Other Forces at Work in the World

Twelve years is a long time. It doesn't seem like it has been that long since the terrorist attacks in 2001, but the date suggests otherwise. 

I was reminded of how long it has really been a few weeks ago while watching the teen tournament on  Jeopardy. One of the questions was, "In October 2001 Congress passed this act to deter and punish terrorism."  In my mind it was an easy question as the answer could not be anything other than "The Patriot Act," so I was surprised when none of the three contestants got it right.  But then Alison pointed out that these kids would have been no older than 4 or 5 when the Patriot Act was passed. To them it is no more current than the Sedition Act of 1918 or the Social Security Act of 1935. Twelve years can, indeed, be a long time...

In some ways much has changed since that September morning twelve years ago, but in others very little has changed at all. 

My own thoughts have certainly developed as my focus has shifted and widened. Last year I reflected upon the ways in which my perspective had changed in May It Always Seem Like Yesterday. 

One thing that appears not to have changed is the manner in which politics influence and guide this nation. The surge of national unity that followed September 11 is difficult to find in our current political climate. Partisanship reigns supreme and many of the same problems remain or have gotten worse. It is easy to feel as though there is little reason to hope, and I have often felt that way myself. The failures and inaction of Congress and our president have had deep personal impacts on my life and it often appears as though our leaders care little for the effects their decisions and actions have on their constituents. Yet, as I write to you today, hope is the very thing that is on my heart. 

As bleak as things sometime appear, it is helpful to remember who we are and where we have come from. I am currently taking three classes in what will, Lord willing, be my last semester of coursework (with a research seminar and internship to follow in the spring) of graduate school. Those three classes cover the early American Republic, Reconstruction, and the interwar period (between WWI and WWII). As I find myself in the midst of my third week of class, I have already observed a multitude of connections between these three periods of American history. Of these connections, the most prevalent is that all three classes cover the period immediately following a time of war and great national upheaval. In fact, it could be argued that they cover the aftermath of the three most defining moments of conflict in this nation's history. 

In each case, the nation that emerged from the fire of war and ashes of loss was very different than the one that had existed beforehand. But also in each case, things did not go smoothly. The Alien and Sedition Acts under Adams' presidency and the infighting between Federalists and Jeffersonians nearly tore the new country apart in the 1790s. The violence, poverty, and oppression that developed in the South after the Civil War continues to leave ripples in our society today. The fear and uncertainty in this country after the Great War resulted in incredible violence, labor unrest, and general mistrust and backstabbing that rivals any other period in our history. These were not times of peace and prosperity for most people.

But these were also times of transformation. On the far side of the tumult the United State emerged as a "treaty-worthy" nation with equal standing to the major European Powers by the 1820s: as a newly united nation that passed legislation to, not only abolish slavery, but grant civil rights and suffrage to it former slaves by 1870: and as the preeminent world power that became a potent symbol of the positive force of democracy, especially when contrasted with the totalitarian regimes that would soon emerge. Although in each case, there were plenty of reasons to despair, there were also very good reasons to hope in these periods that most define our nation.

A few weeks ago Alison and I saw a performance of Shakespeare's play, "Much Ado About Nothing." It is a tale full of scheming, backbiting, and attempts to thwart others. But in the end, the truth prevails and all of the plotting and deception proves to be much ado about nothing. Perhaps, in the bigger picture, as hopeless as things may seem, even our current political culture will prove to be likewise.

It remains to be seen what role 9/11 and the wars waged in its aftermath will play in the legacy and future of the United States, but perhaps we have more reason to hope than it might often appear.


This past Saturday Alison and I had the pleasure of watching "The Fellowship of the Ring"with all of the music performed live at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. It is a splendid way to watch the film. Although I have seen that movie at least 20 times, there is One Scene that grabs hold of me every time I see it. Saturday was no exception.

In the dark of Moria, when all hope seems lost, Frodo laments:
"I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

Gandalf's response reveals wisdom that transcends that particular moment:
"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

We cannot control our circumstances, but we can decide how we respond to the situations we face and what we do with the time that we have on this earth.

