Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

–Nat King Cole

Well, I don’t know if anything about the day was lazy, considering that I walked 6.5 miles and my wife, 7.5 miles, but it was hazy! The day started off with me and my ace companion, Hobbs, going for our usual 2 mile morning walk. We probably do it about 3 times a week, sometimes more. Later in the day, I decided to join my wife for her normal Saturday/Sunday walk in Jetton Park. Each loop around the park is 1.5 miles. She usually does between 3-5, yesterday was a 5 loop day for her. I joined her for the first 3 loops, then broke off to do some photography.

The day was warm, hazy, and humid. There were plenty of people in the park, boats anchored just off shore, people swimming, laughing, talking, and just enjoying a nice day. As is her custom, my wife started off doing a bit of yoga prior to beginning her walk, which gave me even more opportunities to have a look around and take a few pictures. First, I stood and watched her, admiring how there was no self consciousness at all. A few people walked by gawking as she did her poses, but this didn’t bother her in the least.

After I finished my portion of the walk, totaling 4.5 miles, I found a comfortable bench on the sand, and watched the boats. It was nice. I sat near the outdoor shower and feet washing station, so there were plenty of people to see. I even met a new friend! Here you can see her attempting to get a drink of water, one shoe on, one off. Her father was attempting to take her shoes off so that he could clean them, but she was more interested playing with the water and having a drink.

After he finished cleaning her shoes and feet, he told her not to go back onto the sand; So, as he was getting stuff together, she toddled on over to me and said hello. She was so sweet. She gave me a small Tonka toy that she had found, shook me hand, and then toddled on back over to the shower to be washed again. That just made my day.

About an hour later, my wife finished her last 2 loops and it was time to go. I had a great time, but was a little tired. I’ll have to participate in more such outings. It’s hard to believe that August is nearly upon us and soon school will be back in session, which will signal the end of summer. My, how time does fly!

More of that sweet morning light

OK, so I’ve been tagged by the first time. Thanks, Earl! I guess that I’ll participate!

1. I was born a breach baby. From what I understand, I wanted to come out butt first! Some people don’t know how to cooperate. Sorry mom!
2. I once considered a career as a professional bowler. I had an average of 210, which I held for a few years. When I tried to make the regional squad, I found out just how good I WASN’T. Under professional conditions I averaged about 160. In other words, don’t quitcher day job!
3. Some 2 years after I started learning photography, I shot weddings professionally. My targeted market were those who couldn’t afford the more expensive photographers. I made decent money and was always busy. I hated it!
4. When I was in second grade, I believe, I had pneumonia followed immediately by German Measles. I missed 2 weeks of school and almost had to repeat second grade.
5. I also did a short stint doing model portfolios. Now that, I liked!
6. Hanging out with a friend whom I would now consider, most likely to get arrested, I was almost arrested for shoplifting when I was about 13. I’ve never even thought about it since then!
7. That same friend, as mentioned in item 6, later ran off to join the circus. He actually worked with Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Baily cleaning up poop!
8. I had a friend named Chuck Wagner. We were friends in Junior High School (7-9th grades). We had lost touch after 9th grade. While I was on my workshop in Jekyll Island last year, I met Chuck and his wife. They were staying in the same hotel as I! Elapsed time, 20 years!
9. Bonus: The first photography contest that I ever entered, I won first place. I’ve never entered a contest since then. I don’t like them.

OK, now it’s time for me to continue this chain and tag 5 more people. What the heck! Hopefully they’ll participate and we’ll learn something about them!

Chantal Stone
Rajesh Kumar
Bonnie Bruno
Mark Graf
Doug Stockdale

I’m pretty sure that those of you who are parents have, from time to time, asked your kids: “What were you thinking?! Were you thinking?”. I know that I’ve asked that question a time or two. Well, when I went back to Akron this weekend, I visited a couple of my old haunts and thought about my various adventures:

Go Speed Racer!:: Howard Street is the longest, steepest hill in Akron, as we passed by this hill, I told Tony of my 10-speed bicycle adventure. One day I rode my bicycle down Howard Street. I had a speedometer on the bike. I wanted to see how fast I could go, so I placed the bike in the highest gear, 10, and peddled for all that I was worth. I got up to 60 mph, or about 100 Kph! Unfortunately, at the bottom of the hill there is a road and a stop light. Just as I was nearing the bottom, it turned yellow and then red. I could not stop and had to run the red light. Fortunately I was spared. There were no cars coming. Now, when I think back about all of the grim outcomes that could have happened, I think, “What were you thinking?! Were you thinking?!!!”. Somehow we survive into adulthood!

Stepping Stones:My second one was less intrepid, but not all that wise. I was photographing in Gorge Metro Park. I used to like to go there and photograph. It’s been 20 years since I’d been there and a lot has changed. There is a dam that I liked to visit. I used to like to sit on the rocks and watch and listen to the water rush over the dam. It was a somewhat treacherous climb from the trail down to the dam. You had to be extremely careful, especially with camera in hand. Now, they’ve added a deck, stairs, rails, etc. It’s quite easy to get near, but you can’t get on the spillway unless you climb over railing and jump down.

Here is a picture of the spillway. I used to walk across the stones to the other side, just for fun. Mind you, I always went alone, so if something happened to me, I’d be washed down the Cuyahoga River without a trace!

Other adventures in the life of Paul:

• The Fire Hydrant: Every year, the city of Akron would come through various neighborhoods and flush out the water system by opening a fire hydrant and letting spew for a few hours. Well, one fine day, I happened to be riding my bike near such an event and thought: “I’ll bet that I could ride through that!”. Guess what?! You can’t!!! That stream of water picked me up and dropped me on the opposite sidewalk and bent my front tire! Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!
• Shopping cart derby: Akron is famous for the Soap Box Derby, the famous gravity car race. Well, we as children in Akron were quite inspired by this. Having no soapbox racer didn’t present a problem, we just used an old abandoned grocery cart, a hill, and some gravity. Guess what?! You can’t steer those things and we all know how bad the wheels are on those anyway! Another bad idea!
• War! What young boy doesn’t have a G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip and a war fantasy. Well, I was nothing different. One day we were sitting around playing darts and, becoming quite bored at throwing them at the dartboard, decided to have a game of war and throw them at each other. Guess what?! Another fabulously bad idea. Those things hurt a LOT when they stick in your legs! We were kind of smart in that we had a rule that you had to throw for the legs! I should have played Scrabble!

Well, I look forward to hearing of Tony’s adventures, way, way, way after he has done them!

C’mon, don’t laugh at my stupidity, I know that you have some stories of your own!

My friend, Rajesh, just wrote an entry in his blog. He was robbed at gunpoint this weekend. Stop by and have a read. It’s a serious reminder to be careful out there and always be aware of your surroundings!

The Crew: I’m finally in the picture!!! (Arm around Tony)
As I mentioned in a previous post, I went to Ohio this past weekend to visit my Aunt Francis who just turned 80 on Saturday! She and my Uncle Jerry have been married more than 50 years, probably close to 60. A true inspiration!

It was a fantastic event and intimate family gathering. It also reminded me of the importance of family and especially how important are the elders of the family. They have so much wisdom and history and are a lot of fun to be around, to boot!

When we arrived at the house, Aunt Francis wanted for me to sing Happy Birthday to her. How could I say no?! I’m glad that there are no sound recordings of this event though. That’s probably something that you certainly don’t want to hear!

The immediate family (from back left):Uncle Jerry, Halimah, Wally, Belinda, and the star of the show, Aunt Francis

Anyway, in attendance were her 3 children, her grandchildren, a couple of great-grandchildren, nephew (me!), niece(my sister), a great-niece, great-nephew(Tony). We came in from all parts: North Carolina, California, and Georgia.

I was elected photographer of the day, especially considering that I walked in with a camera around my neck ready to take pictures! All in all, we stayed for a few hours and decided to leave because she was getting tired; however, she was a real trooper and never complained about being tired. She was a real treat!

I’m really glad that we went. It was a very special day!

Tony! Don’t point that thing at me! Danged Paparazzi!