The Spanish thief.

Many fervent and loyal blog readers will remember the Spanish Princess.
How she had come to sit gloriously on the throne but dramatically fell off it by her own insincere and dishonest doing.
It was the story of her being involved with this photographer and planning to travel together to admit just before taking off that all the time she had been with another guy in spite of having declared she had quit with him.

Yesterday a shocking discovery was made.
For the first time in more than three weeks, through Internet banking, the balance on the personal bank account was checked.
To discover to utter surprise that the bank account was seized by the Dutch judicial authority.
The bank account in limbo.
Impossible to get money out.
Impossible to use the credit card.

The background of this unpleasant and inconvenient situation is that last year a picture made by the Spanish Princess was purchased at the HUP Gallery in Amsterdam.
The gallery representing her work.
However, that gallery failed to finalise the purchase properly and with the Spanish Princess in agreement a letter was send to the HUP Gallery that the purchase was cancelled.
And next the picture was bought directly from the Spanish Princess.
She received the money, 1.800 Euros (2,500 $) and delivered the picture to a photography collection of a University in Holland it was donated to.

However, some months later, and after the Spanish Princess had fallen from her throne, the HUP Gallery contacted the buyer saying they wanted their 1.800 Euros.

First the Spanish Princess herself and next the HUP Gallery were informed that the money was paid.
That the Spanish Princess had received the money directly and that the HUP Gallery had to contact her to get their 50 % share.

The HUP Gallery called the Spanish Princess but she bluntly denied she had ever received any money for the purchase.
Obviously she was lying to avoid having to pay half of the 1.800 Euros to the Gallery.
The HUP Gallery returned and claimed that the money was never paid to the Spanish Princess.
Now the buyer was made by the Spanish Princess into the one lying.
However, there were bank papers clearly showing she was paid and the picture was delivered by herself to the curator of the photo-collection of the University.
The HUP Gallery confronted the Spanish Princess with these facts and this time she admitted she had received money but that it had been for something else.

The HUP Gallery decided they didn’t want to get involved in all this and simply stuck to a kind of agreement signed at the moment of purchase.
While the buyer obviously recommended the HUP Gallery that their money had to be obtained from the Spanish Princess.

Eventually the HUP Gallery involved an usher and without any letters or requests simply seized the bank account of this buyer.

All this will result now in a court case and most likely it cannot be won.
This will mean that the picture of the Spanish Princess has to be paid for a second time and half of that money goes to her.
She will make 1.800 + 900 = 2.700 Euros (3,800 $)

This whole situation exists because the Spanish Princess lies.
Operates as a thief.
She denies she received any money for that picture.
If she would tell the truth and pay the Gallery their 50 %, there would be no problem.

This is a most unfortunate and rather traumatic experience.
Besides the inconvenience as no money can be used from the bank account for some time to come.

Fervent and loyal blog readers are invited to respond and recommend what is the best strategy in this matter.

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To learn more about the HUP Gallery, click on:
http://www.hupgallery.com/








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A sadistic show.

Currently, in the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Centre in Los Angeles, USA, is an exhibition of the French photographer Luc Delahaye.

Luc Delahaye is in fact a photojournalist.
He is send by photo news agencies to trouble spots and world events.
He makes pictures of the most tragic situations with people wherever they can be found in the world.
Displaced people in Chad.
The Jenin refugee camp on the West Bank.
Dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Mass graves in Bosnia.
The genocide in Rwanda.

Devastation, destruction, death, misery, hopelessness.
Documented in colour pictures published in newspapers and magazines.

But Luc Delahaye takes with him also a medium-format camera.
And the pictures he makes with that camera are enlarged to monumental sizes.
Those enormous pictures are now exhibited in the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Centre in Los Angeles, USA.

So, in case you have missed to see those images in your newspaper or magazine, now you have the opportunity to see the corpse of the killed Taliban soldier in colour and life sized.
And all the other horrible things that have happened in the world over the last years.

The question arises what is the reason for this exhibition.
Why does the curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum, a woman called Anne Lacoste, choose to show these photographs?
They have already been presented to the public in newspapers and magazines.
The public knows about the events presented in the images.
Nothing new or unknown until now can be seen.

Over the last couple of years many terrible events indeed have been happening in the world.
Wars and disasters.
But at the same time, many beautiful and wonderful things have been happening as well.
Completely ignored by Luc Delahaye.
More people in the world are living in peace than in war.
Most places have not suffered disasters.

The exhibition is like a show of sadists intended for masochists.
The worst events of the last couple of years are presented only.
As impressive as possible.
As if this is the world we are living in.

There is another reason why this exhibition of Luc Delahaye in the J. Paul Getty Museum is adamantly rejected.

It is because of the aspect of this exhibition that those large images are considered objects of art.
They are bought and collected by museums like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Houston.
The deep misery of people in situations they are not responsible for photographed by a European photographer who sells eventually those images for big money.

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To learn more about the exhibition of Luc Delahaye in the Getty Centre, click on:

http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/delahaye/









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A hold-up in a McDonalds.

Cruising Los Angeles with assistant Henry.
Looking for opportunities to photograph the traffic on highways.
And to make cityscapes from vistas.

As was found in the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
A marvellous view of Los Angeles.
The great thing of the activity was that to reach the vista point it needed a serious hike up a high hill.
Very remarkable to be in the very centre of Los Angeles and doing hiking in nature as if one was in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Another fabulous vista was found from the Griffith Park Observatory.
It is not allowed anymore to drive up to the Observatory but shuttle buses bring visitors leaving from the Los Angeles Zoo.
Of course a photographer doesn’t want to be dependent of the scheduled coming and going of shuttle buses and with assistant Henry another hike was made.
Now from the parking lot of the Greek Theatre all the way up the mountain where the Griffith Observatory is located.
A marvellous building constructed in 1935 and renovated in 2006.

To find proper locations to photograph highways is not an easy task.
Most bridges from where one can look down on a highway are not accessible for pedestrians.
And in case they are accessible, high fences obstruct the view.
Assistant Henry, being an expert on Los Angeles, knew where to look and some adequate spots were found.
Documenting a slow moving traffic jam underneath while the sun was setting, drivers were rolling down their windows and shouting happy words at the photographer.

