Jesse Goes to Africa – Collection 1

For a few days in a row, I’m going to post 10 pictures from Jesse’s trip. I only know one of the people that he went on the trip with and I don’t know what is going on in the pictures because we haven’t had a chance to go over the pictures, so you are going to get my best uneducated guess as to what each picture represents.

I do mean uneducated. Everything I know about Africa comes from watching the movie Shaft in Africa*. A movie with the tagline: “THE Brother Man in the Motherland.”

A movie with great dialogue like:

Shaft: Look, why don’t you get rid of that jolly giant over there, so you and I can get down to the finer strokes.
Aleme: Oziot has guarded me since I was a child. Sometimes I think of him as my living chastity belt.
Shaft: Damn! Man that size, baby, that’s a whole lot of chastity!

This conversation goes on for a little bit longer, but I invite you to experience its full greatness by picking up your own copy of Shaft in Africa.




It appears that Jesse must have flown out of the Kansas City or St. Louis airport because I believe this picture must have been taken in Missouri.

IMAGE LOST

I’m assuming Salodin means Dairy Queen. As long as they have Dilly Bars, I’m in!

IMAGE LOST

It is just nice to see a picture of a bunch of kids and none of them are wearing Crocs!

IMAGE LOST

There is a scene in the movie Gone with the Wind where Rhett brings back the latest fashion from Paris for Scarlett. Scarlett does not know how to wear the new hat. Rhett quips: “This war stopped being a joke when a girl like you doesn’t know how to wear the latest fashion.”

I think what Jesse was trying to say with this picture is: “Years of genocide and civil war stopped being a joke when these orphans don’t have a choosy mom to choose them Jif.”


IMAGE LOST

IMAGE LOST


What I really like in this picture is the combination of kids that are trying to throw down the badass vibe and the kids that are just being silly.

IMAGE LOST

Jesse introducing Ugandan kids to the Fonzie pose.

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I think Jesse is teaching them the awesome power of spirit fingers.

IMAGE LOST

IMAGE LOST
Dave and Jesse showing off the Little White Lye Soap that kept them clean and manly smelling during their mission trip.

10 more pictures are on the way.

*I also learned everything I know about being a man from the original Shaft.

The Outer Limits

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to… The Outer Limits. – The Control Voice

The Outer Limits is one of my all-time favorite television shows. The following pictures are inspired by that show and its 1960s special effects.


The Outer Limits
This is Jay. You are probably wondering why he looks so cocky. It is because…

The Outer Limits
Jay can control electricity or fire, whatever you believe to be more plausible.

The Outer Limits
He can slowly turn into electricity.

The Outer Limits
Until he appears to be an electric man.

The Outer Limits
Or he can shoot it out of his fingertips at his enemies.

The good news, is I have similar powers…

The Outer Limits

I think I might just have to crack out my The Outer Limits DVDs this weekend.

Raise a Glass

I went to a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association on Friday night with Sara and Amy. It was an interesting evening. The basic point of the night was wine tasting and art for sale.

I don’t drink, so I mostly looked at art.

However, there was one point where I was sitting at a table waiting for Amy and Sara to comeback with food. It was then that I meant one classy dame.

Three people approached the table. A dude, a lady I will call Ms. Manners and the Classy Dame.

Ms. Manners said, “Can we sit at this table?”

I replied, “Yes.”

Classy Dame answered, “You don’t have to ask him if we can sit at this table. This is our table. We were here first. I marked this table. I peed all around it.”

I replied, “How lovely.”

Here are some pictures from Sara from the night.



Amy and I


Sara and I


I am by no stretch of the imagination a fan of Grant Wood, but I am a fan of wooden cutouts that you stick your head through.



Sara and Amy


This particular piece of artwork really stood out to me. This is not a particularly good picture of it, but that is most likely for the best. The artist had made mosaic type pictures out of old magazines. All of the pictures were like the one to the left. A nice picture of people or of flowers or something. But then I came upon this picture. A picture of a catfight that included a depiction of both sets of mammaries and the “V” of one of the combatants. Nicely played artist. Nicely played.



It was certainly a memorable night.

Lousy with People

I spent a good portion of Sunday at Ledges. Unfortunately, the place was packed, but I was able to take some photos.


Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

Lousy with People

While I was sitting on the Lost Lake Trail, a gust of wind blew that baby bird out of a tree and onto the trail. A few minutes later, I was several feet away taking pictures of bullfrogs, when an elderly couple and their dog came walking down that trail.

The dog didn’t even break stride while scooping the baby bird into its mouth. The elderly couple spent quite some time pulling that bird out of their dogs mouth and then removing its remains from the trail with a pair of sticks.

The Hero of Africa

He raped the whole country of morality, of integrity. He implemented a trend of corruption in a people who were not corrupt. He raised a generation of people who wanted to steal rather than to work for personal gain.
-Robert Kayanja, Miracle Centre Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda

That is a quote about Idi Amin, the Ugandan military dictator of Uganda from 1971-1979. Amnesty International estimates that he had close to 500,000 people killed during his reign. He had members of the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups massacred. Bodies flowed down the Nile in such numbers that they clogged the Owen Falls Hydro-Electric Dam.

He described himself as “The Hero of Africa”. It has been 30 years since Amin was removed from power and things have improved little since then.

It was into this country that Jesse recently went for two weeks.

But the good news is that he is back.


The Hero of Africa

And he endorses the experience he had in Uganda.

I would like to share the two emails that he sent me while he was in Uganda, now that he is safe back in the Cyclone State.

Email 1:

Bennett,

I decided to type a letter prior to getting access to the internet so I could write more. 🙂

The flights were SO long and we had to make an unexpected stop in Rwanda before making it to Entebbe really late and then had to drive to Kampala. I was not prepared for the desolation that this entire area is. The hostel we stayed at the first night was on all dirt roads that have potholes bigger than Taylan. There are baboons, longhorns, goats, and children walking to school to fit on a road that is so thin it is very difficult to even fit our van on. There are cell phones spread throughout the people but they are so antiquated that they can barely call between Ugandans. We had to drive all around to find a “cyber-cafe” to email yesterday and the lady was very short with us and wanted us out. We haven’t found a way to get to a phone yet but are going to look tonight.

The weather has been great so far… 85 with no humidity. Yesterday was the first day really and we went out the orphanage / school / and church. We met so many people but the language barrier has been pretty great but they love having us here. Everywhere we go there is such a push to make people aware of AIDS and prevention. Our first day was spent in Kyampologoma was the first real stop and it was so unbelievable. 550 children attend a school that just 20 years ago was covered in the remains of the dead from a terrible battle between Idi Amin and Moseweni’s rebels. Our pastor said that 30% of the population has HIV. Of the orphans we met 30 have full blown AIDS and 6 more have HIV. The government has posters everywhere even in places where I would think would be inappropriate. There are baskets of condoms everywhere you turn. Yesterday the village we were in slayed a goat and for us to eat… did NOT taste like chicken. We also had an opportunity to be a part of a huge coming of age ritual. The circumcision of a young man. Oh my word… not prepared in the least for this visual imprint.. I thought it was a standard ritual dance and then there was this erotica dance between this young man and girl and then all his friends came and threw charcoal on him all over and rubbed it everywhere. Then he placed a large branch behind his head and the elders came up with a knife and made the cuts with less than surgical precision. This immediately led to sharing in the feast of the goat. That afternoon we got to play with the orphans and school kids. That was incredible to say the least. They just wanted to shake hands with us in that 80’s movie handshake. Then just tell us all about them and although we could not understand, they just loved to be listened to. Finally, that night a couple of us were asked to share from the Bible and we had a translator to share with the kids. I wasn’t expecting to talk but I thought about Olivia as they asked me to talk and I shared Psalm 139 verses 1-8 as these kids feel like they do not matter but God cares about them and knows each one of them by name, the number of hairs on their head, and that they are no less important to him than we are. Verse 7 talks about where we can go to flee his presence. Nowhere. God is present everywhere and in every situation no matter how dire or how blessed. He has a plan for each of us and we need to be prepared for him to work out the details in how you will get there. This trip is a perfect example. 3 and a half years ago I wouldn’t have even known Uganda was more than a country in Uganda.

