Sabbatical

For those of you who have been faithful readers of my blog you know that I have not been posting on a regular basis. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, I feel I have completely run out of anything half way interesting to blog about. And two, when I do have something I just post photos and a quick sentence on Facebook about it and since most, if not all are my friends there then you still see everything, just not a detailed write up. I am also on twitter. These formats make it easier to keep in touch and let everyone know what I'm up to. If things change in the future and my life becomes more interesting I will pick up blogging here again and will send an email out to alert you. Otherwise this blog is going on sabbatical for an extended period of time. Thanks for all who have been reading and leaving comments. I appreciate you guys alot!

Fourth of July Fireworks

Over the years I have tried and tried to make decent photos of fireworks. Always failing miserably. First of all you have to get the right setting on your camera then try to snap a picture at the exact moment the firework bursts or else you miss it entirely. My camera even has a special setting for photographing fireworks but still they never came out to look like anything but streaks in the sky. Last night I tried everything and then decided to put the camera setting on multi shots... this way all you do is hold down the shutter button and it continously snaps images. Perfect! I then watched for the firework to be launched and followed it in the dark sky and pressed the shutter and held it down. I took 285 photos and these four were my best attemps. I actually got 70 decent shots and deleted all the rest but these are the best of the 70 keepers. We had several friends over, 3 were guitar players and singers so we had a fun night of music.

Burgess Visit

Yesterday we had a delightful visit from my sister and her family. We always have such an enjoyable time with them and yesterday was no exception. They arrived early afternoon and we spent the afternoon just sitting around and talking. David took Lindsey on a ride around the park in the golf cart. It was her first time here and she wanted to see the area. We had planned on going to downtown Greenville for the evening and on the way drove by David's company so they could see where he works. Afterward we went downtown, parked and walked to the restaurant. We had decided upon eating at a place on Main Street called The Blue Ridge Brewing Company. It was good (although the service was very slow). After dinner we walked across the street to listen to the band playing at the Jazz Fest. Jazz on Main is held every Friday night in Greenville, just one of several music events in the city during the warm months. We listened to the band for awhile then walked all the way to the other end of Main Street to Fall's Park and the Liberty Bridge. Debbie and I, who both have a terrible fear of bridges managed to walk all the way across and back. This is a one sided suspension bridge that goes over the Reedy River. We walked around the park area and took a few photos then got on one of the city trolley buses and took the ride around the city as the finale of the evening. So much fun! Below are a few of the pictures. Unfortunately the setting on the camera got changed during the course of the night and most of the photos came out extremely poor quality. The ones posted here were the only decent ones from my camera.

the big copper brewing tanks inside the restaurant

Rusty leads Debbie across the bridge... she was terrified!

Lindsey standing on the Liberty Bridge with the Reedy River and falls in the background

The Day Michael Jackson Died

It was a typical day in most aspects except that I had been extremely tired. It was another hot, humid, South Carolina day and I had spent most of it inside where it is air conditioned. Normally I have my TV on all day, listening to the 24hour news channels and occasionally watching something on NAT GEO, Discovery, HGTV, or the Travel Channel. I like to be kept up to date on the news of the world so it is always my background noise while I get other things done throughout the day. On Thursday afternoon I had made a trip to the bank and post office and stopped by Pet Smart to get a refill on Millenni's thyroid medication. Upon arriving home I opted not to turn the TV back on. Instead I washed some dishes and then decided to check my email and Facebook postings then for some reason I decided to sign on to Twitter and see if any new postings had been made by the people I am following. For some reason I have not been very active on Twitter... I go several times a week and check it out but this particular afternoon I felt compelled to check it out. What I saw shocked me and I will forever remember how I found out that Michael Jackson had died. It was Martha Stewart who told me! Yes, that is right, Martha Stewart. She had just tweeted that she hoped the rumor that Michael Jackson had died was not true. I immediately turned on the TV and sure enough, it was on every channel. At that time the death had not been confirmed but it was imminent. We always remember when a person of fame dies just where we were and how we found out the news. I have always liked Michael Jackson. From the days when we were kids, watching him on the Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand and even the Jackson 5 cartoon show up to present day. I never bought even one of his albums, never attended any of his concerts, so it was not that I was a die-hard fan, but still I enjoyed his music, his videos and his dancing. During the rough times when he was accused of horrible things I stood by him and hoped he was innocent. To this day I don't know if he was guilty or innocent but I still liked him nonetheless. He was a musical genius, the likes that we've never seen. Now he's gone from this world. May he rest in peace.

update: Well this afternoon I broke down and bought my very first Michael Jackson recording... I bought a song I have always loved called "Will You Be There". It has a gospel sound to it and I recall seeing him perform this on TV one time with an angel that folded its wings around him... very touching. You can view the video here:
Will You Be There