I Shoot People

It’s funny the way certain things take on a life of their own.

We went for a walk at the marina again — our favorite place.  Actually, when we are both gone Katy’s gonna have instructions to spread our ashes together there.

But when we want to think, and when we want to chat about serious things we seem to gravitate to the water.  Not that we don’t talk about serious things during the winter — when talking at the water’s edge is a bit chilly.  But it’s a soothing and calming place that has always been just what we needed when we wanted to think and share ideas.

From the earliest days of our marriage — the spartan years in Chicago — we have sought out water.  From our first apartment on 37th and California forward we have gone down to the lake to talk. Like the men who “go down to the sea in ships” I guess.  Not necessarily for the sound of water; just for something oddly calming about the vastness of the Great Lake, and of our small place on the planet.

I wonder what will happen when we retire?  We are still quite undecided about what we shall actually do — there are a lot of details that have yet to be worked out — including deciding what to do about this house — But I don’t know that we will always be as close to the water as we have been most of our life — where will we go to talk?

I’m not a great fan of strenuous exercise, I know, that’s not a good thing.

But I have this strange fascination for cyclers.  I caught these three in the mountains of SW France on my last trip.

Was it the fact that our visit to Newport OR and the Oregon Coast occurred at the end of August that gave the visit a bluesy mood?  The end of summer; a preparation for autumn; changing of seasons and changes in life.

But more than that, there is something about a life at sea that to a landlubber like me is incredibly complex and that was partly what I wanted to convey.

Oh — and by the way — if you do visit,

take a few hours and check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium

For a small town, it’s a wonderful museum with a delightful

AVIARY — yes, an avairy at an aquarium!

What more holiday-like scene than people having fun at the beach?

It’s a curious little boat, isn’t it.  I found it moored in the river just outside Limoges France.

A different take on Beachlife.

Sometimes you’re just too tired to even raise your head

A warm summer’s day and the freedom of the open road.  Five cyclists and a chase car are all it takes to make for an exhausting but fun afternoon.

At the turn of the century funerals in Milwaukee WI took much longer than they do now — and funeral processions were a slow go through the streets of the growing metropolis.  I find it fascinating every time I visit this particular cemetery to be reminded of the slow pace of horse drawn funeral coaches, and of the provisions made for mounting and dismounting coach passengers during those days.

A lavender field near Bonnieux, summer of 2005