I didn’t sleep at all last night, not sure if the time change is the cause or if is the fact that I am waiting to talk to you all. As soon as I can, I will. Today we move further north and have experienced our first dealings with police inspection. They are not excited about our heading closer to Kitkum and Gulu. Our mission is not to be detoured.

Please keep our group in your thoughts and prayers. I will write more soon but I need to prepare for the day ahead.

Bennett, please share this with others who might be interested. Please don’t post this on Facebook as Kelly is already nervous about this trip and this will not ease her nerves 🙂

The connection speed is way too slow to send pictures much less video so I will put this together when we return.

Love you brother and will talk to you soon.

Quote of the trip so far…. The whole world should be duty free!

Email 2

Hello Gentlemen,

Today was long, long, long and yet I wanted to write you and tell you that I miss you and hope things are going well. We have visited so many places. Orphanages, churches, and schools. To get to all of these places we have 13-15 of us packed into a 12 passenger bus for an hour to 3 hours on roads that can only be called privative and not suited for travel. We have met so many incredible people and the children here are so happy to see us. So many have never seen a white person in their lives and some of the children run away crying scared. We build a church yesterday out of sticks, mud, and a metal roof. We had to dig the dirt up, water it, and stop the mud to make it consistent and then pack the mud into the walls. It is amazing. The elders said that “they didn’t think that whites were kind to work”. They were amazed that despite our skin color, that we are indeed the same. They were blessed as were we to be a part of this.

So many children have lost both their parents to AIDS and even more have lost 1 parent. The number of children with HIV is unfathomable and just kills me. Yet they smile, sing, and dance for us when we come into their villages.

Our team has eaten so many odd things this trip from goat, to cassava root, to animals I have no idea what they were before they were slaughtered for us. The food is abysmal but they are serving us the best of what they have as their guests so we smile and eat with our hands. I am ready for a tropical snow! The pineapple is plentiful and is what is keeping me going though :).

I got to give the sermon yesterday in front of a about 200 people and while incredibly nerve racking, it went well and there was much response. Amazing to see that regardless of language, the message hits the heart the same.

I miss you all,

Jesse

He is already planning a return trip to Uganda.

Sedulous

Once a year I get together and have a meal with Mark Wolfram. Unfortunately for me, I only get to see Mark once a year because he spends most of the year in Taiwan teaching, doing mission work and publishing The Taiwan Times.

Wednesday night was that night.

Mark met me in Boone on his way back to Des Moines from a trip to Minnesota, where he got to hear the initial recordings of Lesser Known Saint’s new album. I know. I’m jealous as well.

I gave Mark a tour of my house and showed him the vast amounts of vegetables and berries in my backyard that I have been wasting. I introduced him to the Friend Wall, where he was most impressed by Nader’s picture.

After touring my home I gave him a quick tour of historic Boone. I showed him the birthplace of Mamie Doud Eisenhower, the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, Mt. Boone,Christopher D. Bennett’s house of worship (where he worships, not where he is worshiped), the Boyhood Home of Christopher D. Bennett (Mark and I communed as he shared my anger about how the yard, house and my old basketball court have fallen into complete and utter disrepair) and where the first home of Christopher D. Bennett used to stand.

Finally I introduced him to the world’s greatest thin crust pizza AKA the pizza from Bellucci Pizza House in downtown Boone.

Once there, Mark enthralled me with stories about his recent trip to China. He visited Tiananmen Square. I was disappointed to find out that they don’t have a blow up or cardboard set of tanks sitting in the Square so that tourists can get their picture taken re-enacting the iconic image from the 1989 protests.



Wasted opportunity China!

He also got to visit The Forbidden City, which isn’t so Forbidden any more.

He also got to hike several miles of The Great Wall. He even had a picnic on The Great Wall. That makes me almost as jealous as I am about his preview of the new Lesser Known Saint album.

I always like to talk to Mark about how the major news stories over here are perceived in Taiwan.

The biggest story since we last got together was the 2008 Presidential Election. He told me that in Taiwan, they were very pleased with Obama’s election. Although most of them seemed to think that Obama was running against Hillary Clinton. McCain got very little news coverage and fortunately, Palin got zero news coverage.

We then discussed Mark’s future. He is going back to Taiwan on August 17. He is giving consideration to this being his last year in Taiwan. His sister has two children now and he would like to be a part of their lives. He recently finished certification to teach ESL, so he may just come back to the States to be a teacher next year. But he is also considering teaching in an International School. I can’t wait to see what Mark’s next adventure will be.

After the meal, we engaged in our annual tradition of getting our picture taken together. This is our 4th Annual-Annual Meal. The first year we ate at Bennigan’s. I love their Monte Cristo so! The last 2 years we ate at The Machine Shed. The last 2 years, the picture has been out of focus. I did not want this to be a third consecutive year of a blurry picture.

In the morning I contacted Jay and he agreed to meet us to take our picture after our meal.

So please enjoy not 1, but 2 pictures of Mark and I in focus.


2009 Mark Reunion

2009 Mark Reunion

I can’t hardly wait until our 5th Annual-Annual Meal.

Another Reason to Hate Abercrombie and Fitch

Tuesday was the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He is one of my favorite writers, along with Nathaniel West and Salinger. I borrowed this from The Writer’s Almanac because I found the information about The Moveable Feast to be fascinating and previously unknown to me.

It’s the birthday of Ernest Hemingway, (books by this author) born in Oak Park, Illinois (1899), the Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of such books as The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952).

Both U.S. presidential candidates of 2008 cited Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) as one of their favorite books. It’s about an American teacher, Robert Jordan, who volunteers to go fight in the Spanish Civil War against Franco’s Fascists. Robert Jordan is wounded in battle and contemplates shooting himself with his submachine gun to end the intense pain, but when the enemy comes into sight, Jordan does his duty and delays the approaching Fascist soldiers so that his own comrades can escape to safety. And then he dies.

John McCain wrote a book in 2002 called Worth Fighting For, a phrase taken from Robert Jordan’s dying monologue. McCain writes about how the character of Robert Jordan has always been dear to him, from boyhood through the time he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain said about Hemingway’s fictional character: “I knew that if he were in the cell next to mine, he would be stoic, he would be strong, he would be tough, he wouldn’t give up. And Robert would expect me to do the same thing.” During the campaign, Obama told Rolling Stone magazine that For Whom the Bell Tolls was “one of the three books that most inspired him.”

Hemingway committed suicide in 1961, shooting himself in the head with a double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun, while wearing a robe and pajamas in the foyer of his Blaine County house.

He had a turbulent personal life. He told people that he despised his mother. He had been married four times and involved with many other women. He was often unkind to other writers whom he knew, and wrote vicious portraits of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, which were published in his memoir A Moveable Feast.

His memoir was actually published posthumously by his widow, Mary Hemingway, in 1964. She edited extensively the memoir manuscript, patching stuff together from various sources. She included things he’d explicitly stated that he didn’t want published, and excluded other parts of his unfinished memoir manuscript.

This month, July 2009, Scribner is releasing a “restored edition” of Hemingway’s memoir. The new edition is edited by Sean Hemingway, the grandson of Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, a woman who was much maligned in the edition of the memoir edited by Mary, the fourth wife.

Sean Hemingway is a curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he has edited other anthologies of Hemingway’s writing. He is including parts of the original manuscript that Mary had cut out, passages that he says show his grandfather’s “remorse and some of the happiness he felt and his very conflicted views he had about the end of his marriage” to Pauline. The new edition, he says, is more inclusive and portrays his grandmother in a more sympathetic manner. Sixteen thousand copies of the new edition of A Moveable Feast are being printed in the first run, and Scribner is also releasing new editions of all of Hemingway’s novels with redesigned covers.

Hemingway said, “The writer’s job is to tell the truth.” In A Moveable Feast, he wrote: “I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, `Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”
There’s a legend that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to create a six-word story, and he said, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Inspired by this, an online magazine invited readers to submit their own six-word memoirs, a collection of which was published by Harper Collins in 2008 as Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. Six-word memoirs include: “All I ever wanted was more” and “Moments of transcendence, intervals of yearning” and “They called. I answered. Wrong number.”

I recently returned Shannon’s copy of Six-Word Memoirs. It is a fascinating book and I recommend to anybody.

What is my 6 word memoir?

Feel free to guess.