Shoot XV - "The North End"

Were you thinking Mississippi? Nothing on that list spoke Mississippi to me! Now, if I had mentioned it was the "Magnolia State," then I would have known but Michelle, Carol, Elaine, and Joani knew! Mike Di and Peyton were "oh, so close!" And, thanks to  Vicky for dropping in.   


In honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. . .

"American Cemetery at Normandy"

"On the Stoop"

The last weekend in August is usually set aside for the North End's Feast of St. Anthony! The streets are decorated with religious artifacts, flowers, and streamers of money. The streamers will be draped over the traveling statue of St. Anthony as it makes its way through the narrow streets of the city. It is an honor to be one of the statue carriers or a banner girl. As the larger-than-life statue reaches one of the homes, it may be raised to reach the second floor balcony where a streamer will be placed or, family members might be sent out to be hoisted up to drape their monetary band on St. Anthony. A band not only leads the way but plays a tune when it stops at each house.

From my vantage point, I watched this local character. He was like the mayor of the neighborhood as he greeted EVERYONE who passed by. When he sat down on his stoop, I had to capture his reaction to the festivities.

Thought for the week. . .

Found these most interesting outlooks on life:

After the game, 
the King and the Pawn go into the same box.

 ~ Italian proverb.

N i f t y   F i f t y
Here are some interesting facts about one of our fifty states. Do you know which one? This state boasts of being the:

first Drive-In Movie theatre!
first Native American reservation.
first baseball game was played.
first intercollegiate football game was played in 1869. 
state where Bon Jovi, Abbott and Costello, Meryl Streep, and Children's author, Judy Blume were born!

Leaving you with a smile, I hope. . .

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. 

Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it. 

~ Cullen Hightower.

Shoot XIV - "45th Crew Reunion!"

Were you thinking Colorado. The hint should have been the silver nugget. I have been to the "Centennial State" a few times. Others who knew about Colorado were Elaine, Milt, Carol, Mommy Beth, Joani, and Peyton with Michelle coming oh so close! 

"A Motley Crew!"

It had been almost twenty years since "The Crew" had gotten together. We were all students at the now defunct Boston State. For four years the group grew from six seniors from Matignon H. S. to about twenty by the time we graduated college. Throughout our days at BSC, we had many good times together. We did manage to come together one time back in 1995 but many of us fell out of contact with the rest. 

A phone call last March got the ball rolling as we tried to contact as many of "The Crew" as we could for our 45th Reunion. Peter offered to cater the event at his home in Hingham. Three Crew members were not present for various reasons. I managed to convert several of my 8mm Crew movies to a DVD which was played at the reunion.

Let's hope it's not another twenty years before we meet again! 

Thought for the week. . .

Found these most interesting outlooks on life:

Friendship should not be thought of as something we get, 

it is something we give. 

~ Unknown.

N i f t y   F i f t y
Here are some interesting facts about one of our fifty states. Do you know which one? This state boasts of being:

state where Oprah, Britney Spears, 
and James Earl Jones were born

state where Coca-Cola was first bottled in 1894.

Cotton Capital of the World.
Catfish Capital of the World.
Sweet Potato Capital of the World.
Towboat Capital of the World    

Leaving you with a smile, I hope. . .

Be nice to your kids. 

They will be choosing your nursing home!

~ Anonymous

Shoot XIII - "Bass Pro Rallye II"

I am back from a twenty-three day, five country trek through Europe! Okay, the five countries is a stretch as we did a day trip to Bruges (Belgium) and another day spent in Vatican City! Spent considerable time in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Paris (France), and Rome (Italy). Here is one of my early favorites 

"The Streets of Paree" 

Oh, there's only 2300+ more images from the trip - about 100 a day (you won't see them all)!

Were you thinking Arizona? Of course, it was London Bridge that gave it away! I'll bet you are singing the little ditty as you are reading this, right? Well, the "Grand Canyon State" was also the guess from Carol, Michelle, Milt, Mike Di, Peyton, and Joani. Oh so close for Doris who missed it by one state!

"Ford Fairlane"

As I continue with the Bass Pro Shop shoot, I had a most difficult decision as to which of the images to share with you. The "Ford Fairlane" took the honor. For me it was the contrasting color of maroon against the white with a swatch of chrome to keep them separated! Ford placed their iconic logo right above the bend in the chrome strip. Think about all of the workmanship that went into these classics - the lengths of chrome strips, well placed decals/logos, huge chrome bumpers, whitewall tires, hubcaps that were more like mirrors, unique tail lights and headlights, etc. As a kid, we could tell the make, model, and year of any car just by looking at the tail lights! Can't do that with today's cars! 

Thought for the week. . .

Found these most interesting outlooks on life:

Don't count every hour in the day, 

make every hour in the day count. 

~ Anonymous.

N i f t y   F i f t y
Here are some interesting facts about one of our fifty states. Do you know which one? This state boasts of:

being the "Pinto Bean capital of the world."
being the "melon capital of the world."
hosting  the worlds largest rodeo, the Western Stock show!
having the world’s largest silver nugget was found within its  
    borders in 1894.  It was almost 2,000 pounds!
being the home to model Cheryl Tiegs and comedian, Tim Allen

Leaving you with a smile, I hope. . .

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Shoot XIII - "Bass Pro Rallye"

Were you thinking Florida, the good old Sunshine State? During my days in the classroom, I do remember teaching about St. Augustine, FL as being the oldest settlement! Others had honed in on the others hints: Carol, Peyton, Joani, Mommy Beth, Milt, and Michelle.  

"Packard Hood Ornament"

One would have thought I got my fill of antique cars from shooting the VAE the previous week? Not quite as the Bass Pro Shop runs a Thursday antique car gathering just outside of Patriot's Stadium in Foxboro. So #13 was still happening in July. Once again, I made this all about the car-tifacts on the various vehicles. Here the graceful swan was the hood ornament for a Packard.

If you are into antique cars, schedule a visit to the Thursday meet.

Thought for the week. . .

Found these most interesting outlooks on life:

The road to success is always under construction. 

~ Lily Tomlin.

N i f t y   F i f t y
Here are some interesting facts about one of our fifty states. Do you know which one? This state boasts of:

  Stevie Nicks, Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter, 

  Linda Ronstadt, and Barbara "Genie" Eden being born here!

  reconstructing the original London Bridge as it was shipped 

  stone-by-stone!

  having the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated

  as Native American lands among all states!

Leaving you with a smile, I hope. . .

Daffy Definition:

SUDAFED: 

Brought litigation against a government official