Charlotte to Durham by Amtrak

Ikuko and I decided to take the Amtrak train from Charlotte to Durham. It's a scheduled two hour and forty-two minute run through the countryside of North Carolina and we thought it would be a good chance to see some rural scenery. We should have been forewarned by the taxi ride to the station.

An hour before the train was scheduled to leave we got our bags together and asked one of the bellhops to flag us a cab to the station. He put us in an unmarked car waiting at the hotel and told the driver to take us to the Amtrak station.

From my research I knew the station was about two and one-half miles straight south on Tryon Street. The driver pulled out of the hotel and headed east on Trade Street. After a block I asked him where he was going and reiterated we wanted to go to the Amtrack station on Tryon Street. "Oh," he said, "Can't take a left on Tryon." but he did turn and get on Tryon headed south. About halfway there he pulled into a service station and turned around, headed north and got on his phone, apparently asking a friend (foreign language, not Spanish) where the station was.

By this time I had my phone out and was watching the map. I told him the address and which way to go but he was confused and took a couple more detours before finally getting us to the station. When I asked how much, he said it was fifteen dollars. It should have been a ten dollar ride.  I paid him but no tip for him.

Into the station we went. I had tickets in hand but needed to check at least one bag so went to the baggage window. Ended up checking two bags at no additional cost, which was nice.

By now it was thirty minutes until scheduled departure so I went to the window to see about our reserved seat numbers since they weren't on the ticket I had printed off in the hotel. It turns out Amtrak reserved seats in coach are catch as catch can. One of the passengers in line said that some station masters call for parties traveling together so they can board first and sit together but that didn't happen this day. Actually despite the crowd in the station there were plenty of seats on the car bound for Durham so Ikuko and I sat together anyway, even if we were traveling backward.

Forty-five minutes after scheduled departure time the train finally pulled in and we boarded. Well, we were on the way even if a little late. Little did I know that Amtrak plays second fiddle to the freight trains on these tracks.

We hadn't been traveling long when we were off on a side track cooling our heels. Finally a freight went by and we got under way again. We stopped at stations and a few more times for freight trains and finally arrived in Durham about two and one-half hours behind schedule.

Thankfully, delays in modern travel are easily communicated to people who might be meeting the train, as in this case when son and daughter-in-law would have been waiting at the station for those two plus hours without the texting and mobile phone capability we all have these days.

Ikuko and I used to riding Japanese trains so this was a little different. The seats were comfortable and the checked baggage system was efficient. When the train was running it was fairly fast and convenient but when it was sidetracked it was frustrating. The most annoying feature was the apparent disregard for the schedule, especially when compared to the on-the-minute departures in Japan.

More VFW Convention

My last two posts mostly concerned the two major party presidential candidates and how they addressed our convention. Today I'll cover some of the other things we accomplished here.

Our convention is the supreme authority of our organization and as such acts through the delegates to enact and modify laws governing how our group operates, which people are appointed as our leaders and various goals and programs for the current and future years. Our individual posts, districts and departments (state bodies) operate under the umbrella of our national organization and are governed by its constitution and bylaws, These governing documents are called Manual of Procedure, By-Laws and Ritual in the VFW and other names by other groups.

This year there were almost one hundred proposed amendments and revisions to be considered and voted on by our convention. Many of these were minor housekeeping changes but some were substantial and all required vetting by the various committees and then a vote on the floor of the convention.

In addition to the changes in our governing documents there were many other items of business. There were many guest speakers including Secretary of the VA Bob McDonald, who is a great speaker.

VA Secretary Bob McDonald

Awards presented included the VFW Americanism Award to artist Scott LoBaido; Hall of Fame Award to comedian, actor and retired USMC Lt Col Rob Riggle; National Teacher Awards to three teachers; a $30,000 Voice of Democracy Scholarship Award to Grayson Campbell and the Armed Forces Award to BG Roberson from the US Army Special Forces Command (Airborne). We also met our 2016 VFW Buddy Poppy Child, 12-year-old Jaeden Davis.