In the afternoon it was decided to have a tea.
The only place available was a McDonalds.
Located in what is considered a “bad neighbourhood”.
Quite an experience.

Assistant Henry and the photographer, two Caucasians, among impressive African-Americans.
Some of them huge and obese but ordering extra large Coca Colas and milkshakes anyway.
Some of them decorated with gold chains and diamond watches and walking as if having comfortable air cushions in their shoes.
And all of them were watching wondering what those two white guys were doing in their McDonalds.

An older African-American sat down opposite the two tea drinkers.
He studied them and after a while he opened his bag, called and showed what he had.
Pornographic DVD’s.
He offered them for sale.

“My girlfriend doesn’t allow me to watch those”, the photographer thought it was funny to tell this to the older African-American.
And a way to make clear there was no interest in his merchandise.
The older African-American looked away expressing on his face disgust.
Eventually he turned back and said: “You must be the boss”.

Suddenly two mean looking guys entered the restaurant.
Each one had in his hand a large, silver revolver.
One moved to a corner of the restaurant and observed intently the customers.
He was ready to shoot and kill whenever he thought appropriate.
The other guy moved quickly behind the counter and disappeared.

Assistant Henry said: “Relax”.
Which was a good advice.
Makes no sense to get upset during a hold-up and possibly make a wrong move to have a bullet pumped in the beautiful body.

But soon it became clear they were employees of Brinks collecting the McDonalds money to transport it to the bank.

Sunlight from the stars.

One of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Los Angeles is called Watts.
In the south of the city, Watts has a reputation of a violence-prone and impoverished area.

The saying goes that in Los Angeles people can walk in the streets safely but in Watts people are running.

Annette Orozco is a beautiful 31-year-old senorita whose parents are from Medina in the Yucatan, Mexico.
She drives a fancy Chevrolet Tahoe and from the mirror an image of the Virgen de Guadelupe takes care of protection.

Nobody goes to Watts when not living or having business there: it is simply too dangerous.

Guided by a TomTom, a navigator coming from a company in the Netherlands, Annette and this photographer set off for a visit to Watts.
To meet Tunisia Adams and her family.

Entering Watts is landing on another planet.
It is a side of the United States that is shocking.
The richest country in the world looking like one of the most impoverished nations.
Knowing to be in the USA while it looks like a poor neighbourhood in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Africa.

Many times cities in developing countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Senegal, Bangladesh, India, Bolivia and Mozambique have been visited.
And in Watts memories of those visits returned.
It is the same misery.
The same hopelessness.
The same trap the people are in.

A trap also in a literal way.
Because there is so much violence the people surround their houses with a high fence.
Like Tunisia Adams: she locks the 8 feet high fence around her house and she locks the doors, barricades the windows and inside her house she lives with her husband and children.
Exactly like in Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kampala, Dakar, Dhaka, New Delhi, Bogota and Maputo.

Thousands and thousands of people live in this degrading and miserable way in Watts, Los Angeles, USA.
And it is not a unique situation: many cities in the USA have these impoverished neighbourhoods.


Why does this situation exist in the richest country in the world?
While in other developed nations that kind of circumstances of living has been eliminated a long time ago?

The answer is obvious.
It is a matter of priorities of the Government.

The war in Iraq has cost until now almost 500.000.000.000 US dollars.

The Pentagon reported that it is now spending over 10 billion US dollars per month paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US Government spends over 626 billion US dollars annually on weapons.

While over 70.000 bridges in the USA are structurally deficient needing immediate repair according to the Washington Times.

So, Mrs. Adams in Watts, Los Angeles, cannot have any hopes that much improvement will come soon to her neighbourhood initiated and paid for by her Government.


But fortunately there are people in the USA who think differently.
Who are concerned and take initiatives to get people out of poverty and Third World living circumstances.

There is the Enterprise foundation.
A non-profit organisation that assists low-income people in different ways.

One of the activities of Enterprise is to invite Hollywood celebrities to finance solar systems on houses of low-income families in Watts.
Tunisia Adams has such a solar system.
Paid for by German born film actor Roland Emmerich.
12 large panels on her roof and a Xantrex inverter.

When Tunisia and her family use electricity during the day, it comes as much as possible from the panels on her roof.
If she doesn’t use electricity the production of the solar panels goes back into the grid of the electricity company.
One can actually see her meter turn backward when that situation arises.

Tunisia Adams saves between 60 to 85 % on her electricity bill depending of the time of year.
The solar system on her house has been costing about 25.000 US dollars all-in and this was possible thanks to the involvement of Enterprise and the generosity of the Hollywood celebrity Roland Emmerich.

Now Tunisia Adams has money to spend on the education of her children that might eventually and possibly get them out of the trap called Watts.

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To learn more about the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, click on:
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html

To learn more about the spending of the US-Government on weapons, click on:
http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp

To learn more about the situation with bridges in the USA, click on:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070803/NATION/108030063&SearchID=73289141603181

To learn more about generous actor Roland Emmerich, click on:
http://imdb.com/name/nm0000386/

To learn more about the Enterprise Foundation, click on:
http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/
http://www.ehop.org/

Life like a Maserati.

Having a morning coffee in a place in Venice, California, USA called “French Market” where everybody was speaking French.
Men and women from France reading the magazine “Paris Match” and kissing each other lightly on the cheeks.
An atmosphere of nostalgia.
Of missing the motherland.
Of melancholy.

In the long version of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film “Apocalypse now” is a chapter about a French family living somewhere in the jungle of Vietnam desperately trying to remain French.
Coppola showing the decay and the loosing of it of these French as a paradigm of the American military intervention in Vietnam.


Bombarded into being the co-pilot of the Volvo station wagon cruising from Venice to Pomona.
Easy to do with the Mapquest driving directions and the clear signs along and above the highways.

During the journey discussing with the two passengers whether there is more cancer these days than before.
And if so, why.
Is there more cancer because we have more sophisticated medical equipment to detect the disease?
Was there in the past as much cancer but we simply didn’t know?
Or is there more cancer because of all the chemicals in the food, the pollution in the air and the stress most people suffer?
Impossible to come to a conclusion.

A Maserati speeded by.

