snapshot: July 2006

on holiday with virginia...

first day…virginia arrives stateside
“the accommodations left something to be desired…and who is this captain jack sparrow?”

second day…virginia, unused to Midwest storms, gallantly weathers on…“it’s rather breezy here in St. Louis…Patsy was right to insist I carry a radio and flashlight!”

third day …virginia, helping those poor dears at food outreach
“I like how you take care of people, but do you really eat this?”

fourth day …virginia spotted around town on her solid silver Vespa
“what a delight, it feels a bit like being home”

fifth day …virginia, visiting her friend penny penguin “you can tell that penny is just starving for company…”

sixth day …virginia finally finds something worth reading “brilliant , bloody good writing, if I don’t say so myself”

seventh day…virginia, rock hunting
“bugger! it won’t fit in my pocket”

self portrait...

I was inspired by my friend The Leaky Cauldron to do a self portriat in the SouthPark character...so, here i am...too fun!

alaskan governor...brinkley!

Dog Runs for Alaskan Governor as Write-In Candidate
created: 7/10/2006 1:02:07 PM
updated: 7/10/2006 3:17:06 PM

(NBC News) - An Alaskan gubernatorial candidate is a long shot to win, but he'll keep barking up every tree to turn out the vote. Brinkley is a 2-year-old golden retriever who is the center of a write-in campaign for Alaska's highest office. The dog's campaign started as a joke between his owner Ruth Sisk and her friends. But his campaign has already sold about $4,000 worth of "Brinkley for Governor" t-shirts. Most of the money from the campaign will go to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

I can't let Kodiak or Murphy hear about this or they'll be running here in Missouri and I know who they'll get for as their campaign manager...alison!!!!

4 July 2006

This is the t-shirt I wore in the Webster Groves 4th of July parade. I have to say, the parade was not as bad as years past. We actually got more cheers than we ever had before and the parade route went quicker. The threat of a downpour definitely helped the parade move along. But, we did have our fair share of thumbs down and scorned looks, but, all in all, it was doable and a fun time was had by all. Believe it or not I walked

the whole two miles without a problem...not bad -- CW. Think I'm on a roll! The evening ended downtown watching the fireworks on TV...again, with the threats of a downpour lurking over head...I felt a little like my grandmother!

cultural diversity...

Today, as we celebrate our independence, let’s not forget one simple fact: the United States is a nation of immigrants. Many men and women came here in pursuit of dreams known to many of us as freedom from political oppression, liberty to worship without government interference, and the economic opportunity for which the United State has long been known. May today remind us of the words engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty: for the tired, the poor, the world’s huddled masses yearning to breathe free, America remains a powerful beacon of hope. So, as we see those around us that don’t speak the same language, don’t have the same customs, remember, we too, once were immigrants to this “new world”, that diversity is what makes America beautiful, and it was our great, great grandfathers and grandmothers of various ethnic, national, and religious backgrounds who made it possible for us to enjoy freedom here today. We are the immigrants of yesterday and they are the immigrants of today.