Friday, December 09, 2011

Southern Californian big heads

I keep running across big heads sticking out of the ground. There was a purple one that lived for a season in Golden Gate Park. And there were the grand stone Olmec heads in Mexico.

mack robinson head.jpg

And then there was this: Mack Robinson looking over the civic center of Pasadena.

Mr. Robinson was an athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, just a hair behind Jesse Owen. These two gave the lie to Hitler's boast that the contests must prove Aryan superiority.

This Robinson was the brother of Jackie Robinson who integrated Major League Baseball.
head with tree.jpg

A small tree, deprived of its leaves by winter, casts a morning shadow over the head of Jackie Robinson.

I'm not sure that a couple of monster heads make a particularly inspiring monument to a couple of local men who made good, but clearly some Pasadenans do.

1 comment:

Ronni Bennett said...

Wow. Those are amazing. I see your point questioning them, but the longer I look at them, the more they grow on me. I think I like them. You have to admit they are impressive. Not something you would walk by without noticing.