Chapter 72 - Take Me Out To the Ball Game

Oh, you're in for a treat...bit things happening in The Life of Jackie.

Hair-cuts, ball games, walks and fiddling with the camera. You're gonna get it all. I warn you, this will not be a short trip. No, this is a trek; a slog; a 20-mile hike with full combat load. You will, if you persevere, be spent; exhausted; used up after this lengthy but entertaining Chapter.

OK, you've been warned. Let's get ourselves down the road, shall we?

I absolutely hate dropping $20+ for a haircut. I abhor it. Detest it. Resent it. Hahaha, and so, I put off getting my hair cut for as long as humanly possible. Or, at least, as long as Jackie possible. I've used thinning shears and even been cutting my own hair but it got to a point where it looked like I'd grown wings on either side of my head whenever I wore a cap. And, if you know the least little bit about me, you know I wear caps like 98.3% of the time. I was getting tired of the 'Airplane' look.

So I went down to the local tonsorial emporium and waited my turn in line. I realize this picture doesn't do justice to the curly mane (what's left of it) I was dealing with. I had chopped most the wings off and, obviously, I was not wearing a cap. But this is the 'Before' picture.

Unruly and unmanageable and there was no party going on in the back. None at all. It was more like the aftermath of a major battle during WWII. 

I think, although I could not, myself, prove it with two mirrors and a lot of contorting, that the back was on a definite slant. It was certainly uneven to say the least.

It was time to make the sacrifice and pay the price.

And the 'After' picture.

Neat, petite and too sweet to speak!! Hahahaha, I actually think it's an improvement. But don't worry, I still won't get a hair-cut on a regular basis. Twice a year is OK by me. The big differences? No wings and no ugly shag in the back.

Hahahaha, it's tough being a cheap bastard.

But not that cheap!! Every so often a boy needs a treat and so I treated myself to a mushroom burger!! Carol was off across the Nation in Virginia to help her daughter and I was at the Kiwanis luncheon by myself. Rather than get the regular burger they offer to Kiwanis I waited until after the meeting and then went over to the restaurant/sports bar and ordered this delectable delight. I had planned ahead and brought a book to read while dining and so I doubly enjoyed my lunch!! Shades of the days when I went to work and normally read my way through lunch. Ah, those long-ago days when I could pile through a book on average once a week.

 So I stepped a bit off the reservation, got something a little different and was able to comfortably enjoy myself. You see, for the Kiwanis luncheon Aces offers a set menu of around five dishes. The same five dishes each week. Every week. Always the same five dishes. And, quite frankly, I'm a little bored with it. Plus, and only I would note this, one of the dishes offered is a roast beef sandwich which costs $10 in Kiwanis but sells for $8 in the bar. Hahaha, one sure way to piss me off is to fool around with my wallet. 

So I got my way with this heart-clogging but delicious Mushroom Burger. And I loved it.

BAZOOMA!!

Another lightening fast segue into a new topic.

I've missed taking pictures of sunsets. Course, I haven't been paying much attention to sunsets these past few months. The Winter Doldrums; the Wet Weather Woggles; The Gray, Gloomy Days played havoc with me. Most afternoons I don't think I even looked out the window. I mostly existed during the cold, wet, gloomy, gray, drab, depressing, damp, crappy days during the Winter and most of the Spring this year.

But on a semi-nice day I was energized enough to get off my arse and venture outside at dusk with my camera...this is what I caught. There are, occasionally, some seriously nice sunsets here.

Playing with the 'Creative' control on the camera. It hardened the picture up a bit. Amazing what moving the ASA, shutter speed or the aperture can do to a picture. You'll see some other experimenting with photography later on in this opus.

Hold on, we're moving on.

I had stopped by the Mall to go to the opening of The Scout, a new store run by Jerome and Gitl. As I was walking back to my car, I saw this fellow at home in his parking lot aerie. 

I See. I Point. I Shoot. I Move.

- ISIPISIM -

My style of photography.

Walkin', Like the Do-Dah Man...

Out for a walk and it's always nicer to have a goal, a place to work towards, while walking. I've found that just walking out the door to do a mile or to walk for 30 minutes isn't enough to motivate me. Although I know, on several levels, that walking is good for me, I find it difficult to get out and do that walking.

