Existing In BFE

Halloween Quiz 1.   How many times did Bela Lugosi play Dracula?   A. 2 B.  4 C.  7 2.   How long has Halloween been around?  A.  103 years B.  940 years C.  6,000 years 3.   Halloween started in which country? A.  Italy B.  Germany c.  Ireland 4.   Bonfires are associated with Halloween.  How did it get its name? A.  Named for Dutch boon bean which were roasted on Halloween. B.  In Samhein, the home of Halloween, priests used to put cattle bones on the fire. C.  Bonnie,  a Salem witch, was burned at the stake, which became a Bon Fire. 5.  Bela Lugosi was buried with an item associated with his fame as Dracula.  What was it? A.  A cross. B.  A cape c.  A stake. 6.   Lon Chaney, Jr. played the Wolf Man.  How many times would he play this role in future films? A.  0 B.  3 C.  5 ...

Halloween for us kids in Seaton was usually a very festive occasion.  Marj would monitor our movements from the anonymity of the car while we traipsed from house to house.  Afterwards we'd empty our bags on the living room floor and categorize the treats.  There was always stuff you didn't like, the stash a cut above that and then the primo items which were almost always encased in chocolate.  When we got older, Marj would stay home and we'd rove more in packs than as a family.  I'm sure it was all designed by the parents involved but it didn't seem that way then.   And then the first Halloween when you stop.  And then you become the adult with kids and you haul them around - your main mission to bring smiles and merriment to a fun night.  You put them in the car and take them places of safety to teach them the strategy of trick or treat.  And then you see them organize their treats when you get home.   ...

Last week I was bemoaning the lack of photographic opportunites around here.  At Shawshank I could walk down the enclosed enclave and be right next to the Gulf.  At Bedlam I could hop in the car at night and head over to the Causeway, but here, at Waterboard, I am stuck in the middle, with no place easy to go.  With that in mind I grabbed the camera and tested whether or not one always needs a "place", or whether there is opportunity right under our noses.   I never went more than 15 feet from either the front or back doors.   Art?  Maybe to someone.  

This represents, pretty much, my Mondays thru Fridays.  I serve as a Manny for a kid named Alfred.   4:00 AM -  Alarm goes off and I may snooze one cycle.  I arise, get dressed, and head over to the 24 hour gym.  Since I'm almost always the only one there I put the TV on a news station and then treadmill for at least 3 miles/1 hour.   5:10 AM - 5:30 AM - I get back to my cell here at Waterboard, fix a pot of coffee and head to the computer to do some reading (New York Times, New York Post and Washington Post).  Catch up my fantasy baseball teams (summer) or football teams (winter).  Check mail.   6:00 AM - Start watching Morning Joe.  Scarborough (the Conservative) is obnoxious, Mika (the Liberal) mugs at camera but the roundtable regulars are the best on TV.  Geist, Halperin, Haass, Todd, Heilemann, Barnacle, Robinson, Ratliff and Steele, among others are excellent.  Their guest list is pretty damn good, too. ...

The population of the Tampa Bay Area is estimated at 2,975,222 people.  Largo, my latest institutional home is Largo, nestled between Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Tampa is full of humans from all over the place; traffic is heavy wherever you go.  Seems like every inch of land is developed or undergoing development.  So, it seems quite strange that right next door is a place full of chickens.  Funny, huh?  Oh, and roosters crow all the time just not at dawn. ++++++++++ This is a picture of a knocker-upper.  In England and Ireland at the start of the Industrial Revolution a trade began that served as alarm clocks before alarm clocks were made.  These people would go from place to place and shoot a dried bean or pea through a tube at their customer's bedroom window to wake them up for work.   ++++++++++ My generation is the last to: .....remember life before the Internet. .....you honked every time you passe...

Head Out On the Highway, Looking For Adventure   I'm going to tell you about a spot that is gorgeous and overlooks the Mississippi.  It is trespassing if you try to do it by yourself, and kind of dangerous.  We received city approval to check it out.   I'd like to take my camera and tripod and take some pictures when I return to Northlandia in a few weeks.    Next to the New Boston cemetery is a dirt road that, with a bit of scouting, will take you to a path that winds through soem fairly dense overgrowth.  Follow that path and you'll come to a an overlook area that is directly above the New Boston water department spilloff.  Thus the approval from the Wombie who knows other Aquamen in the area.   This overlook provides a really nice view of the river few people ever have a chance to see.  There is a cement platform of sorts, but it is not fenced and should one go tumbling, they would be be wet and pretty banged...

After college graduation at Iowa Wesleyan,  Marj approached me and said that parental support would be there if I wanted to continue in my studies.  I gave it some thought and weighed the pros and cons of continuing.  Flush from graduating with honors I guess, given the opportunity, I decided to continue.  I really enjoyed the classroom experience; learning was something cool to me and I liked the field of philosophy/theology.  The endless ideas intrigued me and ultimately felt I wasn't finished with that world.  Given the support from the folks and my willingness to commit to two more years I chose a small grad school on the grounds of the University of Denver.  It was called Iliff and I enrolled in classes that would lead to a Masters of Arts in Theology.   My 2 years in Denver at graduate school was notable for a few reasons.  It was the first time I had ever done something on my own - school up to this time was always done i...

Monmouth's Prime Beef Festival provides a pretty decent show and this year was no different.  Just like last year I met my old high school buddy, Ed Johnson from Peoria.  He has a beautiful '62 Chevy Impala.   Miss Frump made the trip without any problem.    The Frump shined up after arriving and ready for attention. I tend to be a purist at car shows.  I shy away from an over-the-top presentation.  This owner, however, seems to revel in it.  I'm sure this guy garnered more laughs than my disgusted harrumph.     My rationale is the car is the real show, not the skeletons, stuffed toys, LED lights, photo albums, drive-in window tray.  But to each their own.    This guy bought a hearse and grill in a coffin.  Actually, I find this clever and fun to look at.   That is a real tufted leather floorboard.  My God, the money these guys spend on their wheels! Just a plai...

While walking downtown I had my iPhone and snapped a few pics that seemed somewhat interesting to me.   Maybe you, too. It was an abandoned store front and someone had posted this on the window.  The reflection from the window shows the cars parked along the street.  Apparently not satisfied with posting a note on the window, the perpetrator of the previous picture decided to double-down on his assessment of someone.  What could the catalyst for a movie or song,  the placement of an envelope on a door.  Eviction?  Rent notice? A plea of some kind?  A letter expressing love?  Who knows.  Only the owner of the envelope and door know for sure.   Harry Chapin could have spun a great ballad from such a vision.   Or perhaps new Nobel laureate Bob Dylan.   Everything is art.  Art is everything.  I don't know what used to be here but when it was removed created a brick canvas fo...