Visiting and photographing the house of Scott Litt, the former producer of the rock band REM.
An amazing dwelling of more than 2,5 million Dollars.
The design of the house highly influenced by the architects Gerrit Rietveld and Mies von der Rohe, it is a minimalism and modernism of the 1920’s re-activated in the 21st century.

In applied arts there are historic results haunting any architect and designer forever.
To be unique and truly different, there is this whole history of fabulous designs competing and blocking.
But this is not always important.
The house of Scott Litt has the same magical atmosphere making a person feel special to be inside.

Lunch with the American architect Jennifer Siegal and her South African Senior Design Associate Laura McAlpine in a Japanese restaurant called Wabi Sabi.
If one knows what “Wabi sabi” means, one gets scared.
Wabi-sabi is the Japanese philosophy that embraces the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.
It is about the beauty of things modest and humble.
Now, somebody who wants to eat in a restaurant doesn’t want to get food served that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.
Nor modest and humble.
Fortunately, there was no reason to panic.
The food was excellent.
And the company as well.

Another day in California, USA.
Another day in life with good and beautiful experiences.

Monica's madness.

The day divided in two.
In the morning many things to do for the progress of photography.
In the afternoon time to read the Los Angeles Times and go on a hike.

Behind the Malibu Beach RV Park are the Santa Monica hills and mountains.
One of the hiking trails is called Corral Canyon Trail.



Before to go on that trail it is advised:

“Whenever you travel outdoors alone, you should always tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return”.



But who to tell that this afternoon a hike will be made on the Corral Canyon Trailhead?
There are plenty of persons eligible but not immediately in the vicinity to take action when not returned.

So, the decision was made to go on the hike without informing anyone.
As if the recent experience of getting stuck on top of a rock bed of a volcano in the Inyo National Park, realizing how irresponsible behaviour sometimes is, never happened.

These days it is hazy and foggy in Los Angeles with a warm sun and a cool ocean breeze.
Ideal circumstances for a serious hike.

The trail went along the Corral Creek but moved up into the mountains.
Far away on top of hills houses could be seen looking like palaces.

When suddenly a trapdoor opened in the field next to the trail.

Out came a man and immediately it was realized that this was the alter ego.

We sat down overlooking from high up the Pacific Ocean and he said:

“Only those who are ready to put their prestige, their pride, their respectability, again and again at stake, and can go into something which nobody thinks is worth going into…”

At that point the man simply vanished.

There was no confusion about this statement.
So opposite to the instructions read before going on this hike.
There was just the awareness that something important to know had come.

And it was realized that never someone can be informed where going because in this life no known trails are hiked.

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To learn more about the Corral Canyon Trail, click on:
http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=4

To learn more about the man coming from the trapdoor, click on:
http://www.osho.com






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Cheap freedom.

It has been costing some considerable extra bucks but the Fuso Szulc is now better located on the Malibu Beach RV Park.
A view of the ocean and only one neighbour.

Some folks from Switzerland who don’t need their noisy air conditioning like the former Dutch neighbours.

It feels like trying to make the best of a bad situation.
As if we were all in a prison camp where are poor conditions and a little extra space is a major improvement.

Yesterday was an exceptional day.
Well, every day is an exceptional day but this one was most exceptional.
The thing to do was to meet architect Jennifer Siegal and photograph her.
This went extremely well and some most interesting pictures could be made.
Impossible to publish on this blog due to the copyright owned by the magazine the pictures were made for.

It was a great pleasure to meet Jennifer and besides photographing her, getting to know her.
Tomorrow there will be a new meeting.

Last night a knock on the open door.
One of the persons from the Netherlands passing by to have a chat.
It is now 7 years that living and working in the Netherlands was halted and as of then this country is briefly visited usually only once a year.
However, to speak the language of the Netherlands, called Dutch, is not a problem.
Somehow it doesn’t fade.
But there is a social and political gap.
Because no news sources about the Netherlands are ever consulted, there is no knowledge anymore what is going on in that country.
There is a disconnection and actually that feels very liberating.
These days the interest is mainly in American politics where major changes might happen influencing not only the USA but the rest of the world as well.
To follow this process is fascinating.
Who cares what is happening in a tiny country like the Netherlands.

The person from the Netherlands visiting last night, called Paul, had rented a motor home from a company called Cruise America.
He paid 3.000 $ (2.187 Euros) for a three weeks use excluding gasoline and taxes.
In the brochure it had been promised he would get an almost brand-new motor home but to the disappointment of Paul and his family this was not true.
His motor home was an oldie with 70.000 miles (113.000 kilometres) on the clock.
And not surprisingly, the motor home broke down.
He got stuck with a broken start-engine twice.
It had to be replaced and he lost two days of his holidays.
Now he is trying to get some kind of compensation and will never be a customer of Cruise America anymore.

Meanwhile a copy of the Camping World catalogue has been obtained.
In it an advertisement for the new Coachmen FreedomExpress 21QB motor home.


A 21 feet motor home on a Chevy chassis having electrical heated holding tanks, patio and slide out awnings, a 4.0KW Onan Gas generator, etc, etc.
This motor home will cost 49.995 $ (36.640 Euros), an incredible low price.
We may wonder how long the freedom with the Coachmen FreedomExpress can be enjoyed.
Is this motorhome not going to be a bird with limited freedom?

Together in Malibu.

It is because of the assignment otherwise never ever would even one night have been spent using “Malibu Beach RV Park”.
But it is the only trailer park close to Los Angeles with spaces available this time of year.
All the nearby State beaches and parks with camping facilities are booked full for weeks.
Staying in a Wal*Mart parking lot is a miserable experience.
Spending the night illegally sneaking in and out a residential area is not an acceptable policy for the Fuso Szulc.
Therefore it is the “Malibu Beach RV Park”.
To the West of Los Angeles.

“Malibu Beach RV Park” is located on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway and the Pacific Ocean.


It is a rather small park but nevertheless they have managed to squeeze in more than 114 RV spaces and 50 tent sites.
The space between the motor homes is less than 2 meters (6,56 feet).


Most people with an RV pay 90 $ (66 Euros) a night which makes “Malibu Beach RV Park” a very expensive place to stay.
And maybe an interesting source of income for the owners with a potential of over 10.000 $ (7332,45 Euros) per night.

