Alto Vista Chapel, Aruba

The Alto Vista Chapel in Aruba overlooks the Caribbean Sea on the east side of the island. This quaint place of worship is unique on the island. There are many larger churches scattered about, but this one stands off by itself. Here’s a short video to give you and idea of the place.

Still an active place of worship, the Alto Vista Chapel also hosts weddings and other religious ceremonies. It is a stop on many of the regular island tours as well as a popular destination for people to come and pay their respects. It had been a location in my novel, An Island Away, but was cut from the final draft. I’m working to include it in the sequel, Under A Blue Flag, but we’ll see.

Bon dia from Aruba!

Published in: on November 12, 2008 at 11:17 am  Leave a Comment  
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A Flag

Here is the original “Navy Jack,” that is the flag flown aboard ships of the US Navy even before there was, officially, a United States of America.

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Some people confuse this flag with the Gadsden Flag, which is the yellow one bearing the coiled rattlesnake and the same motto. The rattlesnake was a popular symbol leading up to the American Revolution. Nonetheless, the Navy Jack was instituted by Commodore Esek Hopkins who was assembling the first ships of the Continental Navy in Philadelphia, on the Delaware River. He gave instructions for the design of the flag and it soon appeared on those vessels.

In the present day, I find this flag an enduring symbol of the times to come.

Published in: on November 6, 2008 at 11:37 am  Leave a Comment  
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Big Iron

Here is a photo taken at the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad yard. It’s of a massive steam engine that is undergoing a complete rebuild.

I wrote a short story called, Big Iron Holiday. In it, two friends (Ellsworth Botcher and Ned Fry) reunite after the end of the First World War. One is a railroad superintendent, the other is a pilot. I intend to use this short story as the basis for a novel titled simply Big Iron. The novel will follow these two characters and their lives as the United States evolves through the boomtimes of the 1920’s, the Great Depression, and the lead-up to D-Day. There will be some other characters, too, ranging from Hollywood stars to the men who kept the railroads running through all types of conditions.

As readers of this blog know, I like long books. Big Iron will be a long book. It is my hope that it will run more than 750 pages. Good characters, like the ones I have in mind, should easily be able to carry it that far.

What’s your favorite long book?

Published in: on October 31, 2008 at 12:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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Writer Music

As stated in earlier posts, I enjoy writing in public spaces. I also do a bit of writing in a home office. The right music helps make the words flow and lately I’ve been listening to Alicia de Larrocha. Her recordings of the Mozart Piano Sonatas are nothing short of incredible. In the first place she plays them in what I would call a “clean” style, sticking to the score dynamics as penned by the composer. In other words, she doesn’t overdo it. Her phrasing is as crisp as good dialog and the subtleties of each piece are pleasantly accented without being intrusive.

If you like Mozart’s piano works, I highly recommend the RCA “Complete Collections” set by Señora de Larrocha. I found this on iTunes.

Finally, whatever piano she played to record this album should be in the world hall of fame for legendary instruments, or perhaps the Smithsonian.

Published in: on October 24, 2008 at 3:24 pm  Leave a Comment  
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