Table of contents for 3/Poetry

1. Faces Of Death Animal Attacks / Tiger Escapes From Cage
2. Dad/ Love Is Sometimes Sad Poems
3. The Blueberry Fields / Deep Love Poems
4. A Valentine From A Very Old Man / A Love Poem
5. September and the End of Flight

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

-William Carlos Williams

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• Mother/ The Blueberry Fields
• On the James River at Dawn/ Things We Love in Virginia
• My Eyes Cracked Open/ James River Dawn/ Pony Pasture
• Along The River And Through The Woods
• Misty Morning On The James River

Todd Mulske has been studying the moon again.  Isn’t this a lovely photo?  He really does a nice job with these.  Thanks Todd for letting me share this with Virginia Breeze readers.

• Todd Mulske/ The Moon Rising
• Thanks to Readers and Commenters/ Photo of Oprah’s Place in the Bahamas/ Let’s Have a Party!
• Something Funny Happened On The Way
• Nice Note From Someone
• Saturday Morning For The Birds

Yesterday it snowed for a few minutes.  Thick flakes filled the air and brought themselves to earth resting briefly around trees and on rooftops.

And today it is even colder.  It was in the mid twenties when I went out early this morning.  I have finished the photos for the local Chamber of Commerce Newcomer’s Guide.  And a the local NBC affiliate called and asked if they could use one of my photos over the next few days as a backdrop for the weather report.

I don’t know which one they are using.  Maybe I should tune in and find out.

I have been expressing a lot of the love I feel for this area in the past few weeks.  I guess some of it may be coming back.  Isn’t that the way it goes?

We all want to progress in our endeavors.  Perhaps it’s just a matter of sending out the best that you have and sending it with positive feelings.   It may really be far from perfect or even professional.  But how much of that is there around really?   Compared to the need?

There is room for much more in any case.  So share what you have!

And something good may come back to you.  Or you will just feel good in any case.

Here’s something you may enjoy if you have time to listen to it.

02-symphony-no-2-in-e-minor-op-27-3-adagio

• Back From Where You Do Not Want To Go
• Virginia Breeze Mission Statement/ Looking Down The Road
• Change
• Daily Ruminations on August 15
• Photos We Love In Virginia/ Slideshow

Magdiel/ Motorcycle

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The sound of my son’s laugh.

The sound of the ocean.

Knowing when I’ve got a “money” shot.

Knowing that those freshly changed, crisp, clean bed linens won’t stay that way for long.

I’ll stop now…

Ron/ RTD13

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The smell of moist dirt in the spring..

The smell and sound of  a High School Basketball Game..

Bernie/ BFK Photography

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I love the feel of cold air hitting my face in the early morning darkness as I go out the door.

David/ Virginia Breeze

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Share a simple pleasure that keeps you going down the road.  I will paste it in this post and leave the post up here for awhile if the responses continue to come in.

• It’s Saturday Morning Again!/ Let’s “play the game of life”
• Early Spring in Virginia/ Virginia Breeze/ Writing a Note to Someone
• Photographing Flowers
• Phototgraphing Flowers
• Long Before The Sun Arises / James River

I was coming home this afternoon and feeling a little bit crazy.  It started out when I was in a school earlier and had to go to the bathroom.  This was a public school and a public bathroom but it was primarily used by kids.  Young guys to be exact.  And the first thing that I noticed was that there was no door on the stall.

And I was reminded of a story Tim Allen told about being in jail and having to use the toilet.  It was sitting there in the middle of the room and I can imagine how humiliating it was to use it in those circumstances.

But this situation is different.  Or, at least, it should be different.  And then there was the sign that said “Please don’t forget to wash your hands”  and it explained about germs.  But when you try to turn on the water it won’t stay on unless you hold the knob.  And there is no plug for the sink.  I tried several times but couldn’t actually wash my hands because the water just went down the drain.

What kind of messages are we sending here?  I don’t know.  I’m just asking.

So I was driving home and it’s only about a twenty minute drive.  I described it one time in another post called. . .

THEY ARE DRIVING ME MAD

And then I was home.  Nobody is here right now.  It’s very quiet and I have the opportunity to sit and think or write.  And I am very grateful for the fact that I live in a smaller city in a conservative area where I can get around without dealing with major mayhem traffic-wise.

Because if I lived in NYC I would just go nuts in a short space of time.  I don’t know how they do it up there.  The sensory overload would burn out my circuits.  I would end up being a mascot for Circuit City perhaps.

It’s bad enough here sometimes.  But I am so glad I left Boston in the seventies and ventured down here.  We had the marathon this past weekend and it was advertised as the “friendliest” marathon in the US.  Aside from a marathon worker telling a guy on a bicycle he was a  jerk for riding in the race area I saw no unfriendliness while we were downtown.