Many of the RV’ers here are Europeans with rented motor homes.
In fact, the Fuso Szulc is surrounded by people from the Netherlands and their undisciplined children.

Being put so close to each other is one thing, but the Fire Department of Malibu has ordered that all RV’s must be with their front to the road.
The idea is that in case of a calamity the motor homes can leave more easily.
For the Fuso Szulc this means that the side with the view is now facing the steep hillside.
Originally the Fuso Szulc was of course parked the other way having a magisterial and magical view of the Pacific Ocean but a lady in a golf cart belonging to “Malibu Beach RV Park” came to say that the Fuso Szulc had to be immediately put in the reverse position.


Now the view is a dark wall of sand and grass.

Being so close to another RV makes “Malibu Beach RV Park” as noisy as Bakersfield Palms RV Resort of last night.
Where trains were thundering through the camper.


This time, the neighbours from the Netherlands like to run their air conditioning although the outside temperature is only 24 degrees Centigrade (75 Fahrenheit).
They prefer to keep all windows and roof vents closed and enjoy the air conditioning.
The XM-radio has to be put on double volume to avoid thinking one is accidentally living in a power plant.

Also at “Malibu Beach RV Park”, like at Bakersfield Palms RV Resort, the promised WIFI is not working.
How lucky the Fuso Szulc is to have its own Datastorm Internet system.
This thing though is rather endemic: hotels and trailer parks promising WIFI in their PR but once there it doesn’t work.

Here 9 nights and days will be spend.
But of course an effort will be made to change location and to get a better place at “Malibu Beach RV Park”.

Today photographing Jennifer Siegal.
A progressive architect involved in ecological friendly building.
A true Prima Donna.
She is the first person in the career of this photographer, which is spanning over 37 years, who has requested a make-up artist/hairdresser.
Before pictures are made, make up needs to be applied and the hair done.
Not by herself but by a professional.
This has to be paid for by the magazine the photographer works for.
Now, that is style!
But we will see today how Prima the Donna in fact is.

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To learn more about the work of Jennifer Siegal, click on:
http://www.designmobile.com/







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Thundering trains.

The campground near Deadman’s Pass in the Inyo National Forest, California, USA, was packed with people in motorhomes, fifth wheelers and campers all escaping the merciless heat of the lower parts of the state.
At about 8.000 feet (2.438 meters) the temperatures are more modest and pleasant.
One can sleep and live without air conditioning.
Another reason for people to stay at the Glass Creek Campground was that it was at no charge.
It is National Forest and camping is for free.
For example, a woman was met explaining she had paid a high bill for fixing her car and was staying at Glass Creek Campground to enjoy the cooler weather and to save money.

From Glass Creek Campground the Fuso Szulc has travelled to Bakersfield, California, USA.
Where it is hot.
Very hot.
Day and night.

The night was spend at Bakersfield Palms RV Resort.
This was a last bet: all other and better places to stay turned out to be booked full.
It is Summer, for many people it is holiday time and it is the weekend.

If the travelling was by own decisions, this area and the Bakersfield Palms RV Resort would never have seen the Fuso Szulc.
But there is this assignment that is deciding where to go.

Of course it is highly appreciated that the Bakersfield Palms RV Resort has water and electricity.
And a small swimming pool.
But the WIFI system they promise in their publicity is not working.
The palm trees stop the own Datastorm to get on line.
And right next to the Bakersfield Palms RV Resort are the railroad tracks where every 15 minutes a cargo train passes by splitting the head in two.
Four or five diesel locomotives pulling an endless line of trailers.

This is all not too bad because everything is considered an experience and life is yin and yang.
But what about all those people who seem to live permanently at Bakersfield Palms RV Resort?
There are plenty of them.
Most of them living in trailers that have not seen the road for years.
Living in it are old people who probably have no more house somewhere else.
They have surrounded their trailers with small gardens and paraphernalia to make it look a little more personal.
Day and night they are inside their air conditioned trailer hiding for the heat.
They may have become accustomed to the trains thundering through the camp.

The objective today is to find a place as close as possible to Venice where on Monday is an appointment.
This is another test to trust.
That something will be found.

Sliding off a volcano.

It was decided to go on a walk today.
To hike along the Glass Creek River up into the mountains of the Inyo National Park.

Was it realized there are bears in the wilderness?

Yes, the thought came across.
Always optimistic and maybe over courageous and most of all rather megalomania a strategy was developed in case a bear happened to use the same trail as the afternoon’s hiker.
The plan was to go immediately behind a large tree and circle it synchronically with the bear.
Meanwhile picking up a sharp branch and at an adequate moment poke the bear in the eye.
Maybe then the other eye as well and one could walk away in peace.

The walk went on and on.
Hiking along the beautiful creek where delicate flowers were growing for us.





Eventually an enormous stonewall was reached.
The remnants of an eruption of a volcano.

This naïve thought came up that behind that wall of loose boulders would be a beautiful lake.
And the decision was made to climb that high and steep slope of loose stones and boulders.

This photographer is not specifically trained for mountain climbing.
The hiking boots helped but not the camera dangling around his neck.
It was fierce ambition and the desire to wish to reach a goal that created an almost violent insistency to need to conquer the difficult ascends.

Most stupidly, the thinking was so obsessed with climbing up, that not one second it was considered how to come back down.

The climb was cruel.
Up and up and up.
Sliding down, finding grip, hoisting up, slowly ascending.
To discover at the top that beyond were only more steep walls of stones…

No beautiful lake.
The imagination is often so wrong because it is fuelled by what we fantasize is the best for us.

There were just miles and miles of more steep hills of volcanic stones.
No option to go ahead.
It was realized that the only thing to do was to go back.
But then it was discovered that descending was very difficult and dangerous.
An effort was made but it was simply too steep.
It was impossible to see where to plant the shoes and too many boulders, stones and gravel were loose.
Trying to go down would certainly result in a dramatic fall with serious injuries.
And this was wilderness area.
When would a victim of an accident be found here?

The conclusion was that it was a fine mess one found itself in.
And it was realized that this bloody ambition of always having to go to extremes might one day result in falling over the edge.

Eventually it was decided to climb along the rim to see if at another place a descend would be more easy.
This was found and holding on to protruding large boulders slowly and carefully the slope was slided down.
Getting wounds on the hand palms of the sharp volcanic stones and a torturing of the bum well deserved.