So to motivate myself, to give me a reason to get out, I find places I might like to go to or an errand to run. In the latter it could be walking to the Real Estate Office to pay the rent. In the former it could be walking on over to the Beach Club to have a celebratory beer...y'know, celebrate being such a good human that I got out and walked somewhere. Yeah, that kind of celebrating.

Which explains this charming self-portrait of me...in the Beach Club...celebrating...with a beer. Look happy, don't I? Well, maybe a little smug. Hahaha, I'm healthy!! I walk!!  

I also do good deeds, too. Like volunteer to help pick up flags for Kiwanis' Parade of Flags. This was for Armed Forces Day. That's Michael's BIG truck. The one where I could use a small step-ladder to assist in getting up and into it. Thank heavens for handholds and the small bit of agility I still possess. Together, they allowed me to haul my Big Bottom into the cab.

Normally, Mike, because he is a good guy and a decent human being, insists I drive his BIG truck while he jumps in and out getting the flags. I secretly think he becomes impatient waiting for me to wrestle my rump into the cab each time and he'd rather do it himself than endure that scene 30-40 times...over and over again.

Regardless, this time he was able to drive because we had extra Scouts there who volunteered to ride with us and pick up the flags. Hooah!! OK by me!!

On our route, we picked up the service flags at the Cultural Center. Before the Scouts grabbed them I was able to get this shot.

A New Adventure!!

And then I said I'd stop by get some pictures of their, Mike and Hannah, kid's baseball game. Just a simple gesture to some friends. 

Mike and Hannah's two boys are in the Youth League. I wasn't able to make it to Gabriel's games but I did get to Michael's game. 

I went a little bit overboard.

It was a one-day excursion. A chance to get outside, have some fun, watch some baseball and maybe get a good ball park hot dog.

I did get outside. I did have some fun. And I did get a hot dog...it wasn't as good as the one I got two years ago but, still, it was a hot dog.

Here's Michael's team, The Tigers!! Their Coach, Colin, in the center of the adults, is the Lions Den Leader in Cubs. Michael is the fourth from the left. Liam, Colin's son, is fourth from the right. So there was this Cub connection. 

I went to one game and got a bunch of pictures...over 450. Hahaha, I love the 'Continuous' shooting mode on my camera. Anyway, I whittled them down and then posted them on the Cub FB Page so the parents could pick the ones they wanted and 'grab' them for themselves.

And I had such a good time I decided to go back the next week and try my hand again. I missed all of Gabriel's games (sorry!) but I did make it to Michael's next game Saturday morning. They were playing in Championship Rounds. They won the first game and advanced to the next round...playing against a team with yet another Cub on it.

So I shot two games Saturday. With three different Cub families. I was there primarily for the Raines' but I also shot a lot of Amy's boy, Noah.

In the end, I shot over 1,750 pictures that Saturday morning. Hahaha, my computer couldn't take it all. I had to call Allie for help and we found an unused mail thingie with like 10,000 messages on it. I deleted it and suddenly had enough room to handle downloading ALL those pictures.

Good grief. Nothing is easy. Nothing.

This was taken by one of the kids' Grandma. I wasn't aware of it and it was certainly a pleasant surprise. On the first game of the second Saturday, I thought I'd use the tripod. See if it gave me clear pictures, yada, yada, yada. 

It worked OK. But I felt it really hindered my mobility...more than it helped me get clear, sharp pictures. The trade-off wasn't enough so for the second game, I went with the monopod. I liked the idea of stability but needed more mobility. It worked well enough for me. I learned to move a little quicker and surer with the monopod. I was, honestly, liking it.

Batter Up!!

They let me hang out on the third base line behind the base and I was able to 'reach' out with my long lens and get some good shots of the kids at the plate. Plus, shooting continuous gave me more opportunities to get 'the' good shot.

Like this one. I set the camera on Tv (shutter speed) and jacked the speed up to 1/2000. It helped that it was a clear and sunny day so I was able to shoot with a reasonable ASA and f/stop and still stop the action. It was great light.

This is Michael, Mike and Hannah's oldest.

And I had a good time. I learned to time the shutter to the "whuuf'' of the pitching machine. I learned that using the monopod I could frame with the screen and then I could physically move back a little so I could see the pitching machine and the batter. It helped me to time the shot. I did well on these static shots but I've got a lot to learn and master when it comes to shooting action shots.

When you're shooting the entirety of the game rather than just one area as they do in the pros with staff photographers assigned specific players or areas on the field you find that you've got to be ready to move, zoom in, zoom out and do it all super-fast!

