On immigration (2/22/2016)

It is election season.  Great, the demagogues are out, throwing all kinds of words at each other, you name it.  Don’t worry; I am not going to try to convince you to vote for one or the other.  I just find it fascinating, sometimes to the frustration of my wife.  But then I am one of those immigrants that are being bantered around, albeit a legal one and a Caucasian one (below I’ll write more about an interesting thing that always happened to me as a foreigner in southern New Mexico). Where I come from, the primary system and big money politics is alien on it own, so yes this is fascinating.

The symbol of our great country, the bald eagle.  I took this photo in Yorktown on 2/21/2016 during our morning walk with the dogs.  A man came to talk to us basically indicating how proud he was seeing it and how he wished he could watch it hunt and catch its prey.  The only thing I could think was "bald eagles are somewhat cowardly and go for the infirm individuals and dead animals (carrion), if you want to see a real hunter, watch an osprey." But I did not dare to tell him that, because they are real stately, beautiful birds, well worth their magnificent status, and I did not want to burst his bubble.

When I became U.S. citizen on September 9, 1994 I did it for a number of reasons:

• My wife and daughter were U.S. citizens;
• My wife and I had been married 17 years and our daughter was almost 6, we did not think we would be moving back to Europe anytime soon;
• I had lived here permanently for more than 8 years and had my green card since 1980 (14 years);
• My Masters and Ph.D. degree were both from U.S. institutions and I interviewed once for a job in Holland in 1990 and I noticed that I did not have command of the Dutch scientific jargon in my field and the persons interviewing me let me know that;
• In a past international job, a few frustrated Dutchmen had tried to do everything in their power to show me that their European education was better than my U.S. education (you traitor);
• Therefore, I had come to the conclusion that I was going to remain in the U.S. for the rest of my career;
• In 1993, I was rejected for the ideal job at the last minute, when at the time of contract signing, I was asked the question: “are you a U.S. citizen”; this was for the job as manager of natural resources division at the Nevada Test Site; and lastly
• I decided, if I want to stay in the U.S., I should be able to vote and be a responsible citizen.

Truthfully, I have not missed an election since I turned a U.S. citizen, although there have been elections where I have voted with my nose pinched very close!  I strongly feel that I am not allowed to complain if I don't vote!

So what happened to me in New Mexico?  I got my Ph.D. at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.  I stayed on after my Ph.D. to do a post-doctoral study, and that is where this story is from.  Las Cruces is in southern New Mexico, very close to the border with Mexico.  There is no wall there between the U.S. and Mexico, and I am not even sure if there was a fence at places when we lived there.  If there was a fence, there were probably holes in it.  There were roadblocks at various locations on the highway where border patrol agents stopped your car and searched your vehicle for illegal aliens.

At the time, I was doing research in the mountains above Alamogordo, New Mexico and had to drive through the White Sands Missile Range to get there.  I traveled that road at least twice a week for an entire summer, usually in a state van or truck with two Mexican-American technicians.  These guys were American citizens, one born and raised in Las Cruces, the other near Albuquerque.  There is such a border patrol roadblock on that part of the highway, and yes we got stopped every time.  Guess what?  Without failure, my two technicians were asked every time for identification and proof that they were legal residents of the U.S., and I, who was the only (legal) alien or immigrant in the car was never questioned or asked for identification.  Thank goodness my two companions took it very lightly and it became a standing joke, but it always amazed and somewhat upset me.  It undeniably was a form of racial profiling.

While these guys put on a big smile and took it all in stride, I wonder.  I can imagine that privately they felt hurt, humiliated.  I can understand why someone (some ethnic groups) would vote for certain political candidates or not, based on some of the rhetoric being spouted about certain races, certain under current or things not being said.  As an immigrant or alien, I am fascinated with U.S. politics and probably hypersensitive to some of these things as well.  I will keep watching and listening and making my own opinion about it all.  But one thing is for sure, I will vote!

York River (7/3/2015)

I'm currently reading a book called: "Blue Mind" by Wallace J. Nichols.  It's is a book on man's relationship with water in particular being near, in, on or under water and it's effect on the brain.  I just started it, so no review yet, but I like the premise.  It sure is calming and relaxing to me being on my boat, kayak or even just on the beach.

Well, since July 4th falls on a Saturday this year, we got a holiday on the Friday before.  Kind of on the spur of the moment we decided that it would be fun to take the kayaks out and go play on the water that way, instead of sailing.  It promised to be a gorgeous, somewhat cooler than average day, and checking the tides showed it was ideal to launch in Yorktown and explore the area west of the Coleman bridge along the Colonial Parkway.