A sigh of relief when returned to the path and looking up to the slope it was realized what a fool one had been to ever even consider to climb up there.

Exhausted and slightly shaken it looked best to hike back to the Fuso Szulc.
But when a path was seen going up into the mountains to new and mysterious destinations, the plan of returning changed immediately.





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She needs a good one.

Before to leave Quincy, the pretty small town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a new visit to the public library to make use of their fast WIFI-system.
Just to put a new posting of the blog, retrieve and send e-mails.

It was ten o’clock in the morning and the street deserted.
In front of the public library white lines were drawn in an angle of 45 degrees to indicate how to park cars.

It was decided to park the Fuso Szulc in an angle of 25 degrees to avoid obstructing the traffic in the street.
If the Fuso Szulc had been exactly within the white lines the back would have stick out dangerously far into the street.
Parking in an angle of 25 degrees resulted in making use of two parking spaces and not being within the white lines but that didn’t matter.
There was not one other car parked and the visit to the public library would not take more than fifteen minutes.

The business with the MacBook Pro and WIFI was done in 15 minutes indeed.
Returned to the Fuso Szulc, the map was studied to check the route to travel that day.

A Jeep arrived and parked some parking places away from the Fuso Szulc.
A woman came out and walked up to the Fuso Szulc.
She said in a bitchy voice:
“You park even more lousy than I do”.

The woman was recognised.
She worked in the public library.
When visiting there the day before she had said:
“You use WIFI with your own computer? We LOVE people with their own computer!”
This had to do with the congestion of the many people wanting to use the four available computers of the public library.

But the woman didn’t remember the visitor of the day before.
“You park even more lousy than I do and that is because you don’t care”.

The reply was:
“There is a reason why this vehicle is parked in this way”.

The woman said now even more agressively:
“Yes and the reason is that you don’t care”.

The Fuso Szulc owner responded:
“You are projecting your own attitudes on other people”.

She realized the conversation was not going in a more friendly direction.
Abruptly she changed the topic:
“What mileage do you get from this truck?”.

She walked to the public library after she heard it was about 15 miles to the gallon.

At the end of the day friends Andreas and Ute were joined.
They are camping at the Glass Creek Campground near the town of Mammoth Lakes.
New friend Wendy was there also and sitting all together telling the recent travel experiences, the event with the lady of the public library of Quincy was told.

The conclusion was that the Quincy lady needed one thing only.
A good one.

Locked out.

It is beautiful and wonderful in Northern California.
The weather is fabulous: warm sunshine and crystal clear light.
The nights cool off sufficiently to sleep deeply and peacefully hearing the sound of the river flowing nearby.
The sound of the river whispering confidentially words of wisdom while the almost full moon tells finally the secret words to reveal the eternal and ethereal existence.

The new day presents itself with the dawning of light but the body obviously reluctantly objects and refuses and wants to continue the deep enjoyments of good and deep sleep craved for every night.

It is peaceful here.
The large pine trees encircle as a protection against the evils of the real world.
A group of deer may shyly show up while Wal*Mart is fortunately far away.


In between the trees of the estate of friend Tim the Datastorm is unable to find Satmex 5 in the sky for Internet connection.
A visit was made to the small town of Quincy because the public library there has four computers available for Internet access and has WIFI free of charge.

Sometimes postings of this blog get on line in surprising ways.

A woman was met in a parking lot of the local theatre of Quincy coincidentally run by friend Tim’s brother.
She was next to her Chrysler Sebring convertible car and having two problems.
She was parked in an illegal place and had a big ticket on her car window.
But more annoying was that her keys were inside the locked car.

Friend Tim was in discussion with his brother.
Having to wait the obvious thing to do was to participate in the scene of a person making efforts to open her car.
The woman used a thick metal wire to try to reach inside the knob releasing the lock.
She didn’t have much luck.
The car, being a convertible, offered a simple solution: cut open the fabric of the roof with a knife and open the door.
This suggestion was made to the woman.
She said she had thought about that but had come to realize that her insurance company would not pay for a new roof.

While watching her unsuccessfully fiddle with the metal wire this tendency could be noticed to want to take over.
It is true that in the past, on numerous occasions, locked cars have been opened using a metal wire.
And it was obvious that the way she was trying to open her car was not going to be successful.
But somehow today, it was decided not to interfere.
Not to tell the woman to hand over the metal wire and make her a bystander.

In relationships that are balanced nothing should be enforced.
No paternalism, no maternalism.
Imposing is taboo.
If the woman wants to give up and ask somebody else for assistance, she can make that choice.
If she wants to continue to try while someone has arrived, that is a choice as well.
That needs to be respected.

All those thoughts flashed through the mind while watching the efforts of the woman.

While chatting with her suddenly she said:
“You are the first man I meet who just let me do my thing.
Who is not trying to take over.”
The confession was made that exactly this had been the subject of the very recent thoughts.
And that the non-interference had been a deliberate choice.

She explained she was an aviation engineer.
Highly educated.
In technical matters.
Not waiting for male species to tell her how to unlock her car.

Half an hour later in Tim’s Toyota 4Runner the return trip to his estate.
Seeing the woman still trying to open her car.

On her Chrysler Sebring convertible a sticker had been spotted saying:
Ministry of Defence.

Alone on an estate.

In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, east of the city of Redding, is a nice little town by the name of Quincy.
Located in a large valley in between the high hills.

About 12 miles out of Quincy lives long time friend Tim on a 34-acre estate surrounded by a National Park.
Friend Tim lives by himself.

In the peace and quiet of friend Tim’s estate memory drifted back.

The first 13 years of life were also spent on an estate.
This was in the South of the Netherlands.
A large wooden house surrounded by nature.

There were seven people living in this house.
The parents, the four children and the governess.

There was a library in the 12-room house and in wintertime this was the most favourite place to be.
Sitting next to the window and the warm radiator reading books.
Any book that was in the library.
Even the 12-volume encyclopaedia was read.

In summer it was outside where most time was spent.
In nature having experiences with animals, building huts and climbing trees.

All these activities, summer and winter, were alone.
Not with the brother.
Sometimes with the sisters.
Never with the parents.