I also learned my camera doesn't respond instantaneously when you push the zoom out/in lever. It takes a moment (and at times it seemed like that was a long time) for the lens to react after a shot. I'd shoot the batter getting a hit and then try to track them running while zooming out slightly and...it didn't work well. Hahaha, I got a LOT of pictures of grass or sky or dirt or kids who were not in the action. 

I learned.

I also learned that nearly everyone of the catchers did a pretty fantastic dance to stay out of the way of the ball. Real contortionists.

Amazing!! This kid got some air!! There were few balls hit in the air. I can't remember a single pop fly. And, at this age, it was common for 9 out of 10 balls to be dropped. I was usually surprised when someone would actually catch a ball. With a few exceptions, this was the norm.

But these kids were swinging that tin. Hahaha, I almost said lumber!! Shades of Old Age, Batman!! 

They would close their eyes, stick their tongues out, puff their cheeks and punch out a little hit. It was fun to see the pictures. Looking at the pictures I got to see a lot more than I did standing on the field.

I was able to move around and so I shuffled on over to the first base line. Better shots for the right-handed batters. Plus, it was easier to slowly zoom out and catch the batter running to first since they were running in a direction towards me.

The good thing is they will, eventually, grow into their helmets. Plus, I'm a thinking that catcher has a career either in gymnastics or dancing. Boy's got some moves.

I also noticed that most of the balls hit went about 6 inches in front of the plate. And the catcher still has those killer moves.

This little girl is a real pip. She's a hitter...and she never once had her eyes open when she made contact with the ball. But she hit. 

Oh, and they retired the Dancing Queen as catcher. This guy actually looks like he knows what he's doing. And he has, apparently, figured out that with all that gear and padding on getting hit by the ball ain't gonna hurt much at all.

See what I mean? The ball hits just in front of the plate...but the forward momentum carries it a bit further. Another hit. This girl was also a slugger. She usually got on base. And look at that catcher! Really hanging in there!!

This little guy put his whole body into it. Good form for an 8-year old. And, for him, it definitely helps to puff out those cheeks. He did it every time.

This is the other Cubs team. They're wearing the black T-Shirts. They'll go on to beat the Tigers but for right now they're taking care of business with a different team. From the looks of this, I think this guy got himself some rare air...not far but enough to get on base. BTW, this is Noah, Amy's boy. Another Cub.

Here is Noah, again, the other Cub. He and Michael are in the Bear Den now. I learned that Noah was selected for the All-Star Team in his Division.

He has good form addressing the ball. Needs to turn his wrists. But he is swinging with his body and keeping his eye on the ball

And, obviously, sticking out his tongue is his secret super-power when batting. Well, when playing baseball as he has it out when he's fielding, too. 

I like the way he's using his body momentum to get into the ball. Maybe straighten out the arms a bit more. And the wrists. Turn the wrists.

Pow!!

Another hit. This girl was a heck of a first baseman. She actually caught the ball 4 out of 5 times. The Tigers first baseman's ratio was missing the catch 4 out of 5 times. I remember one time being very surprised when he finally caught one.

Here's the little Powerhouse. 

Eye's closed but she hit. Boy, Howdy, did she hit!!

Hahaha, that ball must have stunk. See what I mean about seeing more of the game with the camera than I saw while I was actually there. Some interesting things going on at 1/2000 a second.

Here's Puffy Cheeks. Boy is he putting everything he has into hitting this ball. Needs to back off the plate a bit so he has room to extend his arms.

I did have fun and I felt like I got some good shots, too. I hope the parents took advantage of all the pictures I posted and grabbed some for themselves. I put the first day's game on the Pack FB Page but I had soooooo many from the second game that I put them on my own FB Page. I had six albums plus a couple of special albums for the folks to peruse.

Ka-Pow!!

She may not see the ball hit the bat but she sure hit the doggone thing. And the facial expression is good, too.

Now he's getting his arms out there. A little early on the swing but, you know, they're learning. Look at that catcher!! He's staying in there! Still puffing out his cheeks...and hitting the ball.

Here's the open-mouth kid. Little early but making contact.

The Tigers lost the game but they had a good time. After some encouraging words from the Coaches, they all joined in a Team Yell. I saw they were going to do this and held the camera up overhead on the monopod to get this shot. I had the shutter release with the 3' cord on it so I was able to release it overhead. It was a sudden inspiration...next time I'll be more prepared and get a better shot.