The tide was coming in when we launched and it was a great help pulling us up river under the bridge.   The current can be treacherous around the docks which was one reason why we chose to stay relatively clear of the dock and wear life jackets.  Still it was a little bit like being in a washing machine;we got jostled around a bit, and the waves made no sense at all.  Thing calmed down once we passed the dock and the bridge.

Going along the shore we observed a bald eagle majestically sitting on a branch overlooking the river.  There was a water-man crabbing; and we said hello as he pulled up one of his "pots."  A little further we beached the kayaks and just enjoyed the empty beach and just sat in the shade of a large tree watching the river and the boats passing by.

Me on the beach (photo taken by Donna Briedé)

After the tide turned we returned to Yorktown.  During our trip back we saw more people fishing and we got to see the Alliance under full sail.   A fun day, that we celebrated with a pizza and a beer at the Beach Deli on our return to Yorktown.

It just occurred to me that I often write about "Nature Deficit Disorder" and here I'm writing about "Water Deficit Disorder."  When push comes to shove, it is really amazing to realize what we modern humans are potentially missing if we don't make an effort to reconnect with nature, be it green or blue!  I'm sure it will not create world peace, but reconnection with these basic items and living in the moment does the soul good.

York River (1/16/2015)

The York River is very interesting, it is only named the York when the Pamunkey and the Mattaponi come together at West Point.  At this point it becomes a very wide river.  The river has fairly steep slopes and except for some neighborhoods it is fairly undeveloped until you get to Yorktown.  Before Yorktown you have three areas that are owned by the Federal Government and you see signs on shore that tell you to stay away from these areas, or else!  Another stretch of the south shore of the river is a state park (York River State Park).  That's where we visited today.  The photo below was taken from the visitor's center, looking towards the northwest.

These facilities have a kayak launch and you can also rent kayaks if you don't have your own.  There is a great creek that runs through the marsh you can see below.  It has some fun wildlife, in particular a huge population of fiddler crabs.  Today we hiked along the marsh and saw a number of birds including two soaring bald eagles.  The north and west facing slopes of these marshes are spectacular.  I absolutely love the ecology of the area.  It still amazes me to see pretty darn big trees in this area and a dense understory of mountain laurel (yes they do grow here on the coastal plains).  The photograph below was taken near one of the bird watching platforms in the creek (yes this is a great bird watching area).

I assume that the park is across an area where the native American population lives that became a Disney legend. Archaeologists and historians place Pocahontas' village on north shore of the York. How's that for historical significance.  I guess that's why there was this thing in the local newspaper today telling us that some citizens are trying to get an historic and ecological significance designation for the river.  Hopefully this will be successful.

Yorktown (12/17/2014)

After rain the previous day, it was foggy this morning.  Conditions were just right around sunup and the moisture laden air coming off the land over the cooler water created this wonderful fog.  Naturally not a good thing, knowing there is a bridge hiding in the fog and boaters beware.  I have not sailed under foggy conditions, and reading some accounts it can be quite mystical; especially one of the accounts of a cruise in the northern Pacific/Bering Sea area. 

As usual, I had to drive by the Yorktown riverfront on my way to work, and had to shoot these familiar pictures.  Like it or not seeing the water, especially on days like today, give me this amazing feeling inside that is hard to describe.  It is the same feeling I get when looking at my loved ones; a feeling of pure bliss.  On top of that I saw two bald eagles along the parkway.  They are often there during the winter and early spring.

This morning I got the email of this week’s challenge by Cee Neuner that I sometimes participate in and it asked for seascapes.  Boy do these photos fit in; so here is my entry.

Newport News Park (10/26/2014)

Some fall we are having; blue skies and delightful temperatures.  Who needs more reasons for a nice walk in Newport News Park around our drinking water reservoir.  The reservoir is an interesting place.  It is a dammed off section of the Warwick River, and it actually has a lot of significance.  Picture more than 100 years ago this area was the site of a civil war battle between the Union and Confederate Forces.  They were dug in on both sides of the river and gunning for each other.  I understand there were much fewer trees around and it must have been an interesting sight; not something I would want to experience.  But now it is all water under the bridge, or should I say into the reservoir.