BG Roberson addressing the convention

Wednesday, July 27. We elected Brian Duffy as our new Commander in Chief. Chief Duffy is our first veteran from Desert Storm to hold that office. We also elected Karen Anderson as our Quartermaster General. She is also a veteran of Desert Storm and the first female veteran to hold that office.

Some members of our Washington delegation, including Junior Past Commander Aaron Stoltz and new Commander Nestor Tamayao,  parading around the floor to welcome our newly elected Senior Vice Commander  Keith Harmon

Karen Anderson, our new Quartermaster General                                              Bob Wallace, our new Adjutant General

Incidentally, I sometimes hear from older veterans of the Vietnam War that they were rejected for membership in the VFW during those years of the war and for awhile afterward. Our new Adjutant General, Bob Wallace, is a veteran of the Battle of Hue and received three Purple Hearts for wounds during that time.. He joined the VFW in 1968. Of course, I can't speak for all the posts in our organization but he is an example of a veteran who was welcomed into the VFW during the height of the Vietnam War.

When not busy with convention business I had a chance to look around Charlotte. It's a bustling city with lots of construction in the downtown area and plaques and statues on corners everywhere commemorating the grand historical past of this important part of America.

One of the many water features in the area

"Firebird" in front of the Museum of Modern Art

The oldest Catholic Congregation in the city occupies this church, now staffed by the Jesuits.

Other plaques and statues abound within the downtown area. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is commemorated here as are several other historic moments in Charlotte's past.

This plaque is one of many along Liberty Walk in downtown Charlotte

After taking in the cultural side of Charlotte it was time to take in nourishment of a more physical kind.

Across the street from our hotel was a restaurant called The King's Kitchen, a nonprofit where they served good southern food and trained some of Charlotte's homeless in the restaurant trades. The first time we ate there I had a flounder calabash which was good. When it came time for dessert I wanted to order the blueberry bread pudding but it required a 20-minute lead time so we decided to go back another time.

The next time we went back I ordered their pot roast special. It also was good but the highlight of the evening was the blueberry bread pudding. It was served in a cast iron skillet and was hot from the oven with a large dollop of vanilla ice cream. Absolutely scrumptious.

We couldn't eat all of this excellent blueberry bread pudding for two

I mentioned in an earlier post that our hotel was being renovated so the dining room was a makeshift operation in a third floor space. The staff made up for the inconvenience by serving pretty good food for reasonable prices.

A pretty hefty corned beef sandwich (the remaining half) in our hotel dining room.

    

Trump in the Queen City

So today had a little different character. As I reported, yesterday was a kind of blah day whereas today had more excitement.

When I arrived at the Convention Center this morning the security lines were long and slow but I was surprised to see the hall mostly full when I walked in a few minutes after eight. By the time Trump arrived a little after nine-thirty there were probably half again as many in attendance as there were yesterday for the morning session when Hillary addressed the crowd.

We were warned twice that signs were not allowed and if displayed they would be confiscated and the holder removed from the hall. We were also admonished to stay out of the aisles and away from the front of the stage.

When Trump came in the crowd was much more animated than yesterday. There were lots of cheers and whistles. A few people sat on their hands but not as many as yesterday.

Trump's VP choice, Mike Pence, spoke first.

VP pick Mike Pence addressing the convention.

Trump spoke some from teleprompters but mostly off the cuff. When he talked about "Crooked Hillary" six or seven Black women got up and walked out so I guess not everyone was happy with his speech.

I didn't see any signs and the crowd was well behaved, about what I would expect from the demographic.

After he finished speaking, Trump went down in front of the stage and shook two or three hands and then left, in contrast to yesterday when Hillary spent at least ten minutes shaking hands and greeting fans.

When we left the convention center for lunch the young Black guy was still out front with his Trump regalia. "Only fifteen dollars," says he as I walked by. 

No sign of the Hillary table.  

Politics at Our VFW Convention

Here in The Queen City we are experiencing a heat wave in the weather and another in politics.

Downtown Charlotte is a beautiful area with many modern buildings and many plaques and statues representing events of long ago. It seems there are construction sites everywhere Even the Marriott Charlotte City Center, where we're staying is being remodeled with a temporary lobby on the third floor and a "pop up" restaurant also on the third floor in what is normally one of the meeting rooms.

