STL DPB ON THE ROAD - DOLCE FAR NIENTE

The caption is a lovely Italian phrase that, poetically translated, means sweet idleness. My Italian is very limited (opera lyrics, basic tourist phrases. Dove sono i gabinetti?) If I understand correctly, far niente more literally means doing nothing. I am a person who does not do nothing well but I admire those who can. These gentlemen in their fishing boat on Budd Lake in Harrison, Michigan, are practiced in the art.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE FAMILY UP NORTH

My lawyer friends from Detroit all seem to have a place "up north," a getaway amid the forests and lakes. We have a rental cottage by a lake in north central Michigan. It was no farther than 15 minutes from where my son, his wife and kids lived. With their recent move, it's three times that. Oh, well. Gas is cheaper here than in St. Louis.   

So the family did some stuff in Midland, the bigger town where they live now, then came back to the cottage for dinner. In the top photo, grandson Atlas waits patiently, depending on which frame in the sequence you select. Michigan granddaughter Audrey, almost 7, hangs out with her St. Louis cousin Ellie in a deli in Midland. It had started to rain by the time we got back to the cottage but son Andy, the grill master, doesn't care. And he's sure in better shape than I was when I was 42.              

MORE FROM THE FOURTH OF JULY ARCHIVES

I ain't getting out on the streets. It was 101 F / 38 C yesterday. It will be 101 F / 38 C today. It will be 101 F / 38 C tomorrow. Friends, we don't live in Arizona.

So, another photo from Harrison, Michigan, on a Fourth of July a few years ago. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.  

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BECAUSE IT HURTS TOO MUCH

  

 

We are home again, at least for a few days. I did not get out to photograph any Fourth of July activities yesterday because it's just too damn hot (worse the rest of the week) and you have to arrive hours early or park a long distance away to get to the parades and fireworks. I'm not up to it.

 

And the U.S. had another mass shooting yesterday, this time at an Independence Day parade in a suburb of Chicago. It made me think of this picture, taken a few years ago at a July 4 parade in Harrison, Michigan, that seems to sum it up. We will be in Harrison in eight days, not to see the Imperial Storm Troopers but because it is near where my son and his family live. 

 

Destructive climate and violence around here. You don't have to make a choice.

A NATIONAL TALENT

    

I am so hard up. I got nothing. If I were playing poker I'd fold right now. The town isn't comatose but it seems to have taken a lot of sedatives. So, here is an appropriate subject if I have to go dumpster diving in the archives. This was just down the street from the cottage we rented in Michigan last month. Trash collection is done by private companies in lots of the US.

AUDREY CHRISTMAS CROWE

Yep, that's her name. The other Michigan grandchild, just shy of five years old. She is remarkably sweet and smart, just a little reserved (in contrast to our Ellie, who will walk up to anyone and try to start a conversation). The two little girls are great friends, taking turns playing mommy and child in the play house where Audrey is sitting at our rental cottage. Her shirt, appropriately, says Oh Happy Day.     

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - UNRECONSTRUCTED

Budd Lake, Harrison, Michigan. You can just see that there is a second flag that has come loose from its lower anchor point. It is a Trump banner. Reminds me of a photo I took in this town four years ago, https://tinyurl.com/yaubpcl3 .  

And on a completely unrelated note, happy birthday to Mrs. C, my life's companion.       

Still Low On Material So How About Some Bikers?

Maybe I can find some time to shoot this weekend (the Lou's version of the World Naked Bike Ride is Saturday night) but for today I gotta scrape up something from Michigan again.

 

I get motorcycles in a way, and then again I don't. Big adrenaline rush, wind all over your body, the immediate, physical sense of speed and motion. And then there's the old bad joke. Question: what's another term for motorcycle rider? Answer: organ donor. As some of you know, I represent people on disability cases and I've had a lot of clients who got seriously messed up on these things. And I only see the ones who survive. No airbags, just pavement, walls, poles and other vehicles.

 

Younger riders are on the small screaming machines, sometimes weaving recklessly through traffic. The old, big (you know what I mean) guys ride Harleys. Part of the uniform is often leather vests or jackets sewn over with patches. What can I say? This is a multi-cultural society.                

Fourth of July in Harrison, Michigan - 2

Patriotism on display on our national holiday, from a stars and stripes golf cart to a kid playing Captain America. However, there is something about an Imperial Storm Trooper waving the flag that's very uncomfortable.                

Fourth of July in Harrison, Michigan - 1

The big Fourth of July parade in this area is in Harrison, the next town north of Clare. Pure small-town Americana. This year's theme was super heroes.

Everyone here is so friendly. People strike up a conversation just because you are standing there. The man above and his family participated in the parade, riding a fancy truck promoting his auto detailing business. Mrs. C, a noted member of the language police, pointed out the spelling error on his shirt. Well, his brother printed it, he said. We avoided discussing politics.