On Sunday I flew from Seattle to Houston and then on to New Orleans to meet my friend Gerry Spence for a week of taking photos around the area and as a general excuse to not work. On my arrival I learned that a state of emergency had been declared as hurricane Ida was heading for Louisiana. Four to five inches of rain in New Orleans with 40 mph per hour winds were predicted. The sky was dark and overcast, but…
Today is the anniversary of the death of an extraordinary man, my father, Paul Nicholas Luvera Sr. Born on March 25, 1898, he died in Anacortes, Washington on November 4, 1990 at the age of 92. Dad moved to Anacortes in 1918 and spent his life in the town. He was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy, the son of Niccola and Fillippa Luvera. In 1910 he emigrated to Coleman, Alberta where he and his father worked in coal mines until the family…
Lita and I have good friends in Scottsdale, Cathie and Tom Hullverson. Before retiring, Tom's verdicts demonstrated that he was of the great trial lawyers of Missouri. He practiced with his brother Jim, who was also an outstanding plaintiff's lawyer and is also retired. Their father Everett was an old time plaintiff's lawyer who represented union workers and injured people back when that was looked down upon by the silk stocking lawyers in the large firms. Recently Tom sent me the…
Lita and I are at our house in Scottsdale. It is located in a gated community where the rules require that the landscaping stay natural and there is a lot of space between homes. As a result there are a lot of wild animals and birds who make their home in this area. You often see a line of Quail with their bobbing heads rush across the road. Small rabbits dash across the property at top speed and then freeze at the first…
Flying faster then the speed of sound was unthinkable when flying first began. As airplanes flew faster from the 1930's on pilots began to experience problems due to the increased speed. One example was the Lockheed P-38, used in World War II, which flew normally in level flight, but if they went into a high speed dive there were control problems that often led to crashes and death of the pilot. The military became interested in planes that could safely…
Home – finally. Traffic to the airport was intense due to several accidents on the freeway and a soccer match. It was a long ride to the airport with the usual mechanical ballet of car movement with clearance only by inches. The South American airports have a number of stands where the machine wraps your suitcase with layers of plastic wrap. I have seen a lot of people get their luggage wrapped and always assumed it was to protect the…
Not only is this city a treasure house of architecture, language and culture, but it is equal to European standards for wine and food. We have eaten so much food and had a bottle of wine with lunch and dinner so often we will need help when we get home. Yesterday, Monday, was a holiday – Columbus day. For lunch we ate at a nearby Italian place that was highly recommended. T he talk around us was Spanish and the pasta and wine very…
We were up early for our flight from Mendoza t o Buenos Aires. After coffee and were driven by Alexandro to the airport some forty five minutes away. Born and raised in the city of some 100,000 people he is very proud of the area. When we asked if he had been to the U.S. he told us he had traveled to Minnesota in his youth to visit a friend in the dead of winter. He forgot about the reverse seasons and…
We left Santiago to go to the famous Argentine wine country, Mendoza. We took a commuter plane, about the size of a Horizon to Spokane, which was absolutely full, to Mendoza, Argentina. A bout a forty hour flight we flew over the beautiful Andes mountains to the very small Mendoza airport in the Argentina wine country. We got in the long line to clear immigration with only one man reviewing passports. I realized I had my passport in my carry…
The weather is pleasant in this city of over six million people. There are tall buildings you would expect to find in a city of this size along with structures from an earlier age. Huge gothic like Cathedrals the Spanish were so fond of building and modern sky scrapers. Under construction is a huge shopping and hotel area that will have the tallest building in South America. The Ritz Carlton is a high service hotel with elegant interior furnishings. The…