But Gandalf doesn't stop there. He continues by saying:
"There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil."

And concludes with the statement:
"Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

That is, indeed, an encouraging thought. We don't have to look very hard to find the reality of evil in this world, and few events speak of its presence in this nation with more force than 9/11. But we do have reason to hope. There is more going on than the reign of evil. There are more powerful forces at work if we have the eyes to see them.

We don't know how much time we have or how and when we will die. But we do know that we have an opportunity each day to make this world a better place than we found it. And we do know that God is sovereign, and that even when we cannot see the way ahead, his power is still very much at work.

So on this twelfth anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11 take a long view of history and find hope in the thoughts that we can change the world we live in, that no matter what we face, we always have the chance to decide how we will respond, and most of all, that there are forces at work in this world more powerful than the will of evil.


Reflections from Previous Years

The Introduction of Video Production

A significant component of my position with the Park Service for the last year and a half has been serving a photographer at special events, particularly the 150th anniversaries of Civil War battles. If you haven't already seen them, this album of Memorable Moments and this album of Scenic and Landscape Photography contain some of my favorite results.

While at Vicksburg this past May I ventured into the realm of video for the National Park Service for the first time. I hadn't done anything with video since I left Oroville, CA in early 2009 and all the work I had done there was via Final Cut on a Mac. Now I had to learn to use Adobe Premiere Pro on a PC. It was a bit of a learning curve. My first forays into video in Vicksburg were not spectacular, but weren't bad either. They included these three:

Honoring the Fallen

 

The Inspiration of a New Day

 Portraits of Vicksburg

Although I didn't put the final video  together, all of my artillery footage was used in the final Artillery Thank you video during the event as well. 

When we returned from Vicksburg and began to plan for Gettysburg we decided that I would focus exclusively on video with the assistance of one other member of the team brought in from the regional office.

The result was much more impressive than our efforts at Vicksburg. Most of the work was done during the actual event or in its immediate aftermath, but the final video on the list is one that just went live this morning. Since the launch of that video officially concludes my involvement in the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg, I thought it would be worth putting all the direct links together in one place here on the blog.

The Videos of Gettysburg:

June 30 - The Eve of Battle

In this video you see timelapse of the sunrise as well as the opening program that occurred the evening of the 30th. You also see and hear footage that I filmed of various different speakers including Director Jarvis and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

July 1 - The First Day

July 1 began with a program about the last march of the Iron Brigade, as they entered into the fighting when the battle began in earnest that morning. It was one of the most impressive programs I have ever seen as living historians dressed as members of the Iron Brigade led the way as 1,300 people streamed across the fields of Gettysburg. I was sprinting through the fields trying to get one shot after another with Alison right beside me. She stayed with me despite being attired in shorts and sandals, which was most impressive. Unfortunately it also meant that she exposed herself to poison ivy, which stayed with her for the better part of a month!

July 2 - The Second Day

On July 2 I followed in the footsteps of the Confederate advance in two separate programs, both of which are featured in this video ("In the footsteps of Captain Johnston" and "The Valley of Death). I also managed to capture some memorable footage of Confederate living history demonstrations, which is likewise featured in the video.

July 3 -The Final Day

The highlight of the third day, and really of the commemoration, was Pickett's charge. More than 15,000 visitors followed in the footsteps of the 13,000 man charge, crossing the same fields along the same paths taken by the nine brigades that made the charge on July 3. It was an impressive sight, and all told roughly 40,000 people were present for the program, making it by far the largest of the sesquicentennial.

Pickett's Charge Preview

A short video highlighting the impact of Pickett's Charge on the battle and the war as a preview for the larger video to come later. 
 
July 4 -The Aftermath

Among the programs focused on the aftermath of battle was a fascinating presentation about the dead, given on the Rose Farm with 3D pictures and glasses to help visitors more fully appreciate the experience. Even I donned the glasses as I filmed the program.

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg

This is the big one, with footage from the entire event over the audio of interviews that I did with various NPS personnel and footage I captured of speakers at the opening ceremony. 

The Last March of the Iron Brigade

This video tells the story of the "Last March of the Iron Brigade" program on July 1. Everything in it was shot by me in the manner described for the July 1 video. 

