Virginia Is For Families

I listen to just about all kinds of music.   And there is something to be appreciated in all of it in my view.  There really is no basic criteria except one.  What happens the second or third time I hear a song?  Do  I start to feel like I’m visiting with an old friend?

Does it grow on me?  Do I start to enjoy  it more and more?  Is it pleasing to you?  What does it bring to your mind?

This is one of those songs.  It’s a song about love.  And it’s one of many songs that deal with the conflicts  between heart and mind that cause us so much grief from time to time.   And pleasure.  And pain.

And here’s a photo that seems appropriate too.

Yanni Voices
Play Kill Me With Your Love

12-kill-me-with-your-love

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone it’s time to start thinking about summer plans and vacations.   Last October we happened to be at Virginia Beach when they were holding a jet skiing competition.  It was a great deal of fun watching them leap into the air on these machines and then  come crashing back to earth.

It’s all very colorful too.  The jet skiis are bright colors and then the bathing suits the contestants wear are also full of bright colors and designs.

So I spent some time this afternoon revisiting this happy day and thinking about all the things I hope to photograph in the next few months.  I have posted a few of these photos before but most of them are newly edited.  I must have taken a thousand photos on this day.  The sun was so bright and the air so clear and comfortably warm.

It was a great day.

Here is George Benson and his fantastic version of Bobby Darin’s classic Beyond The Sea
05 – Beyond The Sea (La Mer) (Album Version)

Click on the music and then the photo thumbnail for the slide show.

Virginia Beach

I have been married for much of the time since reaching my 21st birthday almost four decades ago.

There were some good years.  And then there were some very bad years.  It has been just about like life in general with all its ups and downs.  In the past almost ten years it has been my good fortune to be very happily married to someone who I consider to be an angel in training.

Or maybe a saint.  I’m not sure about the difference but I do know that when you have loved and lost a couple of times it really, really makes you appreciate a good relationship when it finally happens.  And I was trying to come up with something  today that really sums up what a good relationship is all about.

What is it about this relationship that makes it so good on a day to day basis?

And what have I seen in other relationships among friends and family that makes their relationship so special?

Lots has been written about trust and mutual respect.  More has been written about a relationship that is based on spiritual values and caring.

But one of the things I find that really makes a relationship special is the ability to tell a perfectly stupid joke and get a great response.  You have to have a really relaxed relationship to do this.   And I found that out at the pool yesterday when I made up this joke on the spur of the moment.

Beth and I had just gone for a little swim in the pool.  Neither one of us particularly wanted to expose our overweight and under exercised bodies to the younger crowd who hangs out here with their children on Memorial Day.   But at least we were not blocking anyone’s view!

I digress.  But the point is that I am also far from being at a  healthy weight.   And I try to confront that issue whenever possible by walking around the neighborhood.   It’s a tough problem and I sympathize with anyone who is trying to deal with it.

So why did the chicken cross the road?

To  get to the sunny side of the street!

My wife laughed when I said it or maybe she just gave me a smile.  It was a look that said “You are crazy but I love you”.    We had our swim and we talked for awhile.

We recognize that we are far from perfect in many ways.  And we are relaxed and even happy with our relationship  in spite of that fact.

Beth, her mother and I went to see Elliot sing last night at Innsbrook After Hours.  Beth made the effort to get front row seats so she and her mom could be up close to the action.  And I tagged along so I could take some photos and hang out with them.

Elliot was having a great time and hopping around prior to the concert with his fans.  Signing autographs, laughing and talking with people.  He clearly enjoys being in Richmond.  He spent part of his youth  growing up not to far from where we live and the children have  memories of playing basketball with him a few times.

Elliot sang well and everybody enjoyed his performance.  I took some photos although not with my good camera because these places tend to frown on anybody taking photos with a good camera.   And many of his fans in the front row apparently couldn’t see him standing in front of them on stage because they had to stand up through  all  of the concert.   And by doing so they  blocked  the view of those who didn’t want to spend the entire time on their feet or were in wheelchairs like , for example,  Beth’s mother.

I’m not saying that many of them couldn’t have used the exercise.   Someone said recently  that it looks like our country may just fold up in a few years after much of the population eats itself to death.

I don’t know about that.  But I do know it’s pretty much impossible to take photos of someone on stage with a 50 mm lens while a group of this size was standing in front of us.

Oh well.  Beth and her mom said they both enjoyed the concert but I heard my wife say a couple of things I never thought I would hear her say.  She really loves and supports Elliot.   And all he’s doing is trying to entertain his fans.

The part that gets me is that most of these women probably value polite behavior a great deal on a day to day basis.  And we are not talking about teenagers here.  These are their parents and even their grandparents.

Here are some more photos.