Zachary told me once again this past weekend how happy he is going to VCU.  We were standing on the Lee Bridge as I took photos of the marathon race leaders.  The weather was pleasant and we could see the James River stretching for miles on either side of the bridge.   The historic Hollywood Cemetery basked in sunlight up on a hill to the right.  And he told me about some of his adventures on the river.  The VCU campus is not an isolated affair.  It’s part of the city and it’s affordable too.  Next year he plans to spend a couple of semesters in Spain as part of a coop program.

When it was announced that Senator Obama would be the next president thousands of VCU students headed for Broad Street to celebrate.  The police shut down traffic just as they did for the marathon and everyone headed for the State Capitol.  He won’t forget that anytime soon.

And I won’t forget many experiences that I have had in this fine old city.   It’s a place where you can raise a family and enjoy the arts and entertainment.  It has history and it has a future.

The mountains, the ocean and Washington DC are just a couple of hours away.

It’s a nice place to call home.

• Leaving The Cold Behind
• What is Your Bridge Rated?
• Dawn On The River / James River Sunrise
• 1969 And Life In the City (Part II)/ Cathy And I Go To Williamsport
• Taking Photos Near Belle Island

Table of contents for 18/ Writing

1. The Beatles/ Patty Boyd/ Craig Ferguson/ YouTube
2. Tuesday Evening/ Ruminations Are Endless
3. Dreaming About Taking Great Photos/ Photo Presentation Options
4. The Consumer Not Feeling Well/ Needs A New Life

I have heard a lot of people talking lately about “the consumer”.  A lot of big time players depend, of course, on the consumer for their status and glory.  If the consumer were to have, say, a nervous breakdown or (God forbid) a paralyzing stroke these media legends would be in big trouble.

In my humble opinion the consumer is just taking a time-out to assess the situation.  The stock market is down a third this year and he needs a new plan (Stan) before he decides to join the military and go to Afghanistan in order to get affordable medical insurance.   He (or she) is mad (Dad)  about needing to work until he drops (Pops) and he’s feeling let down (town) by the big guns.

All of this got me thinking about the importance of the consumer in our world and I don’t see any way around it.  He’s very important.  He’s the basis of the US economy and this economy is the basis of the world economy.  The problem is that he is treated so badly.  Nobody ever says “What can we do for the consumer today to make him healthier AND improve his financial balance sheet in the long run?”

Oh no.  Instead the media load him up with ideas about all the things he “needs” and then the drug companies fill him full of pills to deal with the fallout.  But look what happened to him in the past few weeks.

“Is he dead? .  He’s not moving.  Poke him with this stick.   Put a mirror under his nose.  This is serious.  What’s going to happen to us if he’s gone?  Maybe we shouldn’t have fed him so many subprime mortgages with his cheeseburgers, fries and Viagra.”

No.  He’s not dead!  But the big guy has the world on his shoulders and he’s not very happy right now.  So the people “in charge” are trying to figure out how to cheer him up.  But do they want to put him on a diet or radically alter his distructive lifestyle in some way?

No (again).   What would a society of happy, healthy citizens even look like?  I’m not sure anybody knows.  Well maybe a few people know.  But in general our society doesn’t really concern itself too much with this.  It will do a few things over time (decades) to prevent the consumer from nailing himself in the ground with cigarettes or frying his brain with crack cocaine.

But will Big Brother stop the all pervasive media monster from subjecting our young buyer to ninety million ads per day telling him that he needs this or that to be happy (for the rest of your life) or protected.   Is your home protected by an alarm system?  Is your dog safe?  Will the guy sitting at a desk five states away smell the smoke with his electonic gadgetry and get the fire department there in time to prevent damage?

So many fantasies for sale.  Too bad.  But it was a nice thought.  And the consumer only pays a few dollars per day for this peace of mind (unwind).  Perhaps the consumer is busy adding up all the  “dollars per day” these days.  But no.  it might undermine the intent of this economic subterfuge to ADD it all up.

Maybe that’s what he’s doing.  But clearly he’s tired of listening to everyone tell him what he needs (to do) (eat) (take) (think) (remember) (save) (understand) (buy).

He gets the feeling that the world doesn’t really care a lot about him as a person.  But it doesn’t want him to die either.  He can’t contribute much if he’s dead.  It would be better if he would just continue to mindlessly spend money as if there were no tomorrow (or yesterday).

It would be better if he would just go to a movie, enjoy a nice fantasy for ninety minutes and have some fries with his steak and beer on the way home.  We might even cut him a break on his credit card interest if he’s still not happy by the time he gets there.  Twenty one percent might be just a tad high.  How’s he going to pay all those education loans?

What would Brad and Angelina do?  Have another baby?  Great.  What’s the mailing address?

