Thursday Arch Series (Two-Fer)

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A pretty standard (non to mention back-lit) picture of the Arch, but someone dumped red dye into the Kiener Plaza fountain. It made the spray run pink for the breast cancer fundraiser. Sorry about the scaffolding around the Old Courthouse, but when you're that old you may need a facelift.

Below, the view 14 blocks straight west of the top pic from the far side of Milles Fountain. Good place to cool off for all the runners and walkers.

There won't be much outdoor shooting from now through the weekend unless I want to photograph people dying in the streets. It was 99 F / 37 C yesterday. The forecast for today is 108 F / 42 C. Saturday it cools off to 105 F / 40.5 C. My plan is to stay indoors and start posting pix from last Sunday's Pridefest Parade. It was a jaw-dropper, as usual.

Supporters

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Okay, no high marks for the pun but these pictures illustrate something. It is a very,very good thing to have caring people beside you. We saw some of that on Tuesday with the people from my office gathered around our friend who has been through the cancer maze. My mother died of breast cancer when she was 56 and I was 24 (my parents got a late start for the time, but that's another long story). I had recently graduated from law school in St. Louis and two of my three siblings were in college or grad school. She should have had more of us.

Pretty In Pink

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I think the most ebullient group at Komen were some young men wearing the event tee shirt and pink tutus. They walked right up to this older man like he was their old Uncle Charley and started a chat. I had to ask if they knew him. They did not.

The man in the yellow shirt had another purpose that speaks for itself. The huge motorcycle is, I think, a Honda Gullwing (correct me if I'm wrong). The green, yellow and red sticker on the back is the decoration given to US military veterans of the Vietnam War. The pink tutu brigade went on to block the adjacent sidewalk and needed an "outta my way, big boy" look from another marcher.

By the way, attendance at the Komen fundraising events around the country has dropped a lot since they decided to cut financial support for Planned Parenthood. It outraged a lot of people. Although the action was quickly reversed, they suffered a great deal of damage to their reputation. The attendance in St. Louis was 71,000 in 2010 and 64,000 last year. I just read that it was 51,000 last weekend.

Joan's Team

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The woman above who appears to be directing traffic is Cindy. She has been my paralegal for a few weeks shy of 30 years. Yes, I recruit staff from the kindergartens. I put her photo on top because it's eye-catching and illustrates the ease with which she tells me what to do.

Yesterday, I mentioned that one of my co-workers had been through the turmoil of breast cancer and came out well. For the last few years our staff has formed a team to support her and aid the fundraising effort. That's Joan beaming in the top row center of the next picture. To the left in the picture is her sister, Julie, who has been my law partner for 27 years, Jackie, my administrative assistant, Joan's son Jack and her husband Mario (Judge Silva to you these days). To Joan's right are Sarah, Julie's administrative assistant, Don, the other lawyer in the firm and Cindy's husband for about 20 years, and Lynne, a friend. In front, we have Cindy on the left and her and Don's daughter Alayna on the right, with Alayna's friend Emmy in the middle. 

Cindy and Don wish you peace and happiness in the following picture. Don is from Green Bay. He always wears that hat.

We stick up for one another. The core of us have been together for decades and treat one another like family - family we actually like.

However, if you don't care for the Crowe & Shanahan team, you can support Team Hooters, seen in the bottom picture.

And speaking of which, if you don't understand the tee shirts, you were never a lustful American teenager. Let me know and I'll explain.

Race For The Cure

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St. Louis had the annual Susan Komen Race For The Cure yesterday. There were 64,000 participants last year. I have not seen any figures yet for this year's event but Olive Street became a competitor to the Mississippi River in the size of its flow.

A dear coworker has been through the dark tunnel of breast cancer and came back out into the light. The staff has had a team the last few years to support her and the fundraising effort. I work with an amazing group of people, more about whom tomorrow.

The Reason For It All

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This young woman with an intense expression illustrates the the reason for the Komen event for breast cancer research. My mother died of the disease at the age of 56. I understand their motivation.

The faces of the people on Downtown St. Louis 365 are as solemn, if not as serious.

Why Won't They Let Me Shoot From Up There?

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Now that's the way to shoot a public event. The crane is attached to a fire truck and I think the men in the bucket are members of the department. Couldn't they use a volunteer photographer with some good equipment? I'd love to see the images they got.

Cancer research fundraising can bring you TV stardom, as noted on Downtown St. Louis 365.

The Pink River

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Some of the 64,000 people parading through downtown at the Komen Race For The Cure (very few actually ran). You could no more stop this flow than the Mississippi. The top picture is looking west on Olive. I was standing between 14th and 15th on the platform in front of the Parkside Plaza building. It's hard for me to tell but the crest of that hill is about 22nd or 23rd Street.

Come down to the street view on Downtown St. Louis 365.

Joan's Team

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Yesterday was the St. Louis edition of the Komen Race For The Cure, the enormous effort for breast cancer research. The local newspaper's web site says there were 64,000 people but it may have been more. Olive and Market Streets became a vast river of pink, more about which tomorrow.

One of the women in the top picture, someone I have worked with for 25 years, has been through the pain and fear of breast cancer. She beat it. She has a big smile on her face here, surrounded by her family and friends.

More apologies for yesterday's lack of comments. I was shooting the race in the morning. Son Andy is in from Chicago for the weekend with his special someone. The three of us were out touring and shooting all afternoon. Early dinner and then a performance at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Debussy's Pelleas et Mellisande. It's a long one and, um, a bit slow moving. Some wit summarized the plot as "nothing happens and then she dies." So, a very full day.

Waive to the photographer on Downtown St. Louis 365!