Freedom Is Golden ...

"I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land."   
                             ~ Ronald Reagan
                                     ~ 1911-2004
  ~ 40th President of the United States of America
                                     ~ 1981-1989 

A gold rush of beauty gilds the night sky at the 2015 Fourth of July Fireworks set off from
J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania, illuminating the truth that freedom is golden.

How wonderful it would be to have fireworks - and the fire of patriotism - in our hearts every day!

  

Covered In Christmas ...

"Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime."

                                                                                                              ~ Charles Dickens

                                   ~ 1812-1870 

                                                               

Festooned in Christmas lights, the historic Wehr's Covered Bridge, Orefield, Pennsylvania sparkles with the joy of Christmastime on a December evening.

Wehr’s Covered Bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge located in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. It is a three span, 117-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and a gable roof. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The nearby Wehr’s Dam was built in 1904.

This beautiful bridge has seen travelers for 174 Christmastimes, but the true beauty is the reason and meaning of the season - the birth of Christ - which is timeless and remains the same.

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas everyone!

Christmas Luminance ...

"I will honor Christmas in my heart,

and try to keep it all the year."

                            ~ Charles Dickens

                                            ~ 1812-1870

                                                   "A Christmas Carol"

                                                ~ published December 19, 1843

 

Bedecked in Christmas lights, the historic Wehr's Covered Bridge,

Orefield, Pennsylvania glows with the warmth of Christmas

on a December evening.

Wehr’s Covered Bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge located in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. It is a three span, 117-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and a gable roof. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The nearby Wehr’s Dam was built in 1904.

 

Coloring Hope ...

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul ..."
                                      ~ Hebrews 6:19

 Hope is illuminated in pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October atop the iconic PPL Building in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The PPL Building, formerly the Pennsylvania Power and Light Building, is a 24-story, art deco/art moderne skyscraper at Ninth and Hamilton Streets.

It is the tallest building in Allentown and the second tallest in the Lehigh Valley, and serves as headquarters for the electric utility, PPL . 

The building is often uniquely illuminated at night, especially during the Christmas season. During the 1960s, PPL supported the local United Fund community drive program by using the building's brightly lit windows to spell out the abbreviation "U.F." to remind area residents to contribute to the fund drive.

The PPL building was built from 1926-1928. The building was designed by architect and skyscraper pioneer Harvey Wiley Corbett, who would later have a hand in designing
New York's Rockefeller Center, and was supervised by by his assistant, Wallace Harrison, who would later design Lincoln Center, La Guardia Airport and the United Nations Headquarters Building. The building has exterior features bas reliefs by Alexander Archipenko. In 1930, the PPL building was named "the best example of a modern office building" by Encyclopedia Brittanica, and also featured the world's fastest elevator.

A Fair To Remember...

"Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it."
                                                  ~ L.M. Montgomery
                                                                        ~ 1874-1942

Sometimes life whirls by so fast it's a bit of a blur,
so it's good to remember the simple joys, like going to the fair
on a sweet summer night.

This high contrast monochrome shot captures the ferris wheel
spinning on the September opening of the 163rd Great Allentown Fair,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Coloring In The Circles ...

"I see nothing in space as promising
as the view from a Ferris Wheel."
                                       ~ E.B. White
                                               ~ 1899-1985

The Ferris Wheel whirls in tandem with 
a smaller spinning wheel, coloring the sky over
the Midway with happiness on a warm September
evening, the opening of the 163rd Great Allentown Fair,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Blue Moonshine ...

"Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
keep shining bright.
Blue moon, keep on shining bright,
You're gonna bring me back my baby tonight,
Blue moon, keep shining bright.

I said blue moon of Kentucky
keep on shining ..." 
                 ~ "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
             recorded by the great Elvis Presley
                                 ~ 1954

An artistic view of "Blue Moonshine" illuminating the summer sky over Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania during the
Blue Moon of July 31, 2015.

A Blue Moon is defined as any time there is a second full moon in a calendar month, according to NASA. The next will occur January 2, 2018.

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is the official Bluegrass song of Kentucky, written by Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass," in 1946.

The great Elvis Presley - an artist who occurs "once in a blue moon," - recorded
his fantastic rockabilly version in 1954.