Photo Gallery: MOONRISE OVER THE TAPPAN ZEE

Photo Gallery: SUNRISE OVER THE TAPPAN ZEE

Today's MOZEN 9/23/2013

Words and Photo by F LoBuono

A fourfold manifesto: defy the lies, serve the truth, beware of teachers, and question everything.
                                                                                               Noah Levine. Against The Stream.

Our lives are much easier when we choose to hide our heads in the sand, look the other way, pull the sheets over our heads, pretend not to notice. It certainly is human. But is it the right way? In Noah Levine's seminal work, "Against The Stream: A Buddhist Manuel For Spiritual Revolutionaries", Mr. Levine challenges us to defy conventional thinking and, in a sense, believing. He acknowledges our humanity -we WANT to feel good all of the time. And, why not? Isn't life about feeling good and doing the things necessary to get to that place? Well, yes, of course it is. However, he also points out that it's the THINGS we do to achieve that goal, and how we define that PLACE itself, that make ALL the difference. That's why people of conscious must defy the odds and swim against the stream. You must be a true revolutionary, willing to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and by opposing, end them - Shakespeare. Be the change you wish to see in the world - Gandhi. Make a living by what we get, ... make a life by what we give - Churchill.

I could go on. I shouldn't have to.

Today's MOZEN 9/13/2013

Words by F LoBuono

Perhaps you've noticed; my normally witty but often (possibly, TOO often) scathing political commentary has been largely absent from TalkFrank these days. I continue to post various photos that I've made as well as largely positive messages about how we might try to navigate through our challenging and hectic lives. Certainly, making an effort to accentuate the positive can never be a bad thing. However, there are other reasons for my hiatus. One of the more important of these is that I've had my own share of personal challenges. In fact, over the last year and a half or so I've had enough misfortune to make Sisyphus feel lucky. Or, so it sometimes seems to me. Combine this with the fact that if you want to play on that field, you'd better bring your "A" game with you and wear your armour because you are going to need both. Certainly, this can cause even the toughest to seek a hiatus. I get it. These are the rules of engagement. But when you are struggling to just keep your own shit together, is it really necessary to take on the world?!

Well, HELL YES, sometimes it is!!

Case in point: While watching the network news last night, a story about the troubled Philadelphia school system was featured. It was a thorough and well produced piece the point of which can be summarized quickly and easily. The problem with the Philadelphia school systems is MONEY - or should I say the lack of MONEY. That entire system has been crushed simply because we don't see EDUCATION AS OUR #1 PRIORITY. Philadelphia, as well as dozens of other cities, has lost millions of dollars in Federal funding - hundreds of millions of dollars. On the local level, every school budget increase means an increase in taxing an already over-taxed middle class. Therefore, we know where that goes - nowhere!

To deal with this austerity, in most inner city Philly schools, every single so-called extracurricular activity has been cut. Sports. Music. Tutoring. Guidance. EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM. And, of course, since most of the cuts affect urban environments, the great majority of the students affected are those of color. These kids are being deprived of the most basic opportunity, one that, quite frankly, most of us take for granted. And that is the opportunity to LEARN. What can we possibly achieve as adults if as children we could not even attend a school that afforded us every opportunity to do so in a safe, healthy environment? People then have the audacity to make racist suggestions that crime is caused by color. It's caused by IGNORANCE; ignorance that we are allowing to happen. So, who are the real criminals now?

SHAME on us for allowing this to happen. I understand that it's a big world and we have international concerns. There's Syria, Egypt, Libya, and blah, blah, blah. Our brothers and sisters around the world are suffering and dying. However, is bombing the shit out of them the answer? I'm no expert on foreign policy and don't even pretend to have the answers. However, there are a few things that I'm dead certain about. One of them is as shocking in its obviousness as it is in our lack of resolve in fixing it; WE MUST IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION FOR ALL OF OUR CHILDREN and we must do it now. It quite simply is the key to the future. And we must do everything within our power to repair the entire system, including the infrastructure. Without providing the platform to create a safe environment for students to learn, we are doomed to failure.

Some will argue, "where will we get the money from" or "I have no children, why should I pay"? Well, the answer to the first is we have to get our priorities straight. There is money. We see it being spent all of the time. For example, recently, our government has considered military action in Syria, the relative merits of which I don't wish to debate at this time. The point I will make is that if we could find the BILLIONS it would take to accomplish that, why can't we find the money to improve education for ALL of our children? Priorities, folks, priorities! As for the second, I get it. I have no school age children and, so, feel the sting of having to pay at least some school taxes. However, I get it. It's still all connected. If we don't have safe schools with which to educate our children, they grow up ignorant and desperate. When all children know is ignorance, desperation and degradation all they contribute to society is ignorance, desperation, and degradation. THIS is our vicious cycle and the only way to break it is to put our money where our mouths are. Let's get our priorities straight and do the right thing. We have the means. Now all we need is the will.

In Memory of 9/11/2001

It was to be my very first assignment for CBS News in NY; 9/12/2001. The Towers had fallen the day before and I watched in horror with the rest of the world. I was freelancing as a news photographer at the time and finally got through to a friend at CBS to offer my services. He asked, "how quickly can you pack a bag and get to W57th St.?" My reply was, "I'm already packed". I grabbed my 35 mm SLR and what ever film I had in the house (I did not have a digital camera at that time) and bolted for the CBS Broadcast Center on W57th. I realized in the car that I only had two rolls of black and white film, 36 and 24 exposures. But they would have to do. There was no time to stop. Besides, my primary function would be to use a video camera to document what was happening. The still photography is always done as a second function. Be that as it may, I obviously knew that I would be witnessing a historic event and I wanted to be able to document it in every way possible.

Shortly after arriving at the chaos that was CBS, another photographer and I were to take our gear, hitch a ride downtown and report to 40 Worth St., at the corner of Greenwich. From there we would be assigned a camera with a long lens on the roof of that building, 40 stories above the carnage, to document the recovery efforts, 24 hours a day, until further notice. We could work out our own schedule as long as their was 24 hour coverage. We caught a ride with a food truck that was going downtown to deliver supplies to a CBS command post on W12th St. From our understanding, we would have to walk the rest of the way as the City was closed below that point to all traffic except emergency vehicles.

After we left the truck we cleared security and began our trek the rest of the way to where the Towers had once stood. We walked in eeire silence (the City had been evacuated from that point to the Battery), guided by these two enormous plumes of smoke where the World Trade Center should have been! What so struck me was that they were like two specters, mirroring in ghostly fashion, what used to be!!

We finally arrived at our destination and were immediately shocked by what we saw. The destruction of the Towers was complete and massive. This would be a long and difficult gig. But we couldn't dwell on that; we had a job to do and we got right to it. My partner and I would use our long lens to shoot down from the roof, forty stories up, into the rubble that where the Twin Towers to capture any potential rescues or recoveries. In the beginning it was so intense that we both worked virtually 24 hours continuously. However, after the first day or two we managed to split the day into twelve hour shifts.

Because I spent so many various hours at Ground Zero, it afforded me a unique, virtually 24 hour perspective. And, in addition to my perch high above the carnage, I also had the opportunity to witness it from ground level in my off hours. I used my film sparingly to capture what I believe to be some very unique images of a terrible eight days.

Eight days that can never be forgotten. It certainly changed me. It changed all of us. I present my photos but once a year, on the Anniversary. It is too painful and too inappropriate to use them for any other purpose but as a memorial to those who were lost. I will add descriptions were it may be helpful in understanding what was happening at that time. The color photos were made at subsequent memorials in the following years.

For those lost, and those who lost:

#1: Looking South/East along the West Side Highway. The rubble is what's left of the North Tower



#2: Looking South/West down Greenwich St.

#3: Greenwich St. The remains of WTC Bldg. 7

#4: Ground level along Greenwich. WTC Bldg. 7

#5: The smoldering remains of WTC 7. South along Greenwich.

#6: Night version of Photo #1. South along the West Highway.

#7: Time exposure, South along Greenwich. Bldg. 7.



#8: South along Greenwich at approx. 2 a.m.

#9: Ground level, Broadway. What's left of the façade of the South Tower. Approx. 4 a.m.

#10: The remains of the South Tower. It reminded me of the carcass of an animal killed by lions and left on some African plane to be picked on by vultures!

#11

#12

#13: The work never stopped. And the people who support those workers, like The Red Cross, never stopped either. This is an aid station along Greenwich St.

#14: The rescue/recovery work never stopped. These men are heading down Greenwich to Bldg. 7.

#15: A Red Cross aid station. Those volunteers were great!

#16: Looking South/East towards Brooklyn. The haze from the destruction spread far and wide.

#17: Looking North. In a strange way, it was beautiful, too.

#18. North.

#19: North. As I said, in a strange way, it was beautiful.

#20: North. What was striking was how beautiful the weather was.

#21: Reporter lined the entire West Side Highway.

#22: Our home away from home. Since we often spent 14-24 hours/day there, we did our best to make ourselves as comfortable as possible.

#23: High above the carnage - day and night.

#24

#25: It sure gets cold at 4 a.m.!

#26: Transmitting to all over the world.

#27: Doing our best to stay warm.

#28: The glamorous life of a news photographer.

I made these on 9/11/2001, the 10th Anniversary.

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#39

#40: A vision of the future!