"Go fish"

To some it’s a card game, to others it’s actually a sport (not me!), and to some it represents fun on a hot summer day. Today is one of those hot days when, like these kids, you just want to get away, forget about your day-to-day responsibilities and activities and go fish. I wouldn’t necessarily advocate catching goldfish in the town fountain, but if that’s all you have, go for it.

Still life

Yes, we do have a studio, backgrounds, lights, gels, everything to setup and photograph great still life images, but what about just walking down the street and looking into shop windows. Watch for high-end clothiers, boutiques, department stores, antique galleries, museums and in this case, a local historical society, just for starters. Each employs designers and artists who specialize in setting up displays, or still lifes, just waiting to be photographed.

As you look at the bottle and jug, which one do you relate to? Is it the clear bottle in front that is so transparent that everyone can see through it or is it the solid jug partially hidden in the background? Are you someone who partially hides behind a transparent person yet plays an integral role in defining their character? Perhaps you’re one of the smaller multipurpose jugs off to the side that keeps to yourself ready to be used when needed.

Ooooookay . . . so now what?

Traffic signs for the most part are intended to be universal. Asians, Europeans, Australians, Latins, and Americans can generally follow road signs regarding speed limits, curves, railroad crossings, one way streets, stop signs, parking, no parking and traffic lights no matter where they are.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled to a number of countries and even to have successfully driven (meaning I’m still alive to talk about it) in many of them, despite my English-only language skills. However, I saw this pair of signs in Connecticut, and I haven’t a clue as to what it means.

The more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to think the dueling arrows are a sign of our times. No one seems to know which direction to go and what they’ll run into when they get there. Some on the right have turned left, and some on the left have turned right. Who or what is in the center dividing us? Are we on a crash course to destruction, or will we eventually just meet in the middle?

Choices

Choice. When God created mankind, He gave us something He gave nothing else in all of creation—freewill—the ability to freely make choices.

When confronted with a decision, we weigh the options and evaluate the consequences. Some choices are easy while others are not. Some consequences are minor and others more serious, perhaps life threatening.

What about where we will spend eternity? People are often flippant about where they will spend eternity as indicated on this purse that we saw at a sidewalk sale, yet because of the freewill that God gave us, we have a choice to make and the consequence of that choice really does last forever.

First responder

No matter how large or small a community may be, each one has a first response team. This fire captain was just standing in front of his engine at his station in New Canaan, CT. No, he’s not a model, he’s a real guy. He’s a typical first responder. He’s a guy who puts his life on the line when our life is over the line.

Gentlemen of leisure

We were photographing in New Canaan, CT, today, one of America’s most quaint upscale communities, when we came across these two cab drivers at the train station. I’m sure they’re very busy during the week as stockbrokers, investors and lawyers get off the train after a hard day in the city and just don’t feel like walking home, but it’s really, really, quiet on Saturday. It’s a day of leisure for most of their regular riders, so why not sit back, relax and maybe shoot some hoops . . . or maybe not.

Father (in-law) time

Last week my father-in-law came for an overnight visit. He’s brilliant in many ways and was always ahead of his time in business and in his dental practice, but now much to his chagrin, time is catching up with him.

His mind is sharper than a tack and he can talk about any topic and does. He loves to reminisce about his childhood, his days in the Army during WWII, his transition from business into dentistry (because as a GI it paid more), his days at Yale, UCONN, and the University of Maryland. We took him to the Yale campus to see his old classroom buildings and his residence hall.

He moved to Panama, the last low cost paradise that takes American dollars, after his 84th birthday last year. In fact, the hat that he has on is a black-market Phillies hat that somehow ended up in a Panama hat shop after an equally astute opportunistic entrepreneur put “Panama” on the brim and the flag on the cap.

He’s got a lot of character to say the least, and his face reflects it.

Dog days of summer

Can’t you just feel it? The days get warmer, the rain stops, and so do we. We’ve been waiting for a summer that just didn’t seem like it would ever come, and then when it did last week, we got like Casper here and stopped for a break.

Actually he was one of those well bred finalists for the local pet parade in Litchfield, CT, during the town’s Fourth of July weekend celebration. It’s one of those towns where everyone and their dog is a pedigree. We just showed up dressed like pedigrees and for a few hours, got away with it.

I pledge . . .

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Whenever you see a flag on a building, a lightpole, a mailbox, a truck, a bike or in a holiday parade, doesn't it just give you goose bumps? Just like people, some are more worn than others. They all have a story. They all have a life.

Think about it. Think about all the lives that have gone into harm’s way to defend our flag. They pledged their allegiance and meant it.

Grace

What comes to your mind when you think of grace? Does it remind you of God’s mercy for a repentant sinner, or an image of a serene and peaceful landscape? Perhaps it reminds you of a breath of fresh air in an otherwise ugly situation. Maybe it describes a ballet dancer or an ice skater spinning in perfect symmetry or the effortless movements of a gymnast.

Regardless of how you visualize grace, it always brings a sense of peace, order, and tranquility to something. It seems to bring a sense of welcome unreality to unwelcome reality. How about the fern as it unfolds and stretches in perfect symmetry to welcome the warmth of a new season. Dormant during the harsh and cold winter months, it’s one of the first plants to come to life in the warm spring. The perfection of its symmetry is almost unreal in the midst of an imperfect real world. Grace.