Pickett's Charge Commemorative March

The final video is of the big commemorative march on July 3. Much of the footage appeared in the July 3 and Pickett's Charge Preview videos, but this one is really focused on that specific program and contains a fair amount of new footage as well.

I will be running the video side of things again at Chickamauga in a few weeks. It won't be the scale of Gettysburg, but I am still hoping for some fun results!

The Changing Tides of Life

I have officially completed the first week of my last semester of coursework in graduate school. 

I will be going down to Georgia for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga from September 13-23. 

I will no longer be working in my current position with the Park Service after May of next year. 

I could not have made any of these statements with any degree of certainly until a few days ago. Quite a lot has changed in the last couple of weeks...

Earlier this summer it appeared that I had stumbled onto a way in which I could not only be promoted to a higher grade level in the Park Service, but also be converted into what is known as a "Term" position. I still wouldn't be permanent, but it would be notably closer and would qualify for health insurance. I determined that in order for this to happen I would have to finish graduate school this school year, and consequently set out to find a way to do precisely that. 

After meeting with my graduate advisor and discussing different options, I decided to take three classes this semester to allow me to focus on doing a research seminar and internship next semester. I was able to find a way to use my position with the Park Service as a launching point for an internship, which will give me credit without me having to do nearly as much additional work. I also found out that, as luck would have it, the topic for the spring research seminar is.... The Civil War! And the professor leading it is the guy I took a class on the Civil War from last semester. So that really is perfect. It should allow me to work on a project that I am really interested in and I will be able to focus on that without having to do other papers and coursework at the same time.

Thus I have found myself taking three graduate courses simultaneously while also working full time. We will see how well I survive the venture when I (hopefully) reach the end of the semester! 

One additional benefit of taking three classes this semester is that I am considered to be a full time student, which means I can now use the recreational facilities on campus. This past Monday I went out to the aquatic center on campus and swam 1000 yards in the pool before work. It was really fun as I haven't swam laps like that in ages.I don't know how much I will be able to take advantage of it with how much else I will have to do, but it is nice to have the option!

If all goes according to plan I will complete all requirements to graduate in May of 2014. 

Even as I began the semester and put this plan in motion I was finally able to sit down with my supervisor and the two people at Manassas who have control over the hiring and budget issues and talk about my situation and the possibilities of promoting me to a higher grade level. We had been trying to arrange this meeting for quite a while, but with various scheduling issues and in order to give them time to find out more specific information, it hadn't happened. 

I went into the meeting expecting to get confirmation on my plan to convert me into a term position when I graduate in May. Instead I found out that it is not possible after all. 

It is exceedingly frustrating and disappointing, especially after I had designed this whole plan with the expectation of that conversion happening. But the bottom line is that I can't do anything about it. 

So where that leaves me is that, instead of being promoted, I will lose this position the day after I graduate. I cannot work in my current position unless I am a student and I can't be converted into another position in this office, so come May 18 (the official graduation day or GMU so consequently my last day of eligibility as a student) I will lose this job. 

While that is obviously problematic, I do also get four months of non-competitive eligibility for any open position in the federal government after I graduate. This means that I can be picked up without having to compete for any open position anywhere for four months. That four months starts the day after I graduate. 

My plan is to do anything I can to utilize this four month window (May-September 2014) to get hired into a different position, ideally one that is permanent.

My career with the Park Service has been a risk and journey into the unknown from the beginning. It has worked out through God's abundant provision so far. Every time I needed a new position, something came along. So we are just going to have to trust that that will happen again once May hits. 

Speaking of God's provision, there is also good news about Alison to report. On Tuesday (September 3) she will begin an internship  with a non-profit that does work with international and national justice and human rights. The work is 20-25 hours a week, and mostly done remotely whenever she has time. So at long last, she will get to do something she is actually interested in that isn't just starbucks. She will remain at starbucks (for now still working as she has been, about 35-38 hours a week) and do this as additional work. That way we still have her starbucks income and health insurance, plus an additional monthly stipend for the internship. 

