Existing In BFE

My best high school buddy was "Fast Eddie" Ed Johnson.  He had the best car, in my opinion,  a neat looking 62 Chevy.  Of course all the farmer boys had the newest hottest cars, but Eddie had the classic of all classics.  We cruised all over Mercer and Rock Island Counties in that car, drank some beer in that car and smoked some cigarettes in that car, too.  I went to my first tittie show with Ed at the Mounds in Davenport.  Back then the normal high school after school activity was "scooping the loop" around Aledo and when available, heading out to the back roads with a six-pack, or up the the Cities.  We did a lot of cruising, usually taking his wheels, because I was into the time-sharing thing with the Wombie, and using my grampa's would undercut my leverage with the folks for one of my own.  Naturally, the regularity of the cruises depended on our respective girlfriend status.  It was a lot of fun and the talks we had were like lots of g...

They had a series of small comparison articles regarding Tampa and St. Pete in the paper recently.  I likes this one best of all.  "Tampa?  Tampa has strip joints and traffic jams.  Tampa is hardscrabble ports and organized crime.  Tampa's raucous and gauche.  St. Pete?  St. Pete's languid like an early bird special.  St. Pete's old folks biding time until the white light and the fade to black.  St. Pete wishes it could have such fun.  Tampa likes its sports, heehaw, rah-rah, while St. Pete likes the arts.  You can walk in St. Pete.  Good luck in Tampa.  In St. Pete, business means tourists; in Tampa, business means business.  Tampa can have the roller coasters.  St. Pete's got the sunsets. Pinellas County seceded from Hillborough County in 1912.  That's a century of across-the-bay barbs.  Wrote the Tampa Morning Tribune when Pinellas broke away: "Hillsborough, of course, hates to lose it...

This guy looks like he should be in junior high.  Youngest looking kid I've seen on this list but is that a tear drop tat or just a birthmark?  Booking info said he was 21 and arrested for smoking pot. This guy is 77 and solicited a prostitute.  Shouldn't he be home on the front porch whittling? According to his personal info, this man is 72.  Looks waaaay younger than that.  Perhaps homelessness, eating out of dumpsters, and wandering aimless all day is the fountain of youth.  Scored 2350 on his SAT's. Nice "red-hawk".  Whoa, is that a giant spider on his neck? This here folks is Calvin Coolidge Cox, 44, and has decided to decorate his forehead with a tat.  Can't read it it, but that is certainly an "in-your-face" thing to do.  Been seeing a lot more face tats recently.  And who names their kid after Calvin Coolidge? Hmmm.  Ginger kid? WTF?? Joevante Diangel Johnson One of these days I'll just post some of the n...

I think I've mentioned before that I reside in Shawshank. Actually it's called West Shore Village nestled right next to Clam Bayou in the South part of St. Petersburg. And that is up against Gulfport. Google it and et a map its pretty easy to locate. Only a few blocks from the Interstate so easy to head North up to Mackenzie or Brendan's and South to the Skyway and get out of the city. So, having attempted to install my phone on the bike so I could take videos of rides (all for you, loyal readers) I have taken one of where I live. Enjoy the ride, but beware of the gators, the 19 mph limit, walkers, joggers, swimmers and Betty, whose claim to fame shall remain secret (actually I spilled the beans on Betty a few months ago) a little longer.

First frost of the year in St. Pete.  My back yard with the frost on the ground and steam rising from the heated pool. This guy was walking around the Wagon Wheel flea Market wearing his pants under his ass cheeks so he could let all of us see his purtty baby blue underwear.  Lord, some people. Another picture from the flea market.  This man's Man Card was taken earlier for selling goddamn doilies.  Geez, man, how embarrassing.  The break area at Dick Blick in Galesburg, by Sherry Godsil. The snow coming down in Sherry Godsil's driveway during January's first big snow.  I need that!! Sherry Godsil, a friend from Blick in G-Burg is undertaking a photographic project.  She is snapping one picture a day for all of 2012 and putting it on Facebook.  While I'm not a big fan of that site I do check it regularly and look forward to her pictures.  Her pictures are the two above.   It's gonna be a fun year watching what she can do. ...

Check the blog for posts on weekends until I decide not to. Again, just too dang many posts in the queue and need to get caught up.

My mother, Marj, when she was a college coed.  Apparently not above showing a little leg to her boyfriend who has joined the Navy.  When Seaton won the Mercer County Church League Championship, Marj painted a sign we nailed to a phone pole.  Sadly, I had a bunch of pictures of us celebrating our victory, but I seem to have lost them.  Players on that team were Ivan Ewing, Jeff Benson,   Making milkshakes, a habit impossible for me to "shake".  Looks like a batch of ice cream in the blender, the tub in front of her, a can of chocolate syrup, milkshake powder and on her leg a jug of milk. Me and Michael in front of a firetruck we rode in while at a Seaton Pancake breakfast.   Michael looking cool in his shades.  Looks like we are heading to Lake Littlejohn. Michael again in my 65 Ford Galaxie convertible. Marj and Magic in Mark's little MG he had in college.  Looks like they are about to take a ride. The only picture I have of Se...

We are back at the Vinoy and it seems like forever since we stopped here last. The grandkids are here along with Drew and Norah. The sea brings in all type of "stuff" along the mucky area between beach and Bay.  This is a deceased horseshoe crab. Golf ball. Seabirds are a constant along the beach.  Looking for food and garbage from humans they congregate on shoals until a kid goes over and shoes them momentarily.  Michael playing volleyball with Drew.  Michael is at the lower left and looks to have just served. Alhanna wading into the Bay and enjoying the birds. Norah is in good hands.  This is Michael insinuating himself into a baseball game between a father and son, and he gets to bat.  What a future for this kid. Soon to be destroyed Pier, the inverted pyramid landmark of St. Pete. Meanwhile, back at Shawshank, after a nice day at the Vinoy, its time to hit the pool.  here, Drew is water boarding Michael, as Alhanna moves in...