Veterans

This is my father and mother, William and Mary Haller, both in uniform (Army and Navy respectively). They met during, and I suppose it fair to say, because of, the Second World War. They were together as a married couple for almost fifty years. Both are interred in the “Patriots’ Hill” section of the suburban cemetery dedicated to Veterans, not too terribly far from where my siblings and I grew up. On this Veterans Day (Armistice Day, or by whatever name you choose to know it) I give special thanks for my Mom and Dad, who served their country in wartime, and loved it in peacetime.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG

Prophecy in Stone and Mist

This prophetic image was carved in stone at the base of one of the niches in the primary portal of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine some time in the late 80s or early 90s. I was always struck by this small carving only a few inches across, with its portrayal of the great deluge washing over the towers of human industry and commerce.

The prophecy in stone rang true. However, little were we to know that the waves would also be of human origin.

Some years before the assault, I snapped this picture of Saint Paul's Chapel and the Towers, disappearing as if by an apotheosis into the heavens. These are the Towers of Memory and of dedication of those lost that day, and since, to the need to dominate and control others.

Stone and mist, both speaking towards what was to come, neither heeded quite for what they said.

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG