Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Official Graffiti ?










So, I noticed a few days ago that signs and symbols had been painted on the street in front of my house.


Very colorful. I see that "yellow" flags mean "gas" and orange is for "telephone."

Blue probably stands for "water." Hmmm, I would have guessed yellow for "sewer line."






I wasn't aware of anything leaking and hadn't hired a plumber so it has to be the City or SCE&G coming to dig up the street.

A few days went by.

School kids walking by to catch their buses each morning pretty well took care of the cute little flags waving on thin wires. Yep, just one yellow pennant left.

Today the trucks and heavy equipment rumbled down the street.

And .... turned the corner.

They continued down to the end of the dead end street next to my house?

I wandered down and asked "whatcha doin'?" The boss said they were putting in a new gas line for this end of the block. I would not be bothered nor inconvenienced.

"What about all the signs, markings and flags up by my house?"

"Oh, they marked the wrong street. Don't worry about it."

I'm just glad they weren't tree trimmers.

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

The BIG Three.....

NOT Ford, GM and Chrysler. Not the three well-known auto companies.

NOR am I referring to The Holy Trinity.

So, ta-da, it must be the third anniversary of my blog.

Big whoop.

Actually, it IS a pretty important milestone. One can call oneself a "blogger" but you must post entries to be a true blogger.

The name (short for Web Logger) has come into public awareness these days and I feel almost like a pioneer.

I use a tracking program that tells me this is my 228th message posted and more than 18,934 viewings have been made by people in all 50 states, DC and two US territories as well as 95 other countries.




Since I started the end of March in 2006, the anniversary is usually close to Easter so I bring back a sign I captured a few years before I started blogging.

It is in the "spirit" of this time of year.






And, you might also remember this seasonal gem from the past.

For some reason, this cartoon always causes me to smile.

Hope it gave you a happy moment too.

Thanks for following along.

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

(Wooden) Postcard Perfect...


I was going to save this picture for the 3rd Anniversary of this blog the end of this month.

Then I thought, "Aw, why wait?"

The idea of holding a picture postcard in front of the actual scene is clever. Wish I had thought of it.

Saw it on a site called photojojo.com that usually has something artsy or different. One example I saw used a postcard of a house down on the Battery.

All I had was this wooden cutout of the downtown fire station on Meeting at Wentworth.

I grew up a few houses away on the corner of Society Street. I have not seen a replica depicting that house yet.

My younger brother and I would pose in front of a huge fire engine...and block the way briefly.

The fire station would have worked better if I could have stepped further back. But I was up against a building so this had to do.

I like it.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cinema Cuisine....

Having movies downtown again will be great!

I grew up on the peninsula and my brothers and I had a wide selection of movie houses in and around Ansonborough in the '50s.

The American, the Gloria, the Riveria and, further up King, the Palace.

Since I came back to Charleston 15 years ago, the Roxy became a retail store on East Bay, the revamped American closed again and, last year, IMAX shut down as the last picture show downtown.

Michael runs a great operation at the Terrace Theater and I'm sure he'll do a great job with the Harbor-view-Hippodrome.

He's already addressed the parking fee - a discount on the ticket price - and he plans to downsize the screen so it's "slightly smaller than a basketball court."

Others have commented on the lack of blockbuster movies at the old IMAX, but I did go to all of the Discovery channel-type 45 minute shows.

I bought the annual season ticket and felt it was a bargain.

Here's the key question for the new operation:

Unlike the Terrace, will Michael have a Sunday license to sell beer?

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Monday, March 09, 2009

Sparks a memory....

Came across THIS in my files and I remembered as if it were yesterday.

It was 1958.

Highway 17 South, between Camp Lejeune, NC and Charleston, SC.

A fellow Marine (he a Sgt, me a Cpl.) and I were headed down to my hometown to drink some beer and have a good long "non-military" weekend.

As we sped past a house by the side of the road he commented "that doesn't look right." I braked, turned around and drove back.

We both had seen what looked like a bright yellow glow in a window and we ran up on the porch, banging on the door, yelling "Get out! Your house is on fire."

Bob pushed open the unlocked door and we both ventured in still shouting. And now, coughing.

It was empty so we scooted back out as the flames grew and we could hear it roar.

I reached in the car for my camera and started clicking as the fire quickly consumed the entire house.

A few minutes later a volunteer fire truck pulled up so we continued on to a weekend of cold beer.

Your throat gets awfully dry yelling inside a burning house.

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Thursday, March 05, 2009

Happy 93rd Birthday Mom !

Mom was born in 1916. My Dad in 1913.

There are three boys in the family. I'm the "middle son."

I have written about my Dad. He was a carpenter and had his own woodworking shop. He died 10 years ago.

Mom was a homemaker until the last son graduated from high school then she went to school.

She became a nurse. A LPN. She worked for 25 years at St. Francis Hospital. She retired 30 years ago.

We had a nice party for her 90th at her church, Divine Redeemer Catholic church in Hanahan.

For the 91st, friends and family came here to the house and overflowed from the large kitchen into every room. Some were out on the patio.

Last year's party was at Sandpiper Assisted Living in Mt. Pleasant. A very large crowd gathered on its outdoor deck and there were three cakes.

This year's celebration will also be at Sandpiper but in the Nursing Center. Mom suffered a stroke last year so we won't have a crowd this time. Just family.

Happy birthday. We love you.

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Sunday, March 01, 2009

No Cameras ....er, what about cell phones?

Ben Folds pulled out all the stops Thursday at the PAC and I have a few really nice pictures.

The ticket - as usual - said "No Cameras * No Recorders."

Hmmm. When I see people all around me holding up cell phones and other devices snapping pictures, shooting videos and making recordings, I feel "ok" using my little digital camera. But, no flash.

The Performing Arts Center in North Charleston has excellent stage lighting and I have often captured nice images without annoying people with an intrusive flash.

At the Bruce Springsteen concert in the Coliseum, instead of fans waving lighters in the dark as homage, the lighted dials of cell phones created the visually moving salute.

That's a LOT of people with phones (banned cameras) inside the venue.

Saturday, up in Charlotte, everybody obeyed the warnings so I took no pictures of Robin Williams performing a fantastic show.

I DID download one from the internet - and give full credit - because Williams had the packed Ovens Auditorium laughing out loud.

My daughter has been a stand up comic for years and credits "Mork" as a role model when she started performing.

She knows his current tour - upon his release from a rehabilitation center in Northern California - is entitled "Weapons of Self Destruction."

He joked "I went to alcohol rehab in Wine Country."On Thursday,I snapped Ben Folds when he climbed atop his piano while telling a story of driving to a gig and hitting a bear.

I just drove back from Charlotte today and tonight Folds is appearing up there where Williams starred last night.

No bears were injured in these appearances. Nor photographed.

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