Parisian Café

 Small café tables

Carafe of wine baskets of bread

Crowded sidewalks

 Weekend rainy day

Water drop forest reflection

Wet shoes in woods

Warm sun

 Warm sun gentle breeze

Floral blooms heavenly scent

Piercing lawn equipment

Newborn Fawn

 A newborn fawn lays

Soft bed of bright green clover

Napping innocence sleep tight

 

The Campfire

 Orange embers glowing

Flames tickling pine smoke rising

Autumn leaves smolder

Serenading Loons

 

Loons

 Serenading loons

Calling across calm waters

Sun dips below pines

Sacrificing Body and Limb

 

We decided to build a level path and kayak rack to make our lives easier. Lots of work, it's all rock and little dirt here.  After hours of raking, hoeing, using a  pick ax to dig holes for the concrete kayak rack post footings, I felt a twinge of tendinitis setting in. But no worries, we have cool Air Conditioned air to rest comfortably in.

Happy to say, Pop built a nice kayak rack.  It was a lot of work for sure.  As July gives way to August, we decided the AC unit should be put away.   Up into the loft I went to tackle this simple job.  I reached my left arm out the window to grab the back end of the stationary AC unit to help push in as I pulled with my right arm.  

That's when i felt it. A shooting pain from my left wrist,pinky and ring finger to my elbow.  Before i could think "this not good", pieces of plastic shot up into my line of sight like Mt Saint Hellens.  Ma and Karen screamed, yelling, "are you all right?!"

Still thinking I can catch it while staring at the AC unit now firmly resting on the deck far below, I ran down and for the door. Grabbing the door with my throbbing left hand, the pain nearly brought me to my knees. The three of us stood around the now deck mounted AC unit.  Ma and Karen were saying stuff, but I was still thinking how the hell did that happen. 

Pop came down from the garage. Looked at the deck mounted AC unit, looked up at the open window, then looked back down to the wayward AC unit and impressive debris field of plastic.  Pop simply said, "well, that's one way of getting it down."  

The result of this mishap; I'm out $$$ to buy a replacement AC unit, and lateral tendinitis in my left arm. I'm on steroids now for the tendinitis inflammation.  

Together

We grew up together.

We grew up apart.

 

We experienced life together.

We experienced life apart.

 

Together we joked and laughed.

Together we caused mischief and pause.

 

We shared life’s triumphs and joys.

We shared life’s pain and sorrow.

 

We lent shoulders to cry upon in times of need.

We lent love and encouragement

Compassion and advise to heed.

 

But now we are apart.

Heavenly universes apart.

 

Life’s experiences are now our own.

Now shared through our memories.

 

Eternal time shall pass until we meet.

We’ll save our experiences until we greet.

 

In The Metro

Long metro transfer

Train car howling through tunnels

Wet floor rose petals

 

 

My Bachelor Party

Photo credit:  image not mine, just a google download

An ex co-worker is now a police officer in a different city and state.  Some how we got to talking about police experiences.  A long, forgotten memory from 32 years ago made for a fun shared story.  My bachelor party.

 

There were 8 of us wandering from bar to bar in downtown Minneapolis; drinking at our favorite spots; Gluek’s, Lions Pub and Jukebox Saturday Night.  JBSN had a hula hoop contest where our cylindrically shaped buddy competed against eleven shapely young women on stage.  

It was quite the sight to see, everyone gyrating, provocatively spinning the hoops like a speeding carousel.  Then there was our buddy, slow and methodically spinning his hoop over his cylindrical body.  One by one, the shapely gals dropped their hula hoops to the floor until literally, our buddy was the last man standing.  

Yep, he won the hula hoop contest! The shapely girls were not pleased.

 

Anyway, we barhopped from one establishment to another. Out on the sidewalk we watched a guy and girl wrestling.  We just stood there in awe, watching as this little 120 pound blonde haired young woman beat down a 6 foot man.  They tumbled to the sidewalk and rolled into the intersection.  That’s when we learned he was an undercover cop.  Both his gun and radio skidded into the intersection.  He yelled. “Help me!”  

We jumped in.  

 

One of my buddies grabbed the gun and radio from the intersection.  He tried calling for help on it.  That was funny in hind-site as my half drunken buddy tried working the radio “we need a little help here, policeman wrestling a girl”.  Three of us grabbed her giving her a bear hug.  I had her around her knees, another buddy bear hugged her waist, another had her chest while he and the officer tried to handcuff her.  As the three of us bear hugged her with officer trying to cuff her, we all went for a wild ride as she bucked, thrashed and rolled.  We outweighed her by roughly 700 pounds, but we had a helluva time controlling her. 

 

Let me pause here.  If you find yourself in this situation, do not bear hug a person around the thighs.  Yes, it’s the thickest part of the legs, but that leaves the lower legs to pivot at the knees.  This position is vulnerable, I was on my knees, bear hugging her thighs.  Her lower legs pivoted kicking violently upward into my swimsuit region.  Now, the odd part was she never uttered a sound, other than heavy breathing, and a few grunts mixed in.  It was us yelling and hollering, “hold her down”, “I am”, “dammit”, “she’s breaking loose”.  Then me, yelping/screaming as the wind sailed out of my lungs from a well placed kick.

 

Backup arrived to take over; I like to think it was my buddy’s quick action with the police radio.  We overheard the police officers saying she was dealing and enjoying a PCP trip.     Proudly, we headed to the other establishments for more beer and frivolity, holding our heads higher by the good deed of helping the police and wrestling with a little blonde haired girl.

To sum up my bachelor party; our group won a hula hoop contest, witnessed a young blonde haired 120 pound girl take down a 6 foot tall man,  we assisted the undercover police officer, picked up his gun guarding it, played with the police radio, we bear hugged a woman who was not our wives, and got kicked in the jimmy. Then drank more beer.  What an awesome party!

Mergansers

 Lake surface erupts

Mergansers playful splashing

Together they preen

Sunset glow paddling side by side

Running on lake taking flight.

Chippy

Cute little buggers

Scurrying to and fro

Dog’s fitness trainer