My secret dream is that in a hundred years some distant grandchild will say to his kids, here's my Great-Great-Great Grandpa when he was 8 and playing baseball. The picture will become one of those small family treasures that are passed down generation to generation. Probably won't happen but that could, it really could, be a small legacy I was able to leave however anonymously.

Amy Jones' son is Noah and I got plenty of pictures for her. She called me up and asked what beer I drank and then about an hour later she showed up with these two gifts for me. A 6-Pack of Coors Light and a Top Loin New York Strip Steak.

Oh, golly!!

I mean, c'mon, it was a very thoughtful gift. Now my problem was how to cook it. Working on advice from Carol, I broiled it after I checked on how long and at what temp to broil it at (thank you 'Net).

And I did it in my little toaster oven.

Hooah!!

I was waiting for the baked potatoes and got myself a small bite of the steak. Mmmmmm, medium-rare!! That toaster oven did a great job. I rubbed it down with pepper before I began cooking it. Plus, I had to cook it a little bit longer than I expected but it was, it truly was, Ga-uuuud!!

Quack-Quack

The original pair of ducks are back. After the drake of the second set of ducks was killed, the hen kept coming but less and less. Then, maybe two weeks after the drake died, the original pair showed back up. I could tell because the original hen had a crippled left leg and this hen, well, she limps, badly, when she has to move quickly. Left leg. 

So to recap. Last year a pair of mallards showed up almost daily at my feeder. They came back this year but shortly after they returned, another pair of mated mallards appeared and the first set stopped coming by. The second set were here nearly every day and getting quite used to me, even coming towards me when I came out with the feeder. Then that drake was killed and now the first set are coming back again.

Complicated. But, I have a set of ducks to feet every morning.

A couple months ago, I visited Amy and saw several books she was reading. They looked interesting and I mentioned this to her and suggested she save them for me when she was finished. Then I got this in the mail. What could it be!?!

A quick open and, Shazam!! I have a couple of new books to read. I'm really looking forward to reading both of them but especially the one Prisoners of Geography. Keen fun!!

And so I sent this back to her...this is the book I'll be sending her when I finish it. About H.H. Holmes the serial murdered who took advantage of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair to entrap and kill possibly nearly 200 people in his specially built "World's Fair Hotel," aka "The Murder Hotel". Ol' H. H. was quite the demon.

Boom!!

From the macabre to the beauty of nature.

I've mentioned it before but I've given myself permission to shoot as many flowers as often and as long as I want. Although I doubt I will ever shoot 1,750 pictures of flowers in one day. Ever!! 

Regardless, I am back to shooting them when I see them. I enjoy it.

Sue me.

And the neighbor's house, two doors down, is rife with flowers again. Like shooting Nerds in a barrel. Too easy sometimes but, screw that. I won't let that be my excuse for not shooting flowers. I like it, ergo, I shall do it. 

ISIPISIM

That pretty much sums up my philosophy about shooting flowers. I might amend it to read And I Have Fun Doing It but ISIPISIMAIHFDI doesn't have the same cache as ISIPISIM alone.

I'm gonna go over some morning and shoot these flowers and then at noonish and then as the sun sets. A day in the life of...

I likes it.

And so I've been working at getting out and walking. I know it's good for me. I know I should do it. I just...don't. But one of the many benefits of my hobby of picture-taking is that it gives me something to do while I am out walking. It helps me want to go out and walk. And so, camera in hand and feet moving I set out to hit...

The Long and Winding Road...

Still working on road pictures, too. I have a long way to go. (Hahahaha, I love me a good play on words. Especially when I do it!!) But, seriously, I do. And I really want to do it in B&W. 

Someday.

This guy was singing his sweet song as I ambled by on my walk. It was nice, being out early in the morning there was little traffic and so I could actually hear some of the bird songs. Nice.

And he posed rather nicely for me facing into the morning sun and all.

Rumbling along I happened to glance to my left and I saw these clouds. I've had a genuine affection for clouds ever since I read about Alfred Stieglitz and his series of clouds. I'm nowhere near anything he did but his pictures struck me and I've always enjoyed them and kind of thought of them as something to reach for.

