34 Years ago............Baghdad.....

It was the day after Thanksgiving and I  received a call from a friend of mine, later business partner, Byron Morgan and he asked me a simple question.."Where is the last place you'd want to be right now ?" The hostages had been taken in Iraq 30 days earlier so I naturally said, "Iraq". He then asked me if I wanted to go....to Iraq. I asked "What for " ?  He told me that a group from Japan and the U.S were going to try to recover the Hostages and they needed a photographer to document the journey. I asked him an obviously question, Who's paying for it ? He relied, "The Japanese". I asked  " When do we leave ", he replied," Tomorrow, from los Angles." I honestly had the devil on my left shoulder saying, "DON"T GO !!" and an Angel on my right saying GO..GO,,,.I answered "Book it.....

I called American Airline and booked a flight from Tulsa to L.A. that night and he met me at the airport and we went to his apartment. His son John was going also. In my haste I had forgotten  that Mom had invited me for dinner that evening so the next morning before we left for Tokyo I called her and told her that I was on the West coast doing commercial photography for one of my accounts. It had come up unexpectantly and apologized. I also called my sister and filled her in on what was going on and that if I wasn't back in a week the body was in Baghdad. Our cover was the we were the American Olympic Basketball team playing in the International Sports and Music Festival for Peace. Huessin put on the event to rid himself to the Hostages as they were a liability for him as the world as going after him because of the hostage crisis. Many countries were playing in many sporting events to get heir hostages. Diplomatically we wouldn't ask for the Americans so we asked for the Japanese and likewise for the Japanese, they asked of the Americans. We played Basketball, and volleyball losing to the cheating Iraqis.

The next evening we had the Music Festival and our closing song was Amazing Grace which brought the house down. We then retired to the Japanese Embassy, ate and enjoyed the rest of the evening mixing with the Japanese athletes. Some Americans that were not taken hostage joined us in our room and were voicing their concern about their future and we didn't know what to say but we were trying to do as much as we could. But we had no word on the Japanese hostages. The next morning still no hostages, and after boarding the plane, engines started, all of the Japanese hostages and the uncultured Americans boarded the plane and we took off. Senator Inoki was not with us...he was the man from Japan that put the deal together and he stayed behind.

Arriving in Tokyo  we met a man selling sake from a cart in front of our hotel and it resulted in him probably having the best sales in one evening because of us. Still no Inoki or American Hostages. 

We met with the Japanese Parliament the next morning and they gave us all a  Sammari Helmet and a proclamation thanking us for our bravery and commitment. Still no Americans...I sort of had the feeling we failed half of our mission. Just before arriving in Los Angeles the pilot alerted us that Inoki was in the air with the rest of the AMERICANS all of them ! The first war started thirty days later.......what was I thinking...

It's been a while....

I guess I've been lazy, for the lack of a better word, but I have been really tied up with spring planting and keeping rhe garden watered in an extremely dry Summer. It has been way took hot to venture out to photograph so the camera has been napping in my camera case. The tomatoes have been doing well and the Sego Palm that I thought I had lost due to the winter sprung back to life which is really good news as I have had it for over 40 years. I'll protect it better this coming winter. I hate to lose old connections.

I was in Carthage several months ago for a very good friends funeral that I grew up with, and went by my old build  at 340 Lyon and got in a cross between heart broken and mad as hell. The man that bought the building after the woman who bought it from me and lost it to the bank, has allowed the building to fall from being a really great office and studio into a pigeon roost with windowpanes gone and wooden window structures close to rotting away. The building has stood since 1883 and to have it neglected like it has been should be a crime. The value on Zillow has gone from over $ 120,000. to less that $ 60,000. It's not really the money lost in value as much as it is in my mind the loss of History. The building was originally the home of the Carthage press and was built in 1883.

In the basement there is writing on the walls telling the boys that picked up papers to sell on their routes not to spit, cheat, and take other boys papers. After I left Carthage in 2005 some boys, and I know who they are, broke into the basement and spray painted obscenities on the walls. No brainers !! I know who did it but they have no money and would be tried as juveniles at the time and really wasn't worth the time to pursue. The deed will come back to haunt them as Karma does appear.

The potential for the building is so spectacular that someone with a creative mind and some cash could turn  it into a showplace condo and live comfortably. Karen and I were planning to do so until she landed her dream job here in Tulsa and we moved down here. 

When I bought the building in in 1975, 2 years after launching my business, I painted it black, the windows white, after sealing the windows, added the Morgan Logo in stained glass above the doors, refinished the doors and floors taking them beck to their natural hardwood, built a wall between the office and studio area, rented the upstairs to my Dad for his business after remodeling it to his needs and and owned it for 30 years. To make it habitable again would take a lot of work, and appreciation for Carthage history. If I ever came back to Carthage I would probably try to buy it........but it would have to be at a fair price...I don't think it will ever happen. 

Carthage could be a goldmine of opportunity and flourish but it will take a huge investment of vision, work, and pride, to make the vision come true. The Carthage Hardware owners have done a great job of restoration on their building and business and my hat goes off to them. I'm sure there are some others in town and they deserve an applause also. Enough ranting for now enjoyed Carthage and have many friends there ,but I've become an Okie and am here presently........who knows what the future holds...