Alternative Portfolio 14 John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden

So I decided to visit the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden located in Mill Neck, Long Island, which is a bit of a drive from my home. I have to admit, I would not have gone but for the fact this place is closing its doors for the last time to the public. I thought I need to go visit and show the world what a lovely place this is. I left my house alone, not able to muster any companions, and got onto the LI Expressway which nowadays is very busy. While on the expressway I got cut off, I cut off some irate woman, all the usual stuff on this super highway that has grown massively congested within the last couple of decades (sprawl builders keep building away). I got off the expressway and followed the conga line down 107 into Old Brookville and turned onto Hegemans Lane and then Chicken Valley Road all the way up to where I thought the Garden should be. I of course drive by it and stop to ask someone who was blowing their leaves for directions. Turns out I just passed it by half a mile or so. I turned around and found the Garden with some trouble only to find the gates to the place closed. Well this isn't going so well I thought to myself, the web site said open at 10:30 and here it is after 11:00 am and no one in sight. Maybe I'm at the wrong place? I decided to drive around to find the "real" entry and nothing. I go back to the still closed gates. I walk over to the gate and call the number on the sign and reach the answering machine of a wrong number. OK now my negativity is getting the best of me-why did I come, it was a long frustrating drive, why waste my Saturday morning like this when I have so much to do, who the hell reads my blog anyway....OK relax maybe the place opens at 11:30 am, let's wait. 11:30 comes around and the gates are still closed! Now I am pissed-this wild goose chase has left a bad taste in my mouth! I jumped back in my car and thought surely I'm in the wrong place. I drive out and make a left back onto Chicken Valley, then another left at the nearest cross street, make another left and then another left into a park like area and ask a hippy looking dude, who seemed to be in a unique state of mind, "can you tell me where the Japanese Garden is located?" Sure he says, "make a right out of the lot then another right and another right, you can't miss it" I knew exactly the awful deal. THIS is the last straw. I will drive back to the same spot and take a last look. So off I go again back to where I was just at and viola the gates were open-I drove in like I was driving into heaven, it felt wonderful.

There was the caretaker busily freshening up the place as she watched me park my car. I was the only car in the lot and the only person besides herself. "Welcome" she said, "and what brings you here to this wonderful garden this morning?" I told her (not about my inglorious road adventure) that I wanted to see the place before it closed. Ironically and without telling her about my morning adventure, she, Mary, told me about the garden and it's purpose for cleansing negativity away, a stroll designed to be a walking meditation. Her final words to me were you bring in all your troubles and worries into the garden and leave them there. She also gave me a breif history and description of the place.

The garden was beautiful of course and some great time was had with master Japanese flute player Daniel Nyohaku Soergel  who played "Shakuhachi" at this "Closing Weekend" in the ceremonial Tea house. From the steps of the Tea House Daniel described to those listening, about the Japanese flute and how they are made, how sound is produced in them etc. He also spoke about being in the moment, a Zen Buddhist's philosophy or better yet a way of living. He told us of becoming so in the moment it's like being in and out of consciousness; Your attention is focused on one thing not for long, as you fall between states of "Walking unconsciousness".  I still remember his words after playing a tune, "Worry, what worry?" It worked for me, and apparently others. As I was sitting on the steps of the Tea House listening to Daniel play a peaceful mysterious piece on the flute, I looked over and spotted a kid, Caucasian-Asian mix, who had to be maybe 10 years old or so in meditation, sitting with closed eyes and finger tips touching in that classic meditative pose, just being there-I was impressed.

One last thought about the day; As I drove on the congested roadways along side thousands of fellow citizens on my way to the Garden I realized no one cares about this wonderful place. I thought the Garden would be jam packed on this last "Closing Weekend" but sadly no, a hand full of people were to be found there. Maybe I'm too critical of people; Maybe it's tough to be in the contemplative, worthy cause arena, trust me I know from my experience with this blog. It bothers me that society praises popular culture which leaves out worthy places such as this Garden....On reflection maybe I did not leave all my negativity in the garden.