Stieglitz photographed clouds from 1922 into the thirties. A symbolist aesthetic underlies his images, which became increasingly abstract equivalents of his own experiences, thoughts, and emotions. In his cloud photographs, which he termed Equivalents, Stieglitz emphasized pure abstraction, adhering to the modern ideas of equivalence holding that abstract forms, lines and colors could represent corresponding inner states, emotions and ideas.

And, yeah, he made me think of abstraction in my photography. And I go on.

From the big to the little. I saw this guy and, Carol's words still working in my mind, I practiced patience. I saw where he had been and so I got it in my viewfinder and waited. And, viola!! I was rewarded.

These two were taken at the CHG. Oh, the garden is looking very good these days. Very good.

I'm still trying to build that trust between myself and the camera when I shoot up close. I was deliberately back about 6 or so feet so I could zoom in and grab this shot. I still haven't become comfortable using the 'macro' control on my camera. Still haven't been convinced it can do as well as the SX170 that was stolen from me by a useless, worthless, POS, homeless glob of human trash. 

I only hope the camera battery shorted and it burned up all of the trash he's collected (read: stolen) and he goes to jail for the rest of his miserable, ugly, selfish, useless, disgusting life. I really do dislike that POS.

But my task is to learn my new camera and gain the trust with it that I once had with my other camera. It will be a difficult task.

I put it on Tv (shutter speed) and forgot. So when I shot this guy I was way over-exposed. This was the best adjustment I was able to make with what I had and, once I had it and could sit with it for a while, I sorta liked it.

It's an odd picture but, well, interesting. To me at least. What do you think? Should I bring the sides in a bit? I do like me some panoramas.

I also like me some back-lit pictures of plants. And B&W. Always B&W.

Whenever I see a leaf, flower or flax back-lit, I go for it. There's a lot of potential there waiting for someone to tap it. I'll keep chipping away at it. 

Kind of abstract, isn't it? I wonder what emotions and ideas I'm representing here? What's going on here, Jackie Boy? Eh?

And it works in color, too. Equally well if I am to be honest. 

Hahaha, my taste for lines ALWAYS leads me to run the wire length-wise along the picture...and making them more panoramic. Hmmmmm, I wonder. 

If you have seen any of my pictures you know when I have a bird on a wire (Hahahaha) I tend to run that wire from the lower left to the upper right or vice versa. I just realized this. 

Maybe it's the Virgo coming out in me. Course I would think that would be from left to right on an even, straight unwavering line.

Annnnnnnd, back to the back-lit flora. I like it.

I like the illumination of the lines and form set out by the dark background. I've done a lot of these, too. Form, design, a certain symmetry. Back-lit does it for me. 

Just because. I still remember when Carol and I saw ALL those pelicans at Otter Rock and Yaquina Light. It was amazing. I haven't seen any roosting pelicans since. I, very rarely, will see one skimming over the waves heading north or south along the beach. Very rarely these days.

But this guy looked interesting standing there by himself. I thought maybe B&W. I was wrong.

Lines, angles, shadows, silhouettes and a mish-mash pattern. It's all here and it's all something that calls to me. I remember shooting, in B&W, a shot in Panama of an outlined power line and pole. I even mounted it. Had it for years. Don't know where it is now. Trash, most likely.

Hahahaha, I am a constant...in some things.

And flowers. What a creation, eh!?! A human would be hard pressed to create something as beautiful, intricate and complex as this. Amazing.

And I indulged myself with some flowers on this walk. Although I felt they were sorta uninspired, I still had myself take them. I want to get back into them and put a bit more effort into the taking of them. Maybe work at them a bit more. Instead of ISIPISIM, maybe do something like, ISITIPISIM.

(I See, I Think, I Point, I Shoot, I Move)

What a creation. And we just walk on by. 

I missed the mark here. I was thinking...shut up!! It's possible!! Anyway, I was thinking of the 'border' these small flowers would make. I wanted a deeper depth of field but I didn't get it. But I did get good color and the dark background which outlines and presents the main subject. 

I didn't get the depth of field. The flowers in the foreground are fuzzy, blurred. I shot this at ASA 500 (I think I was on 'auto' for the ASA speed). I'm pretty sure I chose Tv (shutter speed) so I could ensure the wind didn't move the flowers too much. And so the camera chose f/5.6. 

Maybe next time I'll play a little more to get it up to a deeper f/stop, like f/8 or, dare I hope, f/11. Now to remember this and think about it the next time I find an opportunity like this.

