By Ted Grussing
There are all manner of life forms that make up our neighborhood and a multitude of them have wings … like all creatures, some of them just do not want to get along with each other, enter one of the neighborhood’s gang of crows who doesn’t want to share the trees or sky with this Coopers Hawk … the crow made numerous passes and on a couple of them there was physical contact; in the end the hawk remained to hunt for dinner and perhaps the crow received a sharp beak on one of the passes and broke it off.
The concept that all of nature is a happy place has no more reality to it than the thought that human beings will ever get along without having superior might and the will to use it if necessary. Just the way things are in the real world … I am glad I live in the strongest nation on the planet and with Veterans Day coming up, glad that I gave four years of my life in the service of the country, in the USAF. The USA rocks and continued thanks to all who have served and serve today …, the USA is the greatest and most generous nation ever to grace planet earth. Never has any country or its people done more to foster all things good than the United States of America. Some excellent books out there on our history and I wish that the schools would put as much effort into teaching our history as they do creating artificial safe spaces for students … what a crock! The real world is alive and wonderful and also a place of great risk and there are no safe spaces in the real world except those we make for ourselves.
The Max story is really a simple one … for as long as I can remember I have had Desiderata on the kitchen wall and my desk at the office … I love it and its message! I was originally given a copy of it and the attribution of it was to “Anon”, found in Old St. Paul’s Church, Philadelphia. It was not until 2009, when a caregiver my kids had hired to help me take care of Corky, for a while after my heart attack, told me the author was actually Max Ehrmann. So, I looked him up, read everything I could of his writings and about him and found both to be a very warm and comfortable part of my life. He hailed from Terra Haute, Indiana, well educated, worked in the family business, was a lawyer and at around age forty decided to devote his life to his writing. And he looked a lot like my dad … So, I have everything that he ever published including a first edition of Breaking Home Ties, a gift from my daughter Joleen. Many people have written many good and inspirational things, but I kinda like to stick with Max, I feel comfortable with his writings and life views including his protest writing. Check him out at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Ehrmann
A beautiful day is underway and I hope that your day is filled with joy … smile, we are here!
Ted
Draw your chair beside me here,
As in other times, my dear;
Do not talk or even smile,
Sit in silence for a while;
Sweet contentment over all,
As the shadows on us fall.
‘Tis the best of all my life,
After each day’s toil and strife,
In the time of night and dew,
Thus to sit alone with you.
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
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