I'll Be Watching You....

Array of security cameras at one of the nearby Elementary Schools. I guess you can't be too careful these days, but it's a kind of sad statement... Check it out at Shutterstock.

Gather At The River (or Lake)

One of our friends was baptised recently. Not in the "splash" way I'm most familiar with, but by dunking an a lake. She was "dedicated" as a baby, but not baptised. My wife, son and I were honored to stand with the family for the special event. I managed a few photos before the ceremony, this is my favorite.

Spots

Raindrops on a car window....

Artsy

We made an excursion to the St. Louis art musuem yesterday. Just a coupel shots, didn't do much photographing, just looking....

Saint Louis himself, out front of the building...

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The fountain in the main entry area....

Lazing In The Grass

Pardon the pau, a feference to the 60's hits "Grazing In The Grass". I little ditty to hit the Top 40 twice, once as an instruental, and once w/ lyrics...

Never Forget

Reposted from 9/11/2006, with some minor tweaks:

7 Years ago today, 9/11/2001, terrorists struck a series of coordinated attacks against the United States. Between the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and Flight 93 (which crashed in SW Pennsylvania), around 3,000 people were killed. Much like Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (12/7), this day will go down in infamy. And much like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the attacks of 9/11 awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. The resulting War on Terror continues, time will test our resolve.

I was supposed to be on an airplane from St. Louis to Seattle that morning, should've been in the air at the same time as those planes. But a last minute glitch cancelled my trip. I was very thankful on that day that my wife didn't have to worry about "my flight" during all the confusion of that day. I remember the confusion that day, as we tried to determine which of my coworkers were travelling, and where they might be.

Meanwhile, I used to travel to NYC regularly, but was only in the World Trade Center once. I was blown away by fact that more people worked in that building than live in my town in the St. Louis suburbs. On 9-11, as we all watched the towers fall, I kept thinking about "all those people". It's a miracle that only 3,000 were killed.

No skateboarding, No rollerblading

Still more from Alton, IL…:

Jacoby's Furniture

Another image from Alton, behind the IL…:

Speed Limit 55

Just a snapshot, along the road to/from Pere Marquette State Park. From our Sunday bike ride last weekend. My son wore out, and he and I aborted, while mom went for the mini-van to retreive us. We found a spot alongthe bike trail with an arrow pointed down toward the road, and a sign which said "bike parking"... So he and I headed down to what we thought would be a nice little spot by the road to wait. This is where the trail dumped out, right along the 55mph road, with no sholders or anything.... At least there was a pull-out on the other side, where we could wait, once we dashed across the road....

One of these days I'll take an image like this that is "compelling". Maybe... Or more liekely not... But I'll still keep at it.

Lookin' At Some Backdoors

We stopped for a late lunch Monday, in Alton IL. I was struck by the back of this building, I presume they're apartments...

Buckets Of Rain

A wet day today, as we get the remnants of what was Hurricane Gustav. Thta's all riaght we can stand a little rain...

The wet grey day put me in a Dylan mood this morning, Blood On The Tracks for the morning commute. Starting out with Buckets Of Rain:

"Life is sad, Life is a bust

All ya can do is do what you must.

You do what you must do and ya do it well"

Where were you in '72

Been listening to Top-40 hits from 1972 today (on the iPod). Lot of great stuff, and it really takes me back. 1972 was the year I turned 12 (mid-year), finished 6th grade and started 7th. A very dynamic time in any young man's life. We lived not too far from CMU campus in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh. I could walk over to the Forbes & Murray area to buy comic books and Records (at the National Record Mart), or into Oakland to imagine what it would be like to be a student at Pitt.... It was a great time to be a young sports fan, too. From the Pirates defending their World Series Championship (they lost to the Reds 3 games to 2 in the Championship) to the Steelers' rise from mediocrity and Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception...

Anyway, here's 20 songs that recently played on the iPod, out of the 125 in my playlist...
Vincent – Don McLean : Papa Was A Rolling Stone – Temptations : Dialogue Pts 1 & 2 – Chicago : Get Back Honkey Cat – Elton John – No One To Depend On – Santa : Freddie’s Dead – Curtis Mayfield : Troglodyte (Cave Man) – Jimmy Castor Bunch : Walking In The Rain With The One I Love – Love Unlimited : Fire & Water – Wilson Pickett : I’ll Be Around – Spinners : Me & Mrs Jones – Billy Paul : Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings : Outa Space – Billy Preston : Easy Livin’ – Uriah Heep : From The Beginning – Emerson Lake & Palmer : Run To Me – Bee Gees : Sweet Seasons – Carole King : Ben – Michael Jackson : Rock & Roll Pt. 2 – Gary Glitter : Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook.

My Trusty Ten Speed

Purchased in 1982, not long after I graduated college and got my first “real” job, my Raleigh Grand Prix is still rolling strong 26 years later. Granted, there’s folks who ride as far in a weekend as I probably average per year, but it’s still been a great bike, and I can’t imagine riding anything else. And yes, I always wear a helmet, ever since a rather nasty wreck I had in 1975…

H. Eastman 1876

Happy Labor Day, all!! Finally made it out on my bicycle today, our first real outing all year. Between my 6 months in Pullman Washington, my daughter’s wedding and everything else… well we just haven’t made the time. We drove up to Pere Marquette State Park, and rode back towards town. The image below is from a barn we passed, just a bit south of the park:

Taken w/ my wife's Nikon CoolPix P80, not a bad little camera, and fits nicely in my bike bag...

Here's a snapshot of the whole barn: