a family afternoon spent
practicing karate skills, self defense, getting a good workout
socially distant, outside, under a very hot sun
at beacon park, in detroit
lots of sweat, lots of water, lots of fun
“karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can,
using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.”
-dave barry
after spending the night at daughter #3s’ house
i woke up early at my usual farmer time
everyone else still fast asleep
hunted and gathered food items from their kitchen
soon realizing i had put together a ‘c’ themed breakfast
that was quite satisfying –
coffee with cream, chocolate cookies, cheetos cheese things, computer
i believe all food groups were well represented.
i know this guy might think that ‘c’ is only for cookie, but —
—
“health food may be good for the conscience, but oreos taste a hell of a lot better.”
-robert redford
crossed paths with a pizza out for a stroll
on a mission
headed for the river
pizza was sliced and ready
to float
to swim
to shoot the cascades
perfect conditions today for a pizza.
—
“the closest thing I use to beauty products is the grease on the pizza from John’s Pizzeria.”
-mark feuerstein
The T-Rex Walking Club parades in Ferndale,MI
The T-Rex Walking Club takes a stroll to bring joy during the coronavirus pandemic. A silly and secret club formed during the pandemic is on a quest to bring smiles to the faces of kids, and a few adults, while under Michigan’s stay home order.
On Friday, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s order, there was parade of a pink unicorn, followed by a gentle giraffe, a ferocious bear, a swinging stegosaurus, Scooby-Doo and a shark too, a tall pterodactyl, a trotting triceratops, a black-and-white penguin, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a friendly T-Rex, another penguin, and a one-eyed Minion.
This motley crew, which calls itself the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club, takes its unannounced strolls through neighborhoods. There are other characters, too, and a few members have costumes on order. On their next walks, you might see an additional unicorn, more sharks, a polar bear, a gorilla, a Godzilla, an alligator, a hippo, a flamingo, a zebra, and an upside-down clown.
Most members of the club are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.The point of the parade, is to cheer up the community during otherwise gloomy times and get children and adults to smile, said Oscar Renautt, who heads the Elks public relations committee.
The T-Rex club has its own set of rules. You must be invited; have an enclosed, inflatable costume; wear a face mask; and you can never, ever tell anyone where — or when — the group is going to go walking.
The founder, Ms. Ignash, received her pink unicorn costume one Christmas, has had it for years, and she’d occasionally show up somewhere in it for a laugh. Then, she posted the article in Facebook for local residents and they thought it was a good idea. Folks asked her to organize an event, so she did. It was right after the stay-at-home order, and within two hours, close to 200 people were interested.
Ignash decided that it was a totally crazy idea, and irresponsible to create crowds of people during a pandemic, so she canceled the event, and started over. Instead, she created a private group and invited just a couple of friends to join her. They went on a walk in costume, and then another, and another, adding a few friends — and characters — each time.
The costumes are so big that they naturally require the walkers to space out about six-feet apart, a social distancing requirement of the governor’s order. They also don’t want to spread the virus so they wear masks.Visibility inside isn’t so good either, and it can get hot inside the costume. So they don’t walk for too long. “But, it’s fun because kids really freak out,” Ignash said. “They see us coming, or they hear other people talking about us coming, and kids freak out. Its fun, just so much fun.”
—
credits: Frank Witsil- Detroit Free Press, Ferndale Elks Club
—
“a procession is a participants’ journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”
– Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
on a
quick stop
to say hi
to the grandies and friends
I was lucky enough to enjoy
their indoor flying and blow-up forts created with fans.
life is good at the end of summer. 
“the end-of-summer winds make people restless.”
-sebastian faulks
you know that feeling
when you fall down
on the trampoline
and keep trying to get up
but everyone keeps jumping
and you keep bouncing
and then all of you
start belly-laughing
and keep belly-laughing
and cannot stop?
—
“life has its ups and downs, but you can only look forward.”
-frank lowy
headed off on a family fun river raft float trip
not real relaxing as expected
but lots of adventures/misadventures instead
so many laughs and we all survived
who could ask for anything more?
—
“rejoice as summer should…chase away sorrows by living.”
-melissa marr, darkest mercy
—
argo park, huron river, Ann Arbor, michigan, u.s.a. – summer 2019
great fun
at a game of
the traverse city pit spitters vs. the wisconsin woodchucks.
nice field
light attendance
good seats
cheap food and drinks
dinos, mascot, lively fans, crazy promos,
singing, dancing, kids on the grass,
nice weather, music, good company
all that
and a baseball game too
a very pleasant way to experience an evening.
—
“baseball is drama with an endless run and an ever-changing cast.”
-joe garagiola
—
traverse city, michigan, u.s.a. – summer 2019
2 shoes
1 black cat
1 cozy pillow
1 monster doll
1 chocolate bunny with it’s head eaten off
someone has been here
left their mark
ready for backyard movie night.
—
“every day in every way we are leaving our mark.”
-rachel bermingham