But back to politics.

I thought I'd use "politics" in the title of this post since that word seems to garner a lot of interest from readers in Russia. My last post, "Politics in Seattle" gathered twice as many readers from Russia as there were from The USA during the past week. Not sure what's going on there but thought I'd give it another test.

A local entrepreneur set up these tables to sell Trump items outside the Convention Center. 

Yesterday when I was at the Charlotte Convention Center I noticed an enterprising local businessman had set up a row of tables right outside where he was hawking Trump hats, shirts, etc. He was using his smart phone to take credit card payments and seemed to be doing a good business.

Today he was there again doing a brisk business after Hillary gave her speech. Just up the sidewalk there was another table with Hillary T-shirts and hats but no customers. Maybe I came by at the wrong time or maybe it's a commentary on the candidates' relative popularity at this particular time and place.

At today's joint meeting there were the usual delegates from both the VFW and our Auxiliary. In addition there were swarms of media types and lots of guests there to see Hillary Clinton as she solicited our votes.

First everyone had to stand in line to go through the security check, then stand in line to go into the hall and even stand in line to go to the bathroom.

Lines for the TSA screeners and lines for the escalators.

Mayor Jennifer Roberts welcomes the group.

While we waited for the main event Bill entertained us with a little saxophone music.

Cool music from a cool cat.

Finally we got word that Hillary's helicopter was near and she would arrive within five minutes.

As she came on stage there were a few boos, some cheers and general politeness from the delegates. Some folks sat with stony expressions, some cheered but I didn't see anyone walk out nor did I see any political signs. 

After she finished her speech she came down off the stage to press the flesh of some of her more ardent admirers who had gathered near the front of the hall. Her Secret Service guardians probably didn't worry so much when she was with the veterans but they were vigilant nonetheless.

Politics in Seattle

In this blog I have sometimes moved beyond travel and observing the surroundings while walking with my little dog but I haven't touched on politics much. So far, that is.

My "Official Local Voters' Pamphlet" was delivered a week or so ago and a little later I received my ballot. I can't resist a comment or two.

For those of you who don't know, in this area we have one hundred per cent voting by mail. It has several advantages for the good people of Seattle. First it eliminates the rent paid to churches, schools and even our VFW Hall for the use of their facilities on Election Day. Second, it spreads election day out over a three-week, or so, period thus allowing activists to visit and encourage those voters who may not know the desirable way to vote. Finally, it eliminates that pesky identification question that might be raised at the polling place.

In this latter regard, I had a friend who for years bragged about voting both his own and his wife's ballot and even after his wife died he continued to vote for her until he finally died too. When they registered for absentee ballots back in the days before our universal mail-in system, he had actually signed her name then so there was no problem with forging her signature forever after. I'm sure he was probably the only one in the area who did such a thing but, just saying. . .

Back to the Voters' Pamphlet. This year of the seventeen people running for US Senator there are many claiming affiliation with the Republican, Democratic, Independent and Libertarian parties. Then there are candidates who prefer Lincoln Caucus Party, Standupamerica Party, Conservative Party and Human Rights Party.

The King County Elections Commission solicits information from the candidates to be published in the pamphlet.  This information cover five categories: Elected Experience, Other Professional Experience, Education, Community Service and Statement.

The information supplied by the candidates ranges from well thought out to forthright statements of "None" to "No information submitted" in some of the categories to, in one case, no information or photo at all submitted. I'm not sure why that last person even filed. And remember, these are just the candidates running for US Senator.

The statements range from well thought out and clearly stated to muddy, poorly stated single issue calls to action. In some cases they are not so much a call to action as just venting a pet peeve.

I suppose it doesn't make much difference what is printed in the Voters' Pamphlet since I suspect very few people actually read it. Most get their opinions handed to them from other sources, chiefly sound bites from their favorite TV channel or radio station, maybe their church leader or maybe the guy or gal or indeterminate who expounds from the other end of the bar.