• My Hopes For A New Day/ After The Party Is Over
• Lehman Brothers/ Gulliver/ Inflation and Deflation
• Things Are Looking Up
• A Nice Camera Can Change Your Life
• The Crowd Not Among Us At The Richmond Folk Festival 2008

Table of contents for 4/Sports

1. Giants vs. Patriots Prediction / Ask Edgar Cayce About Jordin Sparks
2. Congratulations NY Giants And Their Fans / Pep Talk For Bill Belacheck
3. Photo Opportunity at Colonial Downs/ Horse Racing/ Stallions And Mares
4. Cuban Olympian Banned For Life/ Kicks Referee/ Olympic Jokes
5. Suntrust Richmond Marathon 2008/ Jyocel Basweti Wins/ 22 Year Old Wins In 2:22:22

I was downtown early this morning taking some photos of the Richmond Marathon participants.

I don’t think that I have ever seen so many skinny people in one place before.  And not just thin but also exhibiting good posture and looking very healthy.  After awhile it made me want to cry a little bit.  Because it raised my faith in humanity.   Here all these people were getting ready to submit their bodies to cruel and unusual punishment.  Perhaps a bit of torture in some cases.

And they seemed pretty cheerful about it.  In fact you could see that they had been doing this to themselves fairly regularly and it really wasn’t such a big deal.

I was very impressed.  Every once in awhile my fellow human beings cheer me up.

This morning was one of those times.   And here are some photos of some of the leaders in the race.  I called my son Zachary after a few hours to see if he was in the neighborhood and wanted to join me.  And in fact he was at a friend’s apartment nearby.  He was planning to make breakfast for a group of sorority girls but managed to fit me in for a little while.

I appreciate it big guy.  So we hung out and I took some photos.   Some of the leaders have some really amazing muscles don’t they?   Congratulations to everyone who participated.  A lot of folks ran the half marathon but they ended up crossing the finish line right next to the ones who ran the full marathon.

Wouldn’t it be cool to run through the finish line and look on the other side of the orange cone to see an  extraordinary  runner from  Kenya  finishing at the same time?   Of course he would have traveled twice as far before getting there.

But it would still be cool.   I may have to start running so I can run side by side with some of the great marathoners next year.  That would be about twelve miles or so in two hours and twenty minutes.  Or about twelve 12 minute miles.

Or I could take some more photos.

Jyocel Basweti, a 22-year-old from Kenya, won the 31st SunTrust Richmond Marathon men’s race this morning with a time of 2:22:22.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports/marathon.html

Click on photo to enlarge

[Show as slideshow]

More Sports Writing

http://davidnotes.com/2008/04/13/sunday-morning-and-tiger-woods-the-masters-tournament/

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• Richmond Virginia/ A Good Place To Call Home
• “pictures of birds on trees” /We Discovered a Bird Fishing!
• First Chapter
• Hi World
• Slideshow of Collected Photos / Sidebar With Slide Show

• Vice Presidential Debate/ Craig Ferguson’s Dream
• Presidential Candidate in Town
• Last Day At The Beach/ Virginia Beach/ Dolphin And Sunrise Photo
• Virginia Breeze
• Virginia Beach/ Early Fall

Click on this photo for a really detailed look at some photos from this past summer. We went to Colonial Downs and had a great time watching the horses prepare for races and then go out and show their stuff.

The conditions were difficult for me given the hot midday sun and the constant motion. And you will see some noise when you take the large view. But I have decided to use this photo presentation more often. Maybe it will help me to be a better photographer if I am confronted with these imperfections on a more regular basis.

• Photo Opportunity at Colonial Downs/ Horse Racing/ Stallions And Mares
• Sir Alfred Munnings/ Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• The James River As Evening Falls/ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Color and Light/ Dressing For The Race
• Harbor Island/ The Bahamas

http://baselinescenario.com/2008/11/06/downloadable-mit-class-on-the-global-crisis/

And then they have a hook up with a couple of reporters who are sitting in NYC.  This is one of the  places I used to run around decades ago so I am enjoying the quantum leap forward in teaching methods available to these young people.  They even bring into the discussion a guy who is being driven around in a cab somewhere.

Also here are some interesting links for financial matters.

• Planet Money is an excellent, excellent podcast for people who are relatively new to the world of economics and the financial crisis, and for people who commute and can listen to it in their cars. I listen to it for fun.
• Real Time Economics (Wall Street Journal) gives you rapid coverage of economic issues as they arise.
• Calculated Risk and naked capitalism are good sources for near-real-time news about the crisis and the economy in general. Calculated risk has a particular focus on housing and mortgages; naked capitalism has incisive commentary from one side of the political spectrum.
• Econbrowser is more technical and data-oriented; more advanced readers will like this one.
• Economist’s View and Marginal Revolution provide in-depth articles applying economics to broad range of phenomena.
• And James Surowiecki has a blog!

All of this is available through The Baseline Scenario

http://baselinescenario.com/

One point they make that I have recently thought about is the fact that young people under thirty have not experienced a severe downturn in the economy.   This is new territory for them.  Hopefully it will help them remain positive and resilient.  Maybe they will even continue to spend some money and keep the economy going.

• Blogging For Your Readers
• Saturday Fun
• Change
• The Consumer Not Feeling Well/ Needs A New Life
• Greater Inflation Not In the Cards/ Gold and Silver Down/ Ruminating About Ruination