There was not a choice between doing things alone or with others.
It was simply a fact of life that childhood was alone.

At the age of 11 the father gave as a present a camera.

He had seen how there had already been a fascination for making pictures.

The camera became the lighthouse in life.
A source of light.
A central point.
An indicator where to go.
Everything that as a child was needed from the parents and the family, and that they were unable to give due to the tremendous problems they were involved in themselves, came now from the lighthouse.
It was the only thing and therefore it was grabbed like a lifeline.

This is why photography became so important and why it became the devotion and the passion.
Everything in life that a child growing up in a happy and harmonious family learns from the parents and the kinship was learned through photography.
Photography a substitute for love and warmth and belonging and protection and recognition.

Tim said: “You are so gifted”.
This is not true.
Specific circumstances during childhood forced to look and find realization and fulfilment of life somewhere else.
Children who are loved don’t need to do this and can live a quiet and happy life not needing to go into extremes to find justification for existence.
Potentially they could be fantastic artists as well, because every one of us has fabulous talents, but they simply have no need to wake it up.

Everything is in balance though.
If the parents had been able to love, there would not have been our sharing of this story today.





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Whisked in Whiskeytown.

Near the town of Redding in the central part of California, USA, is a place called Whiskeytown.
Near Whiskeytown, in the Trinity River, engineers have build a dam creating a large artificial lake.
An area next to this lake has been made into the Whiskeytown Recreational Park.
It is here the night was spent.

Because the area for campers and motor homes was full, for 19 $ (13,75 Euros) it was allowed to camp in the “overflow”.
The parking space.

Many people come to the Whiskeytown Recreational Park pulling a boat to spend the day cruising on the lake.
Fancy boats costing a small fortune.

Camping in the parking area offered a nice opportunity to observe people driving their cars with a boat trailer to the water edge to get their boats out.
And remarkable was that not one person with a boat was alone.
All the boats were with a group of people.
Having a good time together.
The conclusion was that people who buy a boat have a successful family.
Or at least, are living together with other persons and spending the free time with them.

Another observation was the difference in physique between the men and women.
During the 3 hours of watching over a 100 persons were seen.
Most were out of shape.
Showing a body not exercised.
Showing a diet too high in fat and calories.

100 % of all the women observed were fat and overweight.
Even the young girls with often cute faces already had a belly and oversized behinds.
Not one girl or woman could be seen with a well-proportioned and attractive body.

This is not a personal opinion.
It is a cool and balanced neutral observation.

However, there were several men in excellent shape.
Who obviously were on a healthy diet and doing workouts.
Having incredibly well proportioned and muscled bodies.
No belly, no rings, no fat.

This fabulous body they didn’t mind showing.
They were wearing Bermuda’s that they let down hanging to just above the point where the penis connects to the underbelly.
To give maximum exposure to the result of their efforts.

But in a way it was tragic: their bodies showed loneliness.
Because they were all accompanied by wives very much out of shape.
Explaining that the men were in activities to look healthy, athletic and muscular not shared by their wives.
As if they were living on different planets except for the boat rides.
Lonely and separated within their relationship.

This morning a magic moment.
A mother and her son walked to the edge of the water.



Half an hour later, a father and his son walked to the same spot.








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No sex yet.

Fortunately this morning the sun broke through the sea fog and there was a bright blue sky.
Soon Park Ranger Phil Rovai came in his private Jeep Cherokee to go to his house equipped with a hybrid energy supply system.
There were four elements to be documented.
The solar panels.
The bank of batteries.
The back up generator on propane.
And how the electricity was used.
The job was to photograph this in a surprising and convincing and all explanatory way.

Phil Rovai was an exceptional talent in posing.
Very natural and easily himself.
A very kind man.
Some great shots could be made.

Meanwhile a problem had surfaced with the Datastorm Satellite System.
It just couldn’t connect to the Internet.
For unknown reasons.
The disk found the satellite and contact was established.
But next, it got stuck with the message: “Transmitter requesting a transmit pointing test. (TxCode 18)”
It just stayed there.
Everything in the book of tricks was tried but to no avail.
For the first time no daily posting could be put on the blog.

Later in the afternoon Monique came to have a tea.
Monique is a student who has as a summer job working in the Prairie Creek Redwoods National Park.
She arrived in her Park uniform and asked if she could change in the Fuso Szulc.
Of course and for the first time in its existence a lady got undressed inside the bathroom of the Fuso Szulc.
Out came a woman not a Park Ranger anymore but dressed in a military camouflage coloured tight shirt and a long skirt all the way down to the ankles.
Monique had brought real Ceylon tea that she had from her mother who is from Sri Lanka.
How wonderful to have a real good cup of tea at four o’clock in the afternoon near the ocean in good company.
Monique could stay only for one hour because she was planning to go to church in a nearby town.
She had been falling in and out with church, but now she was hooked again.
The Roman Catholic Church.
There were two more remarkable things Monique told.
When she is free, she plays computer and video games.
This might belong to her age, 26 years old, but it is quite something a young woman playing videogames and not watching TV, not listening to the radio and not reading the newspapers.
Not having a clue what is going on in the world.
Not even reading books or having a social life.
Only obsessed and thrilled by computer games.

The other remarkable thing is that Monique has promised herself not to have sex until she is married.
This idea she has from her church.
There is of course this question how to know whether sex will be a pleasure with the partner if she has to wait until she is married.
But of this Monique is convinced: the guy she is going to marry will give her satisfying sex.
The whole world hopes for Monique this will be true and that she will not be disappointed.

From Sri Lanka.

The Fuso Szulc is now located next to the Pacific Ocean at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

There are two campgrounds at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and ranger Phil, who lives in the house with hybrid energy supply to be photographed, is at the one near the ocean.
This is reached using an unpaved, winding, often steep road going through the centuries old forest.

It was decided to move the Fuso Szulc to that area to have more easy access to the house.
Guided by Ranger Phil in his State Park 4x4 Dodge truck equipped with red and green flashing lights and two long rifles.
This was the caravanserai negotiating the challenging road.
Ranger Phil stopping all oncoming traffic and ordering them to the side of the narrow road to facilitate the Fuso Szulc easy driving of the difficult road.