I worry for the future of my country when the requirements to register to vote and to actually vote have been reduced to such a very low level. Registering to vote now doesn't require any initiative from an individual and to actually cast a vote, any warm (or even cold) body will do. No requirement to read or write or reason or think since those would all be illegal restrictions of, well, you get my drift. . .

My apologies for using up a blog post on what some would call a political rant but the way we elect our leaders in this country has degenerated into what I would call illogical at best, and criminal at worst.

But, on a brighter note, maybe there is an invisible hand (to use Adam Smith's term) that works across a society and even a civilization to mold and guide opinions regardless the intellectual capability of those opinion holders so that desires of the greater body prevail. Thinkers, writers and speakers may have a slight impact but that groundswell of desired goals may have reached a point where it is moving inexorably toward fruition.

I can only hope those goals are good for us all.

Summer in Cool Seattle

Yesterday afternoon my little dog, Kuro, and I went walking in the pleasantly cool weather we have been having lately here in Seattle.

We stopped at some blackberry bushes and I sampled my first wild blackberries this year. It seems that mid-July is a little early for the blackberries to be ripening but you can't argue with the sweet taste of ripe berries.

Ripe blackberries - July 10, 2016.

A little further along our walk I was looking at some Big Leaf Maple flyers and remembered that as a child playing with my siblings and friends we would pop open the seed part of the flyer, remove the seed, lick the inside of the now empty flyer and stick the wing to our nose. After I tried a few without success I remembered they had to be ripe and dried out before that would work. Probably just as well since I can't imagine what passersby would have thought if I'd been able to glue one of those things to my nose and walk on down the street. "Hey, Sally, look at that goofy old man with the funny thing on his nose!"

Maple flyers not quite ready to serve as nose wings.

This evening I decided to leave Ikuko to watch the depressing news of the world and took my little dog out early to survey the other results of the unusual warm weather we had earlier in the year.

Along one side of a nearby playground there is a patch of wild roses. Earlier in the year their fragrance would float down the hill and draw me closer to that sweet smell remembered from summer days long ago. Two years ago the park service cut the whole patch right back to the ground but they have regrown and are nicer than ever.

Wild Rose flower and fruits.

Colorful Wild Rose hips and blooms.

An unusual white (maybe albino?) Wild Rose flower just as sweet.

We came across a Mountain Ash with branches beginning to droop with the weight of the ripening fruit. The old folks would say it's going to be a cold winter when the Mountain Ash has lots of fruit.

Mountain Ash fruit ripening a little early.

On the north side of a protected rockery I found a Bleeding Heart still in bloom.

Bleeding Heart snuggled up against the side of a north facing rockery.

On a nearby south facing rockery we saw a Hen and Chicks, or maybe the Rooster of the family sending up a bloom stalk similar, but on a much smaller scale, to the way the Yucca families erupt with flower stalks.

Exposed on a south facing rockery this succulent thrives in the long summer days.

Here in the city some plants are forced to eke out an existence under difficult circumstances. We see Salal here and there and Oregon Grape is also found by roadsides and even in some yards. 

This, and most, Oregon Grape looks healthy this year, but is barren.

This year the Salal is doing fine but the Oregon Grape seems to be having a tough time. Some of the plants have just a few fruits but most are barren. Many of the Oregon Grape plants had small mummified fruit where the bright blue berries should have been.

Urban Salal bearing plump fruits.

Oregon Grape with just a few meager berries.

In another park where there is the right micro-climate we saw a nice crop of Fire Weed blooming earlier than usual, already about one-quarter up the stalk as its buds open, flowers attract the hungry bees and then the seed pods form.

Buds to flowers to seed pods as the Fire Weed attracts bees all summer.

Kuro and I agree that walking, even through our city neighborhood, is much more pleasant than watching the TV news-people rehashing events of the day, week and year, ad nauseam. 

While walking I also find it pleasant to challenge people to smile. If I smile and give a pleasant greeting most people will reciprocate, some with a wide smile, some with just a pleasant "Hello," although there is the occasional sourpuss who will rudely ignore the greeting and walk on by with head down.

Even that occasional snub is inconsequential if I treat it as a game and instead count the friendly returns. 

I agree with Louis Armstrong as he sings:

"Grab your coat and get your hat

Leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street"