So literally on the heels of finding out that I would not be promoted and would not be able to get health insurance, we found out that she will have the opportunity to do work she cares about and we will get a little extra money as well. 

In a few weeks I will go down to Georgia for what will now be my last major Civil War 150th event. I will go to the 150th of the Gettysburg Address in November, and there will be a few other small events, but with me losing the position in May, this will be my final multi-day event.

Thus, even as new horizons are opening, old ones are beginning to close. We know that these next nine months will be a time of transition. It remains to be seen where that transition will takes us.

A Western Escape

The thought of "going on vacation" doesn't usually inspire images of returning home, but for Alison and I this summer that is precisely what it meant. Or at least it meant returning to each of our state's of origin to spend time with our families. For some time now we have been aware of two facts about our life together: we had never been west together in the summer and both of us had a significant piece of our before-married life that the other had never experienced. For Alison it was spending time in Lake Tahoe. For me it was Camp Meeting.

For the first 25 years of my life I never missed (the Arizona District of the Nazarene Church) Camp Meeting. Since I started working for the National Park Service in 2009, however, I had not been able to go. Thus Alison had never experienced something that played a key role in my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.

Alison's family owns a cabin above Lake Tahoe in California. I had been to Tahoe in the winter to go skiing when I lived in Oroville and visited the cabin with Alison and her family over Christmas in 2010 and again very briefly to go skiing the following March. I had not ever seen the lake or area in the summer, however, something which she wished to rectify.

As we looked at our calendar and responsibilities for 2013 we concluded that this summer offered an opportunity to not only do something about changing the circumstances described above, but also to spend time with both of our families, something we would otherwise have been unable to do until the fall. So we committed to focusing all of our vacation time, money, and effort on going west and returning home during the summer.

As plans developed the visit became even more important as it offered the additional opportunities of celebrating my Dad's 60th birthday and seeing our new nephew, born to Alison's sister Melanie last December, while we were in California.

The shenanigans began with a 60th birthday celebration for my Dad which took place on Kristen's 27th birthday at my Dad's house in Glendale. The weather was actually quite nice (for mid-July) and we enjoyed a dip in the pool before the party officially began. In addition to partaking of tasty Mexican food and cake we also played games in which we had to guess how my Dad and Kristen answered questions about themselves and guess trivia about the decades in which they were born. We also, naturally, took a series of ridiculous pictures with the aid of all manor of silly costumes and props. This is one of the highlights.

The day after the party we headed north to Prescott for Camp Meeting. Before camp officially began Alison and I went up to Flagstaff to visit my good friend Brian, his wife Andrea, and their new daughter Charlotte, born only three weeks earlier. Camp itself was filled with lots of tasty food, church services, and games including cranium, guillotine, squabble, and of course the ever-present pit and rook. We also had a couple of epic night ultimate frisbee matches complete with a light-up frisbee and glowsticks to identify who was on which team. This photo captures what we looked like after such a match.

Camp would not have been complete without some ridiculous family photos, which we captured on the final day. This one, with the addition of a few props, is a particular favorite.

From Arizona we flew to Salt Lake City and then to Reno, Nevada, where Alison's Dad picked us up at the airport and took us out to Lake Tahoe. It was quite late when we arrived so I didn't fully appreciate the difference between winter and summer until the next morning when I could actually see outside. It is certainly a very different place! The picture below includes the immediate family and Bart (the Scottie) sitting in front of the cabin. As you can see the view is pretty spectacular!

We didn't get to out on the lake, but we definitely enjoyed walking along its shore, driving all the way around the lake, playing mini golf, and spending time in and around the cabin and Tahoe City. Among the highlights of the trip was the Living History Day at Sugar Pine Point State Park, which included a tour of the Ehrman Mansion and a picnic down by the water. We also had plenty of time to enjoy the company of baby Noah, who was seven months old during the visit.

Now it is back to the grindstone of work and real life, but at least I still have a couple more weeks before school begins again! This is going to be a tough semester, so the break and time spent away with family in cooler climes was welcome indeed. 

For more details and a lot more pictures of the entire trip, take a look at This Album.