Eventually, almost at ocean level, the booth for the park entrance was reached where Park ranger Monique was met.
Monique’s mother is from Sri Lanka and within minutes the desire and love for Ceylon tea was shared.
And past experiences of visits to the island of Sri Lanka.

Remembering the experience when staying in a hotel in the town of Anuradhapura on the island of Sri Lanka, there was a knock on the door.
Opening the door there were three viciously looking men and two of them were armed with automatic weapons.
They were security police and the order was to get the luggage ready and to come along to Colombo, the capital of the island.
Also the driver and his car with who the journey until then had been made on the beautiful island were ordered to come.
A difficult situation because in the luggage were documents that could endanger the freedom and wellbeing of several Sri Lanka people.
Half way the long journey from Anuradhapura to Colombo the agents were asked if a stop could be made in a roadside hotel to take a shower and to put on clean clothes.
This was allowed and with the suitcase in the hotel room first it was tried to flush the documents down the toilet.
There were too many papers though and the toilet looked like getting blocked.
Therefore the documents were placed under the mattress expecting it to take awhile before they would be found.

It was deep into the night when the party arrived in Colombo.
The agents went straight to a large villa on the border of the city.
This was there headquarters and in one corridor they had prison cells where men in chains were held.
A most friendly man, who later claimed he had been trained by the CIA in the USA, explained they wanted to know the details of the journey.
What were the motives of the trip?
Who had been met and why.
But giving any information was refused.
The driver of the car was brought in.
The CIA-clone shouted at him and started to beat him up.
If the foreign visitor didn’t want to answer the questions his driver would pay the price.
Immediately it was made clear that questions would be answered.
No sense to rough up the innocent driver.

A deal was made that the next morning the Ambassador of the Netherlands would be informed of the arrest and after the interrogation could begin.

Fortunately the night didn’t need to be spend in the dungeons of the villa.
Being still a tourist officially without any evidence yet of the contrary a room in a nearby hotel was booked.
A comfortable room but outside the door a soldier with a machinegun was posted.

The next morning a man from the hotel brought breakfast and informed the guest was front-page news.
With him he had the national Sri Lanka newspaper and indeed on the front page was the headline news:
“Dutch national arrested on spying charges”.

It is a story too long for a blog to tell how it ended.
But it can be revealed that obviously the Sri Lanka authorities expelled the visitor as a “persona non grata”.
But the same authorities were unaware that all the pictures made, got safely out of the country as well.
Included a nice shot of the CIA-clone.





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Hate Tom Cruise.

Of course there are persons who are loved.
Like family and friends.
But also persons like Ghandi, Plato and Copernicus.
To name a few.
They all have first ring seats around the fire of available love.

The persons who are loved are a huge majority.
They are the most present in the existence.
Present consciously and subconsciously 99 % of the time.

Having so many people in loving unison with the personal existence is very beautiful and good.
But because life is yin and yang we must not forget to hate as well.
To keep things in balance.
If it is only love we are full of, love becomes an empty thing.
If there is a lot of love and a little of hate, that improves the quality of the love.

One of the rules in communication is that good news is no news.
A posting on this blog about how warmly and gratefully persons are loved in the life of this pioneering and nomadic photographer will force the amount of daily visitors to drop painfully.
But to read about who is hated makes a more interesting posting and probably a provocation to think and maybe even to comment.

For these reasons, this week we hate Tom Cruise.
If he would dare to be around, he would be strangled immediately.
Being in the Redwoods National Park in Northern California it is not very likely Mr. Cruise will pass by though as he is currently filming in Germany.

Tom Cruise is deeply hated for 1.745 reasons.

First of all and most importantly, for having been involved with Penelope Cruz.
Penelope Cruz, who looks exactly like the Spanish Princess responsible for irregular heartbeats some time ago as fervent and loyal blog readers very well should remember.
Thank God Penelope didn’t get pregnant of Tom Cruise, which goes to show what an intelligent and emancipated European girl Ms. Cruz is.

Second reason is that whenever we see Tom Cruise, whether in a picture or a video clip, he smiles and radiates like he is a supranational creature beyond what we ever could achieve to be ourselves.
Or maybe he is simply doing PR for his dentist.
Always this smile on his face.
This grimace of which he knows it lures innocent people in believing he is a man who managed to be beyond feelings of being sometimes not feeling too well.

Next, there is this issue that Mr. Cruise is an active member of the Scientology Church and promoting it shamelessly.
The Scientology Church: an organisation considered by many as a sect and a dangerous cult.
Of course, Tom Cruise can be a follower of whatever sect or religion he wishes.
But promoting Scientology, what Tom Cruise does, with his Hollywood style façade of being a successful human being, lures people to something that is going to cost them money.


If the fervent and loyal blog reader would make the effort to visit the website of the Scientology Church, it soon will be found out that the spiritual enlightenment through this so called church is claimed as possible.
It can be achieved by following Scientology courses.
Each time on a higher level.
And each time the Scientology pupil has to pay serious amounts of money for it.

The more enlightening the person wish to become, the more it will cost when joining the Scientology Church.
And there is no end to it.
It is all about money.

We must remember that the Scientology Church was invented and created by an American called Ron L. Hubbard who used to be a pretty good science fiction writer.

This charlatanry of the Scientology Church is no issue for Tom Cruise.
But the person struggling in life and believing the role models of Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the ones to follow, this person is paying dearly for the delusions.

There is even another reason to hate Tom Cruise.
He has his own film production company.
Therefore, he can choose himself in which films he plays.
Alert fervent and loyal blog readers will have noticed that Tom Cruise always chooses to play in films, which result in having sympathy for him.
He is always the good guy.
Always winning.
Always right.
Always controlled.
Always balanced.
Always in good shape.
Never unhappy.
He forces the audience to see him as an ideal human being.
To such an extreme that it becomes counter productive.
Many people meanwhile hate Tom Cruise.

But now he has carried it really too far.
He has gotten it into his mind to play the role of Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg.
Cruise’s production company is spending 80 million Dollars to give the Hollywood version of Von Stauffenberg’s effort on July 20, 1944 to try to kill Adolf Hitler.
Another effort of Tom Cruise to portray himself as a super good human being.
The family of Count von Stauffenberg is completely opposed to this charade and Cruise’s production company has not been able to obtain permission to film on certain historic locations.
There is a limit to what can be turned into more money.
But Tom Cruise goes ahead anyway.

