More Works In Progress

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It was not unusual to get a little wet while videoing a falls with my trusty SONY PMW_EX3 in full high definition

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Throughout the world, waterfalls come in many different sizes, depending upon their age, the terrain through which it moves, the type of rock that it flows through, the amount and flow of the water which feeds the falls, like a river or a stream, and so many other factors. We immediately think of waterfalls like Niagara Falls or Victoria Falls because of their massive size, their age, and the volume of water which flows over them every day of the year. The Southern Appalachians does not have any such huge falls, but nevertheless, what they have are a beauty to behold! One of the most beautiul is Wnitewater Falls in the vicinity of Cashiers, North Carolina.

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Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah National Forest in Spring 2009

A cold and partially frozen Looking Glass Falls in Winter 2010

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We have not let grass grow under our feet while producing a very special video about the many waterfalls of the Southern Appalachians. In the summer of 2009, we had a visitor from Zimbabwe, 21 year old Yamurai "Mary" Lukas who is a medical student at Ryazan Medical State University in Ryazan, Russia for the better part of the last three years. We met Mary in November 2006 at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, when we were returning to the United States from our first East Africa safari. We were so impressed with this intelligent and beautiful 18 year old Black African girl that we invited her to visit with us if she ever had the opportunity to visit the United States. The summer of 2009 was that opportunity, and Mary spent a very interesting month at our home this past summer of 2009. With the cultural differences, it took several days to adjust to the habits of one another, but after awhile it was like Mary was a part of our family, especially after we spent a weekend in Washington, D.C., visiting such places as The Lincoln Memorial, the African Museum of the Smithsonian, and the United States Holocaust Museum. We had always presumed that Mary was a Kenyan, since we met her in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, but many months later we learned that her home was actually in Zimbabwe. We heard so many interesting stories of Mary's life, that we documented her life in a very intersting one hour high definition video documentary, parts of which will soon appear on this website.

Yamurai "Mary" Lukas on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial above the reflecting pool, with the Wahington Monument in the background.

Washington, D.C., July 24, 2009

Mary is a very intelligent young woman, and a very opinionated young woman. As we got more comfortable with one another, from a cultural point of view, she had much to say about her life in Zimbabwe, as well as what it meant to be a  young black African woman in a country so different than her home. All of her feelings are embodied in the hour plus interview which we conducted at our home. We would have been remiss to have such an interesting and intelligent young African woman in our home for over a month, without learning more about her family, more about her life and her feelings about life in general in Zimbabwe and Russia. Nancy and I have been in Africa twice in the past three years for more than six weeks in total, but we have never been to Zimbabwe, and we knew only what we had read and heard in the news media. It was most enlightening to get a first-hand opinion from a highly intelligent young woman. This link will take you to part of that interview.

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In the summer of 2009, with the help of a friend, "Nubby" Tibbey, we met another fascinating person who is already the subject of a documentary in progress. Nancy and I have spent many hours at his beautiful log cabin home on Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina. John O'Neill, Sr., or "Johnny" as he is known to friends and neighbors, is 91 years old, and the oldest licensed pharmacist in North Carolina. He is truly a legend in his own time, as the historian of Lake Waccamaw; a World War II Pacific war veteran who was the commander of a US Navy LCT in the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal; the founder of a Sea Scout "ship" which ran a renovated former US Navy vessel on Lake Waccamaw for five years; and the Scoutmaster of a Boy Scout troop which graduated 58 Eagle Scouts, including his four sons. To top it off, Johnny opens up his home and beautiful flower covered dock which runs well into the lake every Friday night from May to October to anyone with a covered dish who wants to partake of the evening's festivities. On every July 4 Independence Day, with a background of fireworks, someone, including two state governors in the past, recites the Declaration of Independence to an overflow crowd on the O'Neill dock and a lake full of pleasure boats of all sizes and shapes.

John had so many interesting stories to recount, especially since he was a veteran of World War II, one of the precious survivors of who have come to be known as "The Greatest Generation. Currently, Steven Spielberg's ten part mini-series called "The Pacific" is playing every Sunday night on HBO, and John was a member of the US Navy, commanding an LCT in the Pacific beginning in 1942, when simply by chance he met a man who was a PT Boat commander, and who went on to be elected President of the United Statesafter the 1960 election, John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts. The following video link is the part of the interview recounting his meeting with Jack Kennedy.

 Johnnie's dock on Lake Waccamaw

US Navy Officer, World War II, the Pacific

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July 2010

As we continue to juggle several high definition projects at one time, only one has been committed to a BluRay disc thusfar, and that is the fascinating story of Mary Lukas of Zimbabwe. One of our current projects which we undertook early this spring is the story of the Topsail Electric Flyers Association of Pender County, North Carolina. This eclectic group of young, middle aged, and senior citizens, many of whom served at one time in the United States Air Force, meets every Sunday morning in the Kiwanis Park off Country Club Road in Hampstead. starting as early as 8:00 AM. At that time, a collection of vehicles from SUV's to compact sedans begins to line up at the far end of the park, beyond the soccer fields, with engine hoods open. On some Sundays, a local volunteer fire truck, with Old Glory unfurled, can also be seen amongst the many vehicles, as some of their members have taken to fly electric model airplanes.

One of the most interesting of the model airplanes, which are beautiful replicas of the actual plane, some of which date back to pre-World War II, is what appears to be a cross between a Mitchell B-24 Medium Bomber. vintage WW II, and a pre-war PBY seaplane, despite its coat of white paint. 

Preparing the planes for flight

This Electric Model Airplane carries a special cargo. See if you can find it in the video below!

(**Note: Give it a fgew minutes to download as it's a large but interesting video!)