June Weddings & Getting Reacquainting

As friend, whose granddaughter is having some kind of blessing of wedding vows ceremony next month, asked me to pull together photographs to choose from as a gift...remember folks, art is always an appropriate gift.  Anyway, it gave me a chance to look through the ol' library and reacquaint myself with some personal goodies:

 "The Lovers"

 "Magic Pebbles"

"Two 10's On Broadway"

Healy & Millet Stained Glass Dome (Iris)

Grand Army of Republic rotunda/Chicago Cultural Center

Midwest Mountains

I'm pretty sure it was Garrison Keillor who referred to clouds in the Midwest as the Midwest Mountains.  It's her clouds, I find, to be Illinois' best feature.  

Miss Buttons

I only know her as "Buttons".  I first encountered her the day I was moving into the new digs.  I would quickly learn, everyone in the neighborhood knew Buttons.  She's not around much after real winter sets in, but reappears come warm weather with her own version of "normal" this day (Monday official Memorial Day) she played her part, celebrating deep in her cups and breaking out her traveling "yard" sale.

I asked Buttons if I could take her photo with her yard sale.  "Well you better buy sump'tm then, sugar." she said.  As always, I tell her I'll look.  Decked out as appropriate for the holiday (like any good sales person), Button shows me what
one of her best items.

Miss Buttons

I suggested she give me a over the sholder look; something sassy like the red carpet, when I realized within a year her deminished capacity.  A year ago, Buttons would have understood, and given me a full on over the sholder Diva of the Block pose.

"Chicago CUBS" safty pinned to her bum...mere shadow of the spunk Buttons first greeted me with 3 years ago.

Happy Memorial Day

"We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields." 

~from In Flanders Fields John McCrae

I love you Robbie...may you be safe while I try to be brave.

Sunday Funnies: Jesus! Coming Soon To A Theater Near You

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

This week's bad joke:

What is the opposite of ennui? 
"Off"ui...tee hee

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

Guitar Man

 And the voice said, 'Sing for me, Caedmon, sing.'

from the story of Caedmon's Hymn as found in

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum by Bede

The lens flair was unintentional, but I love how it catches his face.

Life Finds A Way

Is it bad for the structure, sure, but there's something wonderful about finding Mother Nature in the most unusual places.

The Lord's Work Is Never Done

From The National Coalition for Homeless Verterans:

"Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) estimate that over 67,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only eight percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly one-fifth of the homeless population are veterans."

To date (2012) the highest number of persons experiencing homeless within the homeless population are veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now what does that sign say?

This Memorial Day we honor our brave men and women who have given their lives protecting this country.

See how you can get involved in the fight to end homelessness for all Americans:

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
http://www.nchv.org/

National Coalition for the Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

National Alliance To End Homelessness
http://www.endhomelessness.org/

The Nature of Old Things: Part II

Little Side Trip

It wasn't until a few years ago, and considerable persistence of a friend of mine (McLovin', you know I love you!) did I rewarm up to The Bee Gees.  Listened to them a lot as a kid in grade school...then again...that's all one heard on the radio in the late 1970's.  But my friend was very right, their music was good, and lyrics better than good...and now dear Robin Gibb has gone to that Big Discotheque in the Sky...

Jake's Broasted Chicken: The Corner Greasy Spoon

I had to ask a friend of mine who is a native of the South to find out what "broasted" means...other than that, the signage is better than the food...unless you're hung over or just really, really hungry...but the character is as kitch as any other greasy spoon anywhere!

Return of the Sunday Funnies

We haven't captured anything obviously funny, but I personally find this pretty funny in a scrappy politics kinda way...

Die Hard Politics

This week's bad joke:

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C. The Russians used a pencil.

(This joke was brought to you by "Pretty Good Jokes/Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor    www.publicradio.org)

Happy Birthday Jimmie T!  You are loved, you are missed!

To & Fro: What I See

I enjoy living in a large city, because 1.) there's all kinds of things hidden both in lost corners and in plain sight; and 2.) the smallest shift of lens or posture you wouldn't believe it's a photo taken in it...

 Waiting

 Rogue Iris

 The Fool's Errand

 From The Valley

 It Happens

Little Ladies

The Nature of Old Things

Which we usually find the most interesting...