Already a photograph is circulating, made available by Tom Cruise’s production company, where we see him dressed up as a German World War 2 officer.


A totally ridiculous representation.
Von Stauffenberg was a tall man.
Of a noble family.
Very well educated and intelligent.
Radiating dignity, class and pride.

Cruise is a rather small guy radiating superficiality and dumbness.

The film, called “Valkyrie”, will be released next year and of course it will be boycotted.

Now that all the hate available has been released, the loving of all the other people can take place without obstruction and in abundance.
Thanks Tom.





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Living energy.

There is this bright idea to make solar cells from organic material.
Imitating nature.
This idea has been made into reality and there actually exist organic solar cells.
The problem though is that the efficiency is very low.
Only 2 % of the sunlight is transformed into electricity.

What scientists are now trying to achieve is to boost the output.
If they can bring it up to 9 % it becomes commercially interesting.

One of the places where they are trying to create and invent high output organic solar cells is in a dark and sombre basement of the Hildebrand Building on the campus of the University of Berkeley.
The Chinese scientist Doctor Yue Wu, a Miller research fellow, is growing organic material that is put on small plastic square pieces to be tested on the capacity of transforming light into electricity.

It is a slow and methodical process and success is not guaranteed.
It is not easy to put oneself into the footsteps of the creator.

Besides the excitement of photographing pioneering scientists in action, there is also this most interesting privilege to meet them.
There was a lunch of bento boxes outside a Japanese restaurant on Central Avenue, Berkeley, in the warm sunshine.
Where the conversation soon turned political and philosophical.

It was explained for example why the students of the University of Berkeley were not actively opposing the war in Iraq like the students have been doing during the Vietnam War.
It is, according to the scientists lunching, because nowadays the students are too well off.
They have it too good and can’t really care about things like politics, compatriots and many innocent Iraqi civilian dying every day.

While having this most pleasant lunch with these bright minds the pedestrians, from all over the world, and the cars were passing by.
And it could not be avoided to think of the 15-year-old girl of the night before knocked down while crossing the street.
Loyal and fervent blog readers will remember this horrific experience.
Questions arose about how serious her injuries were and if she would have long lasting physical and psychological effects of this dramatic encounter with an inexperienced young driver.

When checking out of the Travelodge Hotel, the manager Sheila Huckaby was asked if she had any news about the girl of the accident.
Nothing was known.

Late in the afternoon a place to spend the night was found in a national park near Santa Rosa north of San Francisco.
Because of the trees no connection could be made with the Satmex satellite.

And again the hundreds of pictures made in the laboratory of the University of Berkeley had to get their captions.
What was happening in the picture?
Who was in the picture?
Where and when?

Some very exciting images were made today and that gives a photographer always a wonderful feeling which he humbly wishes to share with all the fervent and loyal blog readers.

An accident.

It was a successful day of working at the Berkeley West Biocenter where they are trying to find bacteria that can be manipulated into growing on a large scale serving as bio fuel.
A tedious and monklike work to find the right bacteria: a process of simply trying any possibility.
This means that it can take a while but that probably with a little luck in the future we can produce fuel from living organism we can grow ourselves.

Making pictures is one thing but they are meaningless if detailed captions are not added.
To know the time and place.
About what subject the picture exactly is.
Who are the persons in it.

Yesterday over 500 pictures were made resulting in several hours adding captions later in the Travelodge hotelroom.
Exactly at the moment the job was done good friend Irina arrived.
Irina is Russian and a fabulous photographer.
But it seems that with her talent and her style of photography she is not in the right place at the right moment.
Maybe Irina should make a drastic move and this she is seriously contemplating.
Because she is such a good photographer having the knack to know what makes a good and convincing picture, it was an exquisite privilege to go with her through today’s results.
To find at least two images that justify a spread in the magazine story later.

Dinner was with friend Harry, originally from Kanton.
He is living in a fabulous house on a hill side overlooking the bay of San Francisco.
On one side a large window offers this spectacular view and on the other side of the room Harry has this huge acquarium in which tropical fish costing more than 2.000 $ a piece.
A hobby.
Unfortunately for those expensive fish, the party they were seeing around the dinner table were eating fish also.
With a home made oyster sauce the best tasted ever.

Later a cup of chamomile tea in one of those European like brasseries Berkeley is fortunately offering.
Full of young people with books and noteblocks in front of them and the unavoidable laptops.
A great atmosphere: peaceful and positive.

Returning to the hotel Irina was kissed goodbye and getting out of her fancy Mitsubishi Eclipse and walking to the room suddenly:

BANG

Looking to where the sound was coming from, nearby a car was spotted with a front side badly damaged.
By intuition the short walk was made to this car and to great astonishment and shock a heap was observed just behind it.
Checking this out it became clear this was a young woman who obviously had been hit by the car.
Meanwhile Irina, having seen the walk to the damaged car had turned around and was on the spot shortly as well.

It was a 15 year old girl who was knocked down by the car.
On the well illuminated and quiet University Avenue and on a pedestrian crossing.

Quickly the coat was taken off and made into a pillow to put under the head of the moaning girl.
She wanted to get up but as this could harm her even more every effort was made to keep her laying down.
A girl from a nearby restaurant called 911 while the driver of the hit car was standing by.
He was young and pale.

The girl was semi-conscious.
Obviously in pain.
Having lossed part of her memory.
Panicking and getting into a shock.
Every effort was made to calm her down and to comfort her.
Holding her.
Talking to her in a quiet voice with soothing words.

Eventually the police came.
Three police cars.
The Fire Brigade came as well with a huge truck.
And eventually an ambulance who took over the care of the girl.

A lot of civil services came to assist but then, you never know.
It was very impressing how police and paramedics were doing their work.
Calm and efficiently.

Another girl of the restaurant had actually seen the accident happen and made herself available as a witness.
She was interviewed by the police at length.
The young, pale boy of the battered, old Toyata Corrola was interviewed as well and was allowed later to continue his journey.

Because of the coat serving as a pillow, the moment to go to the hotel had to wait until the girl was well in the ambulance.

And for a second time there were warm and intense hugs with Irina.






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Hopeless hotel.

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