The Fruition of a TwentyYear Dream

It is appropriate that this is the 150th post on this blog, as it reflects both the zenith of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and a twenty year dream come true for me. 

In 1993 the United States commemorated the 130th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. At that time I was ten years old and living in Phoenix, Arizona, about as far away from the battlefield as you can get. Yet I was captivated by what I saw on tv and wished I could be there. Knowing that was not possible, I concluded that if they were making that big a deal out of the 130th anniversary, the time I would really want to be there would be for the 150th. That summer I determined that, no matter where I was living or what I was doing in life, I wanted to be present on the Gettysburg battlefield from July 1-3, 2013.

That same year Ron Maxwell and Ted Turner produced the film "Gettysburg," an account of the battle based on the largely unknown book "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara. The film propelled the book to the bestseller list and drew a great deal of attention to the battlefield, particularity to the fighting that took place on and around Little Round Top on the Second Day. In the years that followed the previously unregarded Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain became a common name associated with the story of Gettysburg. Like many others, my interest was piqued by his story and I made a point to learn more about the professor turned infantry officer.  

Any time I have been on the Gettysburg battlefield I have paid a visit to Little Round Top where a monument to the 20th Maine (Chamberlain's regiment) marks the left flank of the Union position. When I worked on the National Mall I did several first person living history programs as Chamberlain.

Last fall when Alison and I were traveling through New England, I insisted we stop in Brunswick so that I could see Chamberlain's house on the edge of Bowdoin College and visit his final resting place nearby. A few years ago I was given a shirt for Christmas that is emblazoned with Chamberlain's silhouette and the words "Joshua Chamberlain is my homeboy." I think it is safe to say that I am, indeed, a fan of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. 

When I was living in Oroville and started thinking about working for the Park Service, the first thing I did was to go out to Gettysburg to talk to one of the rangers there about how to go about doing it. Gettysburg is, without question, on my short list of top parks I would love to work at.

I have greatly enjoyed each of my experiences serving as a part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Interpretive Media Team, but the one battle that I was most looking forward to was unquestionably Gettysburg. It is very difficult to get a job at Gettysburg, and the chance to work there in any capacity was a pleasure I was very much looking forward to. Last November I had the opportunity to be a part of the 149th anniversary of the dedication of the National Cemetery and meet Steven Spielberg, which was pretty special. 
But to be there for the 150th anniversary had an even deeper significance. It was, quite literally, the realization of a twenty year dream.


My primary job at Gettysburg, like at all the events I have worked, was to provide coverage of the commemorative events via social media outlets for those who could not be there in person. It is exactly the sort of thing I would have loved as a ten year old, following the 130th commemoration from across the country. In addition to its scope and scale, Gettysburg would also be different because I would be focused exclusively on video rather than on photography. This was an exciting prospect, as I greatly enjoy the creative opportunities that video provides, but it was strange to not be a part of the photography process after being at the center of it in so many other instances.

Our experience began with a Planning Visit on June 20 to gather the team together so we could both familiarize ourselves with details of the battlefield, and also strategically plan how we would attempt to capture particular elements of the commemoration. Jason and I returned on June 25 to get some initial B-roll video and to interview various park staff so that I could use clips of what they said in the production of videos during the event. All of that was merely a prelude, however, to the event itself, which officially began for us on Saturday, June 29.

That first day I checked another personal goal off the list, which was to photograph and capture timelapse of a spectacular sunset from Little Round Top. It turned out to be the most dramatic sunset of the commemoration, so I was glad I seized the opportunity. Since we were going to be out at Little Round Top for sunset anyway, and programs had not yet started in earnest, I asked the other guy that was doing video with me if he could film a short interview with me telling my story (as relayed above) by the 20th Maine Monument.

Although this footage didn't make it into one of the videos I produced, it was still very meaningful to me to have the opportunity to record it. It was quite difficult to film actually, because people kept coming up and asking questions. I was a ranger wearing a flat hat, standing by the 20th Maine Memorial on Little Round Top, so people naturally assumed I could tell them what they wanted to know. Luckily, almost without exception, I could. By the time we were finished I had given at least four informal interpretive programs about Chamberlain, the 20th Maine, Little Round Top, and the fighting on July 2 and answered countless additional questions. It was a special moment for me. Even if I never set foot in Gettysburg in uniform again, I can now say that I have interpreted the battle where it occurred as a Park Ranger.

