“My next great adventure, aged 90, is going to be dying. There’s either nothing or something. If there’s nothing there’s nothing, that’s it. If there’s something, I can’t think of a greater adventure than finding out what it is. I happen to think there is something because of the experiences I’ve had, because of experiences other people have had. Very powerful ones.”

~ Jane Goodall

 

 

Edward Raymond "Eddie" Cochran (October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960)

Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He experimented with multitrack recording and overdubbing even on his earliest singles, and was also able to play piano, bass and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and good-looking young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 50s rocker, and in death he achieved an iconic status. Cochran was born in Minnesota and moved with his family to California in the early 1950s. He was involved with music from an early age, playing in the school band and teaching himself to play blues guitar. In 1955, he formed a duet with the guitarist Hank Cochran (no relation), and when they split the following year, Eddie began a song-writing career with Jerry Capehart. His first success came when he performed the song "Twenty Flight Rock" in the film The Girl Can't Help It, starring Jayne Mansfield. Soon afterwards, Liberty Records signed him to a recording contract. Cochran died aged 21 after a road accident, while travelling in a taxi in Chippenham, Wiltshire, during his British tour in April 1960, having just performed at Bristol's Hippodrome theatre. Though his best-known songs were released during his lifetime, more of his songs were released posthumously.

In 1987, Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, CA.

A clean-cut Charles Manson on his wedding day in 1955.

This photograph captures Charles Manson as a young man on his wedding day in 1955, long before his name became synonymous with violence and cult manipulation. Dressed neatly in a suit beside his bride, he appears the picture of normalcy. Yet behind this image lay a troubled youth marked by crime, reform schools, and instability.

The marriage was one of Manson’s early attempts to establish a conventional life, but it proved short-lived. Within a few years he would be imprisoned again, setting him further down the path that would ultimately culminate in his notorious role as the leader of the so-called Manson Family in the 1960s.

This image is haunting not because of what it shows, but because of what history would later reveal. It stands as a reminder that even the most ordinary scenes can conceal the beginnings of far darker legacies.

Added fact: Manson married a woman named Rosalie Jean Willis, but while she was pregnant with their child, he was arrested for auto theft and sent to prison, ending the marriage soon after.

 

 "The Bebe" 5-9 & 9-30 

Market Street, San Francisco c. 1955

Arriving in San Francisco in the early morning hours…

 

Chinatown at Night, San Francisco (1950s)

This nighttime view of Chinatown in the highlights glowing neon lights and bustling sidewalks. The lanterns and signs lit up Grant Avenue, welcoming both locals and visitors. Restaurants, shops, and theaters drew steady crowds, especially in the evenings. Families came here for meals, while tourists were drawn to the unique atmosphere. The district had already become a cultural hub for the city, filled with color and sound. The neon glow reflected off the wet streets after evening fog rolled through. Photographs from this decade capture the lively energy that defined Chinatown. Despite changes, many of these signs remained part of its character for years. The neighborhood still carries the same spirit of community and tradition. This image reflects both pride and resilience through decades of change.

 

 

The beautiful San Francisco waterfront as seen from the bay.

Meanwhile in Mar a Lago

Truth & Paradox

 

Baghdad By The Bay, San Francisco

San Francisco city lights viewed from the Bay

Docking in San Francisco this morning from Alaska

 

Baghdad By The Bay San Francisco  

North Beach

Photograph by JD Jenkins