowd around a makeshift table used to play Three Cups and a Ball. One by one, men bet $20 that they could tell which cup the ball was under after being shifted a dozen times.