Shark Tank Sunrise
Cesar Chavez Memorial at SJSU
SJSU Sculpture – 1968 Olympics
A famous scene took place at the 1968 Olympics. At the podium, two medalists put on a black glove each, took off their shoes showing black socks, wore several symbolic items, and raised one hand each during the playing of the national anthem. The third athlete on the podium, an Australian who placed 2nd, also wore a human rights badge, matching those worn by the two Americans, in solidarity.
There is a lot that can be said about this moment. (You can get a start on it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute). The two black athlete Olympians, who stood with their hands raised during the anthem as a protest to unequal treatment of people, were students at San Jose State University. They were Tommie Smith who had just set a world record and won gold in the 200m race and John Carlos who had won the bronze medal. Peter Norman was the silver medal winner from Australia who stood in solidarity with them.
Today, at SJSU, you are invited to stand with these historic SJSU alumni on the podium in the spot where a supporter once stood with them before the world.
It is a powerful statue if you take it in. It is a powerful moment if you accept the invitation and stand with them on the podium. It is an impressive work of art. It is an impressive social stand that these men took. It came with great costs for all three athletes. It came with rewards too; rewards in thoughts, awareness, conversations, and changes for others that will affect generations.
Today, you can take your stand in the middle of San Jose State University.
This piece of art helps put into context another piece of art that can be found near by at the gas station on 4th street. It reads: “Thank You.”
San Jose City Hall
Welcome Greeter
An interesting greeter in San Pedro Square.
San Jose State University
Eastridge Mall Murals
A Bite of Wyoming – a San Jose Restaurant
Yes, the food is good at A Bite of Wyoming. The green salsa in the squeeze bottles is also excellent. But for me, it is the memory of eating here with my Nana and Tata as a kid that makes it so wonderful. I take pictures for this blog in an attempt to capture some of the beauty that is everywhere here in San Jose and the surrounding area. But some of the beauty found anywehere by people comes from the memories that have aged well and continue to be appreciated. This restaurant represents some of those memories for me. It is also pretty neat to show my children their first jackelope, the very same that was my first jackelope, as they sit in a booth I sat in when I was their ages.
Happy Place on 4th Street
Being introduced to this place this year pleased me beyond all expectations. If I found this place anywhere in any town on any road trip, I would have been so completely proud and happy with myself. So, to be taken here, right in San Jose, on 4th street, where I had never been… well, it blew me away.
First, I should say that I find Diners and Coffee Shops to be one of humanity’s special places. And, I love to enjoy them, to eat, drink coffee, and basque in the humanity and time within them.
This one, right in San Jose at 4th Street Bowl, is quite special. Let me share some of the beautiful highlights about this coffee shop. Plenty of energy with customers and staff. Lots of windows. A looooong counter and a bunch of booths. A big menu. A glass door and windows that connect and look into the bowling alley. The alley is not updated. There is a cocktail lounge, a pool hall, a few video games, and of course, the coffee shop, all connected to the alley. Despite the simplicity of my words, the reality is a poetry of place and presence. It is a block of time and a splash of nostalgia whipped with distraction and covered in coffee. It is a treasure.
Exchange Painting
Walking along the street, I spotted the painting in a lobby. It is called “Exchange” by Philip Buller. It is large. I enjoyed the feelings and the path my mind took looking at it. The gentleman at the lobby desk was friendly, too, as I spent several minutes taking it in up close and chatting with him about others who have stopped to appreciate it.
I don’t know who wrote the plaque that accompanied the painting in the lobby, but there was a poetry to it. The commission was to produce a work of art about commerce. The author of the plaque wrote, “Commerce, on its most basic and beneficent level, is the service of others through exchange.”
The “service of others through exchange.” A new perspective I will play with when I exchange. It makes me smile to think this way when purchasing groceries or a cup of coffee. It makes me smile to inact commerce “on its most basic and beneficent level.”