Brief History of Garden (From Garden Guide): This special garden was created by Ambassador and Mrs. John P. Humes following a visit to Japan in 1960. Later that year, inspired by their visit, Ambassador Humes purchased the Tea House that still stands in the garden and hired a Japanese-American landscape gardener, Douglas Defaya, and his wife , Joan. Over the next four years the DeFayas transformed two acres of rolling woodland on Long Island's North Shore into an exceptional Japanese stroll garden.

Martha at the John P. Humes Stroll Garden

Some pics I took during my visit:

Some more pics...

Alternative Portfolio 11 Grumman Bethpage

This is one of my favorite and saddest investigations since I started this blog a little over a year ago. The Grumman Bethpage facility was not on my radar at all, I just happened upon it one day by chance surfing through the Internet. I learned that here in Bethpage once existed one of the best aerospace companies in the world producing great airplanes such as the Hellcat, Bearcat, The Avenger, Albatross, Goose, and F14 Tomcat among many others and my favorite thing of all time, the LEM, or Lunar Excursion Module. As great as these machines are, this blog is not about the glories of aerospace but about the improvement and exposing the horrors of suburbia and the cancer like effect it has when it runs amok. Unfortunately the Grumman Bethpage plant is good case study in exactly that. A place that once created jobs, local pride and changed the world with building a moon machine is being slowly dismantled, gobbled up and integrated into the faceless non descript' unimpressive fabric of over development, strip mall condominium living of Long Island suburbia. One day only a plaque will remain stating "here was built the LEM, the only space craft to land man on the moon" If you don't believe me just look at what "they" did with Lindbergh and his infamous airfield which is not too far from this Bethpage site; it's gone, not a trace remains, I'm not sure even a plaque marks the place, however a freeway and mall  now grace that historical site.

The old Grumman runway, no more.

Back to Bethpage. After a break from the bitter cold, snow and rain that made for one of the worst winters I ever experienced here in New York, I finally made my way to Grumman Bethpage, March 2015. Most of the runway was torn out to make way for "economic development" If any is left I did not see it, now a water tower, car dealership, warehouses and corporate buildings stand where the mighty F14 took off from and NASA would land it's planes and astronauts.

OK so you may be reading this and getting pretty upset since Grumman itself decided to leave Long Island and it's not our fault that they did (which is a debatable topic) what else were we to do? I hear you and it's too late as the economic machine has pressed forward but we can preserve what's left, and grant Landmark Historical status to what's remaining.

The Building where the LEM was manufactured is now "Grumman Studios" where some Hollywood type movies are being made like Salt, and the recent TV special remake of The Sound of Music. This adaptive reuse of the facility I have to say is a good one. The building itself is still intact lending its cavernous spaces to the shooting of movies. So it's an ideal situation for the time being.  As I was photographing on this cold but sunny winter day a man in his car rolled down his window to give me the finger well not that finger but the thumbs up followed by, "we used to build great things here..." That sums up my visit as he sped away and I looked around at the immediate encroachment of Suburbia.

Finally I would like to add, anyone visiting the site should be careful not to enter Grumman Road East. I made a wrong turn while I was looking for the site and assumed from my map that this was a continuous road and proceeded down not wanting to miss anything-Nope go down Grumman Road East and there you will find blocks of solid condo and a contrived dead end which stops you from proceeding to Grumman Road West where the actual famed Grumman buildings are located. This whole experience bothered me in a profound way. It seems to me our generation is leaving no legacy for our kids - No classic cars do we build worthy to restore, no good products that will later be antiques to hunt for, no historical sites to visit and finally no decent architecture to preserve. Maybe I am being harsh, maybe I just don't see things right.

Lewis Portal, AD

When I took this photo I did not notice the little fellow to the left until now.  In any case his gaze says it all...
(LEM on display at the Cradle of Aviation, one of my favorite places to visit in the world)

My Interview With Grumman Employee Ed Rumpf

Grumman Calverton

Cradle of Aviation Grumman F-14

Cradle of Aviation Leroy Grumman

Long Island on the moon

Alternative Portfolio #10, Northport Power Station

Le Corbusier would be in seventh heaven right about now...as am I. Here is the Northport Power Station. I know this is a controversial plant in terms of pollution but I find the forms very interesting and am naturally drawn to them from an architectural point of view. I hope these photos inspire design, discussion and study.