June 30 began with a beautiful parallel of the night before, with a glorious sunrise over the battlefield. Although I went out for sunrise two more times over the next three days, the most impressive was unquestionably the morning of June 30. Gettysburg is a truly beautiful and tranquil place in the early morning.





Later that morning we had an all employee meeting which included an address by none other than Jon Jarvis, the Director of the entire National Park Service. Since this was potentially the only time our entire team would be in one place I had already planned to take a group picture following the meeting. On a whim, as we gathered for this picture, I asked Jason if it would be appropriate to ask the Director to be in the picture with us. What you see below is the result: the Gettysburg 150 social media team along with Director Jarvis, the Northeast Regional Director, and the Superintendent of Gettysburg with Little Round Top behind us.

The rest of the commemoration passed in a blur as I ran from one event to the next or sat in the office with headphones on editing video. My fellow videographer and I were able to produce a separate recap video for each of the five primary days of the commemoration even as the events were taking place. Anyone who has edited and produced video knows this is no small feat! Those five videos, along with a special video for the Pickett's Charge program can be found on the Gettysburg YouTube Page. All of the footage you see in these videos was filmed by either myself or Michael (the other videographer) and he and I worked together to edit the six videos below.

June 30 - The Eve of Battle

In this video you see timelapse of the sunrise that I described above as well as of the opening program that occurred the evening of the 30th. You also see and hear footage that I filmed of various different speakers including Director Jarvis and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Alison came up to the battlefield that afternoon and attended that program as well as several the next day. It was very fun to have her be there as a part of the events along with me.

July 1 - The First Day

July 1 began with a program about the last march of the Iron Brigade, as they entered into the fighting when the battle began in earnest that morning. It was one of the most impressive programs I have ever seen as living historians dressed as members of the Iron Brigade led the way as nearly 1,000 people streamed across the fields of Gettysburg. I was sprinting through the fields trying to get one shot after another with Alison right beside me. She stayed with me despite being attired in shorts and sandals, which was most impressive. Unfortunately it also meant that she exposed herself to poison ivy, which she has been dealing with for this past week!

July 2 - The Second Day

On July 2 I followed in the footsteps of the Confederate advance in two separate programs, both of which are featured in this video ("In the footsteps of Captain Johnston" and "The Valley of Death). I also managed to capture some memorable footage of Confederate living history demonstrations, which is likewise featured in the video.

July 3 -The Final Day

The highlight of the third day, and really of the commemoration, was Pickett's charge. More than 15,000 visitors followed in the footsteps of the 12,500 man charge, crossing the same fields along the same paths taken by the nine brigades that made the charge on July 3. It was an impressive sight, and all told roughly 40,000 people were present for the program, making it by far the largest of the sesquicentennial. You can see additional footage of the program in the Pickett's Charge Program video as well.

July 4 -The Aftermath

Among the programs focused on the aftermath of battle was a fascinating presentation about the dead, given on the Rose Farm with 3D pictures and glasses to help visitors more fully appreciate the experience. Even I donned the glasses as I filmed the program.

Being a part of the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg was, without a doubt, one of the high points of my Park Service career. It was an honor and privilege to help tell the story of what happened there so many years ago. It was a dream come true and the fruition of 20 years of learning and study. It was an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life.




For more of the pictures I took of the commemoration check out This Album of My Favorites. You can also see many of my pictures featured in This Final Album on the Gettysburg Facebook Page that I put together.

Since returning from the commemoration I have dedicated nearly every moment to producing a final video for the entire commemoration. I finished it this morning, only hours before departing for Phoenix. You can view that video on the Gettysburg YouTube Page or directly at This Link.

I can think of no better way to conclude than with the words that Joshua Chamberlain spoke at the dedication of the 20th Maine Monument on October 3, 1889:

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls...And reverent men and women from afar and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to ponder and dream; and lo, the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls."