Irish Heritage Parade

The last important thing we did before leaving Tybee was attending the Irish Heritage Parade on Saturday. Before moving to Tybee we didn't know what a huge deal St. Patrick's Day was there and in Savannah. Thursday all the workers employed by the city of Tybee have the day off to celebrate. There will be a parade in Savannah that is the biggest vent in the city all year. Today is pictures of the parade on Tybee. 

I wasn't going to comment on any of these pictures but I must make an exception for the one above. First, there are things you wish you hadn't seen or could somehow unsee. This is one. Second, there is a movement by some women called "Free the Nipple". There are pictures like this that may be calling for support of their position. Finally, the belly button jewel is just gross. 

Thanks for attending. 

Music Has Power

Saturday was the Irish Heritage Parade on Tybee Island. The big parade will be in Savannah on St. Patrick's Day this Thursday. By big parade I do mean big. Last year the parade lasted about 8 hours, featured 300+ floats along with marching bands and other groups. Carol and I have not attended one in Savannah yet but it is on our list. One of the groups that comes to participate every year is Barabbas and the Tribe. They are Junkanoo performers. Not familiar with Junkanoo? Well, I wasn't either. It is a tradition from the Bahamas. Essentially it is a street parade with music, dance and costumes. The music features goat skin drums and cowbells along with other instruments. As Christopher Walken says, "I got a need for more cowbell."  Here is Barabbas and the Tribe.

This group is loud and fun. If you are having a party they are a must attend guest. The group following them was school girls in their uniforms carrying the flags of Ireland. All the girls maintained their marching and decorum except one. The power of the music simply took control of her. 

The giveaway is the movement of her skirt. Everyone else is with the flag program. She has gone Junkanoo. 

Sometimes the power of music just moves you. 

Can We Get These Two Together

We were sitting in Benny's on Tybee Island yesterday when this drove by.

It got me thinking about other interesting vehicles we had seen. 

Seems to me a perfect match. Nuts and wiener. The 12 year old boy still trapped in my head cackles with joy. I'll never grow up. Sorry Mom. 

City of Presidents

Yesterday the blog was about the scrap iron art of John Lopez. Today we continue with the work of this amazing artist. While in Rapid City, South Dakota we saw sculptures of former presidents on the street corners in the downtown area. All the presidents are represented except Mr. Obama. His sculpture will be done after the completion of his term in office. Twelve of the sculptures have been done by John Lopez. Here are a few of them.

John F Kennedy and John Jr.

Ulysses S Grant

Theodore Roosevelt

John Adams

William Henry Harrison

James Garfield

Warren G Harding

If you are interested in learning more about John Lopez and his work please visit his blog at johnlopezstudio.blogspot.com  and visit johnlopezstudio.com  If you would like to see all the president statues in Rapid City please go to presidentsusa.net and there is a gallery of all the sculptures. I hope you have enjoyed the works of John Lopez as much as I have. This was a small sampling of his work and I encourage you to check out more of his art.

Talent

Last summer when we were in South Dakota to watch Audrey participate in the national tumbling competition we took a side trip to Hill City. While we were walking around the downtown area we came across these two sculptures.

A quick note. If you look closely at the hind quarter of the second sculpture you will note the plate that says Home Comfort. Readers may recall that Home Comfort ranges were made by the Wrought Iron Range Company of St. Louis, Missouri the employer of my great grandfather George Washington Oyler.

When we came across these sculptures I did not know the name of the artist or if there were more. I happened across an article which featured a picture of the first sculpture and information about the artist. His name is John Lopez. He is a 1990 graduate of Lemmon, South Dakota High School. Having said that I will show you some of his works.

So there you have some of the amazing works or John Lopez. His work with scrap iron is only one of his talents. Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story.

When It Is My Time

I want to start this with three statements. First, my health is good. Second, for those worried about my health, thanks for your concern. Third, for those hoping the news was bad, sorry to disappoint and by the way: "Fuck you too!"

I was reading an article the other day about a 90 year old woman named Norma. It got me to thinking which is always dangerous territory. Norma and her husband Leo lived in northern Michigan. Leo was in the Hospice care when Norma learned she had a large likely cancerous mass on her uterus. Two days after Leo's death Norma was sitting in the doctor's office talking about treatment options with the doctor. You know how it goes, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation in some order or another. The doctor finished and asked Norma how she would like to proceed. Norma looked the doctor in the eye and said: "I'm 90 years old, I'm hitting the road." Her family was in the room with her and knew beforehand that she intended to refuse any treatment. They were in complete support of her decision. Her son Tim and daughter in law Ramie live in an RV and travel. Norma is a great companion and they would be taking her anywhere she wanted to go. The doctor was supportive and stated: "As doctors we see what cancer treatment looks like every day. ICU, nursing homes, awful side effects and honestly, there is no guarantee she will survive the initial surgery to remove the mass. You are doing exactly what I would want to do in this situation. Have a fantastic trip."

Here is Miss Norma.

This looks like a better choice than surgery, radiation and chemo.

It is always good to stop and smell the roses. It is never to early to start doing so.

Time for a hot air balloon ride.

The cup says it's 5 o'clock somewhere. Enjoy your journey Miss Norma.

Her story reminds me of something that happened when we were up north last summer. Lily and I had gone out for a walk. That day we had headed down the hill to walk around the property and see if the blackberries were ripe. We had gotten to the bottom of the hill when Carol called and said we had visitors at the house. We turned back and walked up the hill to find it was a couple of guys from an insurance company. I have a cancer policy I pay on every month. The terms they offered it under were going to change and it would be my final opportunity to upgrade my coverage under the old rules. The policy terms are 20 years and then all the money you paid in premiums is returned to you. They presented their case and I told them no thanks. Of course with any good salesman one no is never enough. Perhaps I didn't understand this opportunity and that is was only for a limited time. Look at all these benefits. Don't you want these? Again I told them no. Then they made a mistake. They asked the wrong question. Why aren't you interested? I told them I was 61 years old. I had no intention of seeking treatment if I was diagnosed with cancer. I would live my final days on my terms. Doing what I wanted. I had seen the effects of chemo and radiation on my grandmother and my father. No thank you. They said I would change my mind when the time came. Carol stepped in at that point and let them know that it didn't work that way with me. So, when I read Norma's story I knew what she meant and appreciated the choice she made.

I encourage you to take some time and go to Facebook. Search for Driving Miss Norma and follow along as she travels the United States. To Miss Norma I say "Thanks and enjoy every moment!"