And I was thinking here. I lowered the camera to waist-level so I shot more on an even level with this flower. I was thinking of the leaves in the foreground and this one worked. Sorta. It's not great, not even mediocre but it is a step in the right direction.

I keep on Truckin'...

Truckin', like the Do-Dah Man, once told me you've got to play your hand.

Sometimes your cards ain't worth a dime, if you don't lay'em down.

Truckin' got my chips cashed in, keep truckin', like the Do-Dah Man

Together, more or less in line, just keep truckin' on.

Man, oh Man. Ain't this something. Not the picture, no!! But the flowers. Wow!!

My resolve is to begin working at capturing these images. Instead of ISIPISIM, I'm gonna work a lot more (hopefully), on ISITIPISIM.

HOOAH!!

Here we go!! B&W and a bit abstract. But it's too flat, right? Yeah, it is. I need sharper images, purer whites and deeper blacks. The tones here are...blah.

But I like the idea. I like the vision. Just not the execution. And I note, once again, that I've led the viewer's eyes from one corner to the opposite corner. This time it's bottom left to upper right. I tend to cross my pictures. 

Predictable.

After I left the CHG, I headed down the street just a bit to The Bird House (TBH). 

I always enjoy stopping by as there is usually some activity for me to shoot. I enjoy it so much that if one of the owners, the couple that lives there and stocks all these feeders for the birds, were outside I would offer them some money to help with buying the bird feed. They've given me that much pleasure.

Like this day. I slowly approached and found, to my delight, a Flicker dining on a suet dinner.

He was in a awkward position in that there was a lot of crap between he and I. It was difficult to shoot him. I got a lot of shots of his rump but, really, I wanted to shoot the other end. 

This was the best out of a bunch of tries. I was pleased that I was able to hit the focus for his face as much as I did. There were a lot of pics where the leaves or the pole were crystal clear and the Flicker a muddied blur in the background.

I'm liking this G3 X. I'm waiting for them to release the G5 X Mark II. I almost bought the G5 X but then I heard, on the 'Net, just a hint, a slight tickle, of the word that Canon was getting ready to release the next edition of the G5, the PowerShot G5 X Mark II. So I am waiting, impatiently. I'd rather buy the PowerShot G1 X Mark III but, Hey!! Who's got $1700 laying around, eh!?! 

If I win the lottery, that will be one of my first purchases. And, to show you how much I want it, I'll even pay EXTRA for the expedited shipping!! If I win the lottery. Cuz that's the only way that little drama is ever gonna happen.

Playing with the camera and my favorite corner of the Shed. Trying out, in my Lazy Man's fashion, different features on the powerful machine I own.

I like the angles, the lighting and the clutter. Plus, I really like that picture of Peter Pan, Wendy, Michael, Tink and John flying off to Never-Never Land...

Second Star to the Right and straight on till morning...

Yeah, Amy gave that to me and I've always had it in a place of importance. You rock, Pete!!

But, back to this. I was fiddling round and came up with this. I need to learn how to achieve this color without having to use the creative controls. I'm thinking of getting another "Photography Journal" to record settings, thoughts, shots and what-nots. A place to explore my thoughts and then be able to refer back to them because, we all know, my memory has more leaks in it than the White House Staff Pool.

Zoom in and, POW, a little B&W magic. I really liked the tones, the feelings I got from the fedora in the foreground. The rest is kinda blown out but, y'know, this is on the learning curve.

And, sue me, I like the composition. It's like a still life. The kind with a bowl of fruit and some other crap on a table. 

Except this is just the way things ended up when I shot them. I have too many hats and they're always everywhere in the house and I've taken to tossing them on the ottoman by the door lately.

And, hey, that's it.

When I'm thinking and moving I'm enjoying. The problem is the weather has been Kee-Rappy to the extreme lately. And the other problem is I've become exceedingly lazy.

But I know the opportunities are there if I can reach out to them. Just. Gotta. Try.

And so I move along, try to do some good, work at not hurting anyone, and take a couple pictures along the way. Oh, and I eat. A lot. I call it "The Flavor of Life." It's my easy excuse to eat unhealthy and not feel bad. The food, at this stage in my life, is one of the constant pleasures I have. And, so far, I've been working at enjoying them. I have some constraints but, really, not many. I enjoy life...I enjoy eating.

Hooah!!

I've created myself and I'm a eating machine!! With a little flower thrown in for fun.