The reservoir is fed by a few stream, but mostly by a pipe line that brings water from 40 or so miles away.  From here it goes into the water treatment plant and comes out of our faucets.  While these pictures show the lake and it's surroundings in full glory, it is actually the areas far away from the dam that are the most fun.  We can reach these areas from our home as well as from the regular parking area, and we have spent a lot of time in those swamps looking at red-headed woodpeckers, herons, gannets, wood ducks, Canada gees, bald eagles and even at various plants like lizard's tails.  We have been standing in the swamp in February doing the great back yard bird count ankle deep in mud and chilled, but thrilled at all the birds.  That bird count is always on president's day weekend and it is so appropriate to count in a park where George Washington hung out at one time to make the life of the Britts miserable.

At one point the swamp/lake is fed by a spring that is located in the Yorktown Battle Field National Historic Park, a place I have written a lot about.  This spring is actually located need the encampment that George Washington used during the revolutionary war.  I am sure he drank from the spring.  This is another subject I wrote about in a post called George Washington's shovel.  The area is full of remnants of these two major wars that were fought on the Peninsula.  It is really a neat place to live and experience.

It is actually amazing knowing that drops of water that we drink and molecules of air that we breath have all passed through the body and lungs of people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Hitler and people alike.  We are such a closed system, that we better take care of it.

Chesapeake Bay (10/25/2014)

We had an absolutely delightful sail today.  The weather was great, sunny and even forgetting our sunscreen, we did not burn to a crisp as you would in summer.

The yacht club had a wedding, so we made sure we were not in the way and we took off around 12:15 after picking up two subs at Wawa.  The wind was out of a direction that was not predicted by the weather service, so we had a half hour motor out before raising the sails and drifting for a while (the winds were very calm).  It was a great time to eat our lunch and flush it down with a beer.  After a while the wind picked up and we had a great sail with the wind coming from the south east right abeam.

At the point we were planning to turn around we encountered a pod of porpoises; they dove under the boat and one chased the boat for a while, almost touching the rudder.  Great to see that there are still many left, after last year's die off. Eventually we had to turn back, and the wind picked up to 10 knots or more and we had a great sail. Being pushed a bit of course by the current we decided to tack and, right on the dot, the wind started shifting to the west, as was initially predicted for the day.  This required that we changed plans all the sudden and we had to drop the sails to get back into the creek.  Google tells me we did 17.6 miles today or 15+ nautical miles; great for a four hour sail.

Below are two pictures one of our course.  I use a great app on my tablet called MX Mariner that allows me to record track and download them to Google Earth.  It is a great app, that helps me a lot.  I strongly recommend that app.  On the way we saw a heron on one of the channel markers.  Usually there are ospreys all over the place, but in the winter the herons appear to take over.  In general though there are so many birds on the Bay this time of year, including cormorants, pelicans, diving ducks, and we even saw two bald eagle circling overhead.  A magnificent day indeed.

Yorktown (9/10/2014)

I commute from Yorktown to Richmond every day when I don’t travel to somewhere in Virginia.  An exception is Fridays when I telecommute.  My favorite commuting routes brings me into Yorktown proper, along the Parkway, and only then will I pop onto Interstate 64 and do the rest of my commute.  On the way back I take a similar route.  Having these small traditions or shall we call it rituals is very important to me and I suspect, to many people.  For me, it gets the work day started and, in the afternoon, it is a nice end to a busy day and a crazy commute. 

What I don’t understand are all these commuters that get antsy and try to pass you on the Parkway while you already drive two or three miles over the speed limit.  To me the Parkway is not really for commuters; it is a ritual, a way to relax and almost meditate.

I clearly suffer from horizon deficit disorder (I just made up that term, but I have it).  I need to be able to see far and preferably see the horizon.  In the 80s we lived for three months in Durham, NC; and I still remember that feeling of claustrophobia; all those trees everywhere and no horizon.  I grew up on an island in the Caribbean and remember that on clear days we were able to see the mountains of Venezuela, more than 40 miles away.  I need to see the horizon, or at least past the next tree and this is why this ritual is so important to me.

This morning was magical.  We have had two days of rain in our area, and some was very heavy.  The town of Smithfield reported 12 inches (or 30 cm) of rain during the past two days).  So it was great to see the sun peak out of the clouds this morning.  Looking at the horizon I was amazed by the interplay of sun and light in our partly cloudy sky.  I saw sunbeams streaking down, while a tanker waiting to load (or unload) at the oil terminal was in the shade of a cloud.  I had to stop and take this photo of the scene. 

Back in the car, driving down the parkway I all the sudden saw a bald eagle coming my way flying above the trees.  Bald eagles are gorgeous majestic birds and I was absolutely amazed how big this one was, soaring over the trees, wings wide and looking in the direction of the river.  It was absolutely magical; a great start of a new day.  I just wonder how many commuters experienced the same thing.