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Welcome to
GatorProwl.com! |
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This is the personal web site of James R. Thies, Sr. The first
question that might come to mind is why would anyone build a personal
web site -- especially when I am not selling anything and having to pay
for it? The answer is threefold: 1) I am always asked
almost on a daily basis information about myself or concerning something
that I have done or about some place I have traveled. In this modern day information society, a web
site is the easiest way to get that information out. 2) Have you
ever thought of how much information is locked inside your brain?
This web site is an attempt to organize a very small percentage of what
is locked inside my brain. All the material located on this web
site has been read and in many cases studied by me. All the
photographs that appear have been taken by me in locations I have had
the opportunity to visit. Not that you are really interested in
what has been stored inside my brain -- but, I like the idea of being
able to recover it for future debate or for the simply value of
memories. It also might remind you of how much you have
experienced in life and have locked away inside your brain -- it is an
amazing organ that outperforms a computer any day! 3) As I get
older and I get slower, I need something to keep me busy and out of the
hair of others!
One question that is always asked is how did I come up with the handle
"Gatorprowl". Decades before the internet where everyone needs a
screen name, there was a need to have a "handle" - a call name. A
"handle" was used to communicate over short wave radios. My handle
came about because I had the opportunity to serve as a radioman in Viet
Nam. The obvious part of the handle is "Gator". I grew up
close to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida -- the home
of the fighting Gators! The second part of the handle "prowl",
refers to my job responsibilities. I was always on the move laying
out coordinates for artillery and aircraft cover -- hence "prowl".
I became "Gatorprowl" and that has been my handle every since 1968.
A little about of the organization of the site. I have broken the
site into three divisions:
1) Biography: Actually this is autobiography. This
tells a little about me -- of course only good things are said since I had to write it.
It also contains pictures of me. On the internet this seems to be
an important issue. People want to know what the person they are
talking to looks like. Unfortunately, after seeing the pictures
most people are convinced they know the person well enough to know they
are not interesting and usually stop
communicating with them. OK, maybe that is just in my particular
case.
2) Galleries: These are some of the photos of the various places I
have traveled over the past eight years. That is not to say I have
only been traveling the past eight years - I have always been one to
seek an adventure and to explore the unknown. About eight years ago, I
took up photography as a hobby and every since then people can recognize
me and know I am on a mission when they see my camera backpack come out.
Actually, I am easy to identify without the backpack in that I have been
tall and grey for most of my life.
I have
broken the pictures down into two groups -- American Visits and
Foreign
Visits.
That's because I have friends that prefer one group of pictures over the
other.
3) Writings: Writings cover a large group of odds and ends.
These are subjects that I have a daily interest in and collect
information on. It covers my vocation -- The Criminal Justice
System; and my avocation: primarily history, philosophy and people.
I know most visitors to this site will skip right over this section.
But, if you get a chance, you might find something of interest. Plus
this is the part I give quizzes on to see if you actually looked at the
entire site. (Note: This section is coming on later than the
original launch of the site -- check back periodically for updates.)
I hope you enjoy something off of this site. If you have
recommendations as to how to improve it, use them in developing your own
site. I have worked way too hard on this project for years
to listen to any criticism that will do nothing but break my heart.
Jim |
