GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

A long time ago - everything is a long time ago now -  I was in my middle year of law school. It was St. Patrick's Day and I had only change in my pocket. My roommate and I decided we could not sit at home despite our lack of funds. There was a bar near the university that had cheap beer and pinball machines. It was crushingly crowded and I was literally pushed into the other person in this picture. I grew up in an apartment in New York. She grew up on a farm in Kansas. We were married 50 years ago today. It worked. It really did.

And the adventures we have had. Some people want to sit on a beach in Cancun or buy trophies in luxury shops. Not us. We went to Tibet, here at Everest base camp at 5,200 meters / 17,000 feet. And Tierra del Fuego and Fairbanks and Bangkok and Alice Springs and Cairo. And Paris, over and over again. Wow, did I luck out. She's the best.                

20.02.2020 / MY THREESCORE YEARS AND TEN / THURSDAY ARCH SERIES

A near-palindromic birthday (but, someone said, close only counts in horseshoes and bombs). The phrase for this click on the meter comes from a fancy-pants translation of 70 in the King James Bible. Perhaps the nicest modern use of the phrase comes from A. E. Housman's poem The Loveliest Of Trees, The Cherry Now . " (I took a lot of English classes when I was younger.)  The scene is Kiener Plaza downtown with my favorite wicket in the background.

Now to see what comes next.           

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

You know the reference. Me, Mrs.C, Emily and Ellie on our 44th anniversary at Pere Marquette Lodge. We wouldn't have needed help to keep us occupied if the weather hadn't been so rotten. Spring seems to be poking its nose in this week.     

Is Fashion Modern? Reflections On Very Minor Fame.

Well, it finally happened. Your humble blogger has one of his photographs published in a book by the mighty Museum of Modern Art in New York. It's the black and white one of St. Louis motorcycle policemen. If you have money to burn, you can buy a copy here.

The show, Is Fashion Modern?, is a review of 111 items of clothing and accessories from the last century, looking at their cultural, social and design significance. (The link may not work after the show closes next January 28.) The museum used my picture in the section on biker jackets. Olivier and I went there last Sunday, where the staff had a copy of the book and a couple of free tickets waiting for me. Had to have him take my picture at the entrance to the exhibit, where a couple of new fans appear to be admiring the work. It's nice to have recognition, even some as small as this. I shoot pictures for the love of it; heaven knows I don't do it for the money.  

U Pick - Franco-American Relations - Delicatessen - On The Plaza - WTC - 14,557 Steps and 19 Floors - My French Is Horrible

I'm exhausted. Good thing I have to go to work this afternoon so I can get some rest. Two old guys do Manhattan and take a lot of photos. Jack, who helps manage City Daily Photo, asked for some pictures of the two of us. Pick your favorite. From top to bottom, at Rockefeller Center, The Oculus at the World Trade Center and Katz's Deli on Houston Street. Pick your favorite.

Home this afternoon. Sunday's stair climbing efforts were due to many subway rides - most of it isn't accessible. The language issue was still a bit of a struggle but we got by with the help of AI systems. Next year in Paris, I hope.

Arches National Park

There are only two U.S. National Parks that contain arches. One is outside my office window. It has a single example. This one in Utah has about 1,500. Nowhere else in the world like it, and the geology is complex. But there are so many more spectacular vistas. This post is limited to the arches themselves (including Delicate, Double, South Window, Sand Dunes, Skyline, and possibly Whatchamacallit Arch) but there are fins, walls, pinnacles and impossibly balancing boulders everywhere. We work hard when we travel. When to edit?

Canyonlands National Park today. And top photo courtesy of my constant travel companion.      

Thursday Arch Series - And Something New

If you looked at the Thursday Arch Series post last week, you heard me whining about how I was getting burned out with the project. How to find something a little different week after week, how to keep it going? Well, Friend Of The Blog PJ from Pensacola Daily Photo had a great idea: start a new blog just for the Arch.

And thus we are happy to announce GATEWAY, http://gatewayarch.blogspot.com/, all Arch, all the time. I'm putting the finishing touches on the design but it will be full of my photos of St. Louis' great monument, links and fun facts about the Arch and, in a few days, an opportunity to buy prints of my images (the perfect gift for all occasions). Stop by, leave a comment, sign up to be a follower (there are three already!) and return from time to time to see what's new.

WHAT'S THE SILLIEST THING TIME-STRESSED ME COULD DO: start a new blog.

TOMORROW: a last few pins and then lights out.