July 4, 2020 • Okauchee Lake Fireworks

"The fireworks — great pulsing strobes, fiery dandelions and starbursts of light brightening both sky and water." — Sol Luckman

Photos taken with iPhone 11 Pro (no filters or editing)

Weekend in NYC: 9/11 Memorial + One World Observatory

“You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy.” —Colin Powell

Calatrava’s World Trade Center Oculus

St. Paul’s Chapel

Trinity Church Graveyard

One World Trade Center

The 9/11 Memorial

The Survivor Tree, discovered at Ground Zero severely damaged, was removed from the rubble and placed in the care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

White roses placed on the victims’ birthdays

Opened in May 2019, the Memorial Glade that honors first responders who later got sick or died after inhaling toxins at the World Trade Center site. Six large battered stones appear to jut up and out of the plaza as if violently displaced, and convey strength and resistance.

The Sphere that survived the attacks of September 11, 2001, now displayed in Liberty Park

Veterans Day | Armistice (100 years later)

(315/365) “Veterans, thank you for bravely doing what you were called to do so that we can safely do what we’re free to do.” – Unknown

One hundred years ago today, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the treaty was signed to end the First World War. A year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th Armistice Day to pay homage to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who gave their lives in service of their country. In 1954, President Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans Day to honor all service men and women. 

One day is never enough to thank these American heroes for their bravery and their dedication to defending our freedom. Everyday when I proudly stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, I thank them with all my heart and I think about my dad. I am humbled by the courage it must have taken to enlist in the Navy when he was only seventeen years old, to leave his family, and to travel around the world to defend our freedom on the USS Salt Lake City during World War II. 

Last year, the Brink family took my dad's dog tags along on Paul's Honor Flight. I always wished my dad could have had that experience and I'm so grateful to them for sharing their day with us!

Milwaukee Federal Building

September 27, 2018 (270/365) #domke #doorsopenmilwaukee

"It's not tyranny we desire; it's a just, limited, federal government." - Alexander Hamilton

17 Years Later

 September 11, 2018 (254/365)

"I thank God for my life, for the Stars and Stripes. May freedom forever fly. Let it ring!" - Zac Brown

4th of July

July 4, 2018 (185/365) • Independence Day

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore!" - Oliver Wendell Holmes