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DOCUMENTS AND PHOTOS - PAGE 4
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 Whilst in Junior High School, we put on a Festival of the Arts, which included live music. As one can see in the photo, our glee club was assembled into a not very large stage at the school. There were over 100 singers and musicians involved, and I give credit to the organisers for their capabilities, as well as their audacity. I am somewhere in there towards the back (since I was tall), singing in the Tenor I section. Despite the logistics, we all had a good time performing.
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 I was confirmed into the Catholic Church at the usual age, which is 13. This is a picture that was taken with my uncle, at this confirmation service. Although my uncle was Seventh Day Adventist (Protestant), like my mother, he took an interest in Roman Catholic matters, and actually sponsored me. My uncle was active in his church, and was one of the 'elders'. I think that, being raised in Croatia, he had a long-standing attraction to Roman Catholic matters, but he found it difficult to openly express such an interest.
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 Another certificate I received, this time for merit in recognition for participating in the Performing Arts Showcase. As a tenor in the choir, we trained for weeks for this performance. We did 8 songs, including Mack the Knife, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Ride the Chariot, and Now Shall the Grace -- an interesting combination of religion, nationalism and ethnicity.
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 The 'landscape' of the city is usually conceived of as cold and uninviting. Yet some elements of the country do occur. I am seen here sitting in front of my house in Jackson Heights. Whenever I see that type of tree, with its broad clusters of yellow flowers, and large oval leaves, it reminds me of this house, and the numerous bees that would congregate around its blooms in summer.
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 When I was still in Junior High School, I joined a contest at a Science Fair run by the American Institute in NYC. The idea was that each person submit a project, that would be judged, and then awards given. I won an honourable mention for a car I designed that used ultrasonic principles for movement. There were many excellent projects at this Fair, and clearly there were young people who were showing talent and creativity.
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 This photograph was my first 'journalist' type picture, at age 15. It showed an abandoned car not far from our house, near a highway underpass, and east of a warehouse district. Although most of the streets in my neighbourhood were kept in reasonably good shape, this stretch of road as used as place for ditching stolen cars. It reflected the increasing problem of crime in that period. I developed the film myself and did the enlargement and printing as well.
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