And now for something completely different...

Something different, a mostly photo update. Here are a few recent shots, more interesting that great.
Above, a water squirting elephant that is part of a large hand-carved circus display. This was Jimmy Bashline's legacy.


Logan Renwick, a HS long jumper lands in a cloud of sand.




Some very serious bodybuilders.

How did that happen?

A decent work week. Mostly.
Gas hasn't gone down, but the rest of the week wasn't bad.

Starting Tuesday, parking at the track meets - always the worst part of the day - was rather good. The Mall Guard at the front gate sent me around to the back with instructions to "tell Larry"

Wednesday was a softball game played in the drizzle. Not-quite rain that went on all afternoon. Oh well. The car was just outside the right field fence.

Thursday was more track & Field at Baldwin. I suspect the Parking Deity at was distracted and let me slip in when nobody else was looking. Any closer, and I would have been on the track. No, not really, but I was a lot closer than folks who showed up hours earlier. The key to this one is get there at the exact moment school get out, and park in the spaces the buses have just vacated.

Friday is Brookville. A much smaller meet in a very large district. Parking scattered around the campus, but nothing more that about a 5 minute stroll from the gate.

Now if I can just work out that water-to-gasoline conversion I read about in the back of a Fantastic Four comic book.....

Let's see how the week goes..

Gas has hit $3.75 a gallon and I'm looking at filling the tank three or four times in the next week. I remember being on vacation in Texas five or six years ago and thinking that dumping $100 worth of gas into a 32' RV was the limit of what I'd ever spend on a single fillup.
Wrong.
Today I poured $55 worth of gas into the Tuscon just to get the week started.

But, I digress. This is one of my favorite weeks in the scholastic sports calendar.

Tomorrow - Tuesday - it's off to a place called South Side Beaver HS for Class AA track. 65 miles from the house and another 50 or so back to the office. Part 1 of the ongoing What is the WPIAL Thinking Final Exam. The place is closer to Ohio than anywhere else in the WPIAL Universe.


Thursday is It Can Get Worse Day. The same league has been holding the Class AAA track meet at a school called Baldwin since Christ was a Corporal. Nobody seems to know why. The school has built classroom buildings to the point that parking has disappeared by about half the original allotment. If you arrive early, there's no parking on campus as school hasn't let out yet. Arrive a few minutes later and there's no parking as it's now all full, ringed by a handpicked corps of Mall Guards ready to remind you that They Mean Business. A few years ago one had no idea what to do when I told him I'd be perfectly happy to sit at the entrance to the lot and wait for them to deem the School Day ended and open the spaces. A direct quote "You can't sit here, this is a parking lot!" Last year I had to park about a mile away and take a school bus shuttle in, juggling gear all the way. These folks really need to move the thing to a college track with college parking. Another 100 or so mile drive as well....

Friday is the PIAA D-9 meet in Brookville, Pa. No hassle, park right at the gate and pray for no rain. Yet another 100+ mile drive.

Anyone see a theme developing?

Get on the Good Foot

Now that I've got the photo thing going, here's another. If you dont't know singer Billy Price, get on the good foot. Old school soul from a man who lives and loves the music.

If y'all aren't familiar with the Good Foot reference, your could stand to raise your Soul Quotient

Here's a photo

Congratulations is right. Here's my buddy and Genuine Hilbilly Drummer Mark Stutso at the release party for his CD "Rock My Soul" at Moondogs in Blawnox, Pa.

Three weeks later

And I my posting is slowing down. As with lots of good intentions, this one started strong and has slipped a bit in intensity. I'm gonna' try to get the energy level back to a respectable level and keep it there - and in reference to an actual comment made by an actual visitor - add a photo or three.