Echo Un-Silenced

The battle of Vicksburg was one of the most important strategic battles of the American Civil War.  After the battle, the dead counted;   the horrors of war cleaned away, the loss on both ends was staggering.  At the urging of the federal government, and the creation of the Vicksburg National Military Park the battlefield became a memorial.   Each state that had soldiers lost in the battle commissioned a memorial or memorials, all are grand in scale…  but few compare to the Illinois memorial, created to mirror the Parthenon in Greece.   

Silent Echo

Part of the Wordless Wednesday!!!!

USS Cairo

The USS Cairo was an ironclad union warship that patrolled the rivers and waters of the confederacy during the American Civil War.   The ship was patrolling the waters of the Yazoo River in Mississippi when it struck a confederate mine.  The Cairo disappeared below the smooth flowing waters of the Yazoo River with no loss of life.  It was rediscovered and recovered in 1965 and later transferred to the National Park Service and put on public display at the Vicksburg National Military Museum for all to see and experience a piece of history first hand.

Always Remember

I don’t pretend to know why things happen… I don’t know why things turn out the way they do. That is not for me to even worry about, or waste time even entertaining the idea.

I like to pretend that I do understand the way the world works, or even that I know what happened that night. Why I acted the way I did, and I wonder what your thoughts were… what went through your mind… Did you think of me? Was that why you were there? If I had done anything differently…. Would you still be here?



I don’t know…



But you will forever be a part of who I am.



I will never forget you!



Johnny Dixon Brown
1987-2007

Good Life: A Photographic Glimpse at 2010

This is a view of my world from my eyes through just a few of my favourite photos from 2010.

1,000 Words

Part of the Wordless Wednesday!

Reaching Out

It is amazing how time flows… it seems like just yesterday we were at the dawn of a new decade, and now the year is nearly half finished. So many things change, and so fast… it never ceases to amaze me. Time to me is like a river, you can’t stop it and occasionally you hit rapids or pick up people on the banks! The Mississippi River is the most important River in the United States, and here it is flowing under the I20 and Old Hwy 80 Bridges in Vicksburg, MS.

Many of you have heard about the Tornado’s that devastated my home state last week. I would like to report that I am well, my city was not affected, however Yazoo City and surrounding areas about 30 miles north were devastated, if you would like to help please visit Here and Here.

We also have another series of storms moving in this week, hopefully nothing as severe as those last week.

Scheme of Things

There are moments where we are suddenly snapped to the realization that we are small in the scheme of things, and no matter how massive we are in our own world… overall it’s not that much. I got this when I saw this couple staring at the barges along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS… The size of the river, and the boats, set against the couple in a loving almost futile embrace of protection against the evils of the world, inspired the above thought.

Dreams

Dreams start out as small streams flowing through our lives, and as we go forward… they grow. Soon our dreams are so big, that they overflow their original banks and spill over into every aspect of our lives.

Suddenly we are faced with a question, what do we do with this?

The answer is simple, and often over looked. Jump in feet first, and let it surround you... you never really know what is possible.

(About the photo: The Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Mississippi at Sunset.)

Mighty Mississippi

A lot of talk has been of the frightening water levels for the Mississippi River, and flooding concerns. This photo was taken in Vicksburg, Mississippi on 4-9-2008. The river used to be about forty feet down the submerged embankment. The water is already forcing city officials to take protective measures and close the river all that protects the city from the Mississippi… but truthfully if the river wants something, it will take it.