Monthly Archives: April 2010

13 & Can I borrow $5

JD 2450568.65696

I love you!

My Mom is always sending things to me via email. Some things are silly. Some are serious. Some are unbelievable and a quick Snopes check confirms my suspicions. Some you read and delete. Some you read and laugh. Some you read and cry. She recently sent me a story entitled “Can I borrow $5?”

The abridged version: Mother comes home from tough day at work and son asks her how much money she makes an hour. Mom is not in great mood, tells him it is none of his business and wants to know why he asks. Son says he just wants to know. Mom angrily says she makes $20 per hour. Son asks if he can borrow $5 and Mom scolds him for being selfish as she imagines he wants to buy some silly toy or other nonsensical item and sends him to his room. Mom eventually relaxes and goes to son’s room to apologize and gives him $5. Boy perks up and pulls some other cash from under his pillow. Mom grumbles why he needs the $5 if he already has some money. ‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the son replies. He then says, ‘Mommy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.’

Doesn’t matter if story is made up or actually happened. What matters is the message. The story ends, “If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.”

Until next time,

Mark

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Hello, yeah…It’s been awhile

Before I start my entry for today, I want to send a heartfelt congratulations to Christina and Justin for their performances at the Nebraska State Science Fair. Both did their parents, Science teachers, school and themselves proud for all the hard work and dedication they displayed. These are two very amazing and pleasant young people that will achieve much in life if they stay focused and true to their convictions. I also want to thank Ms. Rosenberg for her leadership and guidance. Teaching is far too often a thankless job and it takes a special person to not get jaded and just go through the motions each and every day. I hope she never loses her passion.

Well, it has been far too long since my last post. Sometimes life goes by at the speed of light, and it is all one can do to not get chewed up and spit out. I looked at the calendar the other day and until school gets out for the year in late May, things are going to continue to be hectic. I have a million things I need to do, my wife has a million things to do, and my daughter has almost no free time to herself until school’s out. I will ensure that we as a family call a timeout once in a while and do some family activities together. You know the saying…”All work and no play…”  Gotta make sure no one gets burned out.

Spent this past Friday at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Was down there for the state Science fair. Had never been there before. Very nice campus. With Spring in full force, saw many pretty flowers around campus. (Click to enlarge)

Spent several hours just aimlessly wandering around and taking the environment in. Was a very nice day for the most part. Wandered into the Methodist Church and checked out the stained glass. I absolutely love stained glass. Not sure where my fascination emanates from. I just know I always enjoy looking at it and getting the back story about unique or odd glass. As I stated, the church had some very beautiful stained glass. The ceiling of the church had Abraham Lincoln dead center. (Click to enlarge)

The church is in Lincoln, Nebraska. Maybe that is why Honest Abe occupies the center. Maybe not. Someone from the church told a few of us that the church didn’t have enough funds to complete the originally planned stained glass. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) of University Place said they would pay for the stained glass if they could complete the stained glass dome in the Methodist Church as they saw fit. They placed Abraham Lincoln’s likeness in the center. They gentleman sharing the story did not know why. As a result, I don’t know why either.

After the science fair was completed, we headed to my car so I could get a change of clothes to wear for the awards ceremony. I had been bumming around all day in shorts and T-shirt. Needed to make myself a bit more presentable.  Ended up talking for a bit and while we talked, a friendly squirrel checked us out. As time went on, this little squirrel closed in on our small group. The squirrel jumped onto the tree nearest us and scampered up onto a branch and peered down at us. I snapped his picture. He held his pose and this is the result. (Click to enlarge)

A good time was had until it was time to head back to Omaha. As we were leaving the awards ceremony, the sky was growing dark and ominous. A considerable amount of rain & lightning could be seen North of our location. North of our location was exactly where I needed to drive. Decided it was better to drive slowly and make it home alive than to push things and possibly wreck. Slow and steady always works for me. Was a bit nerve racking getting home, but finally made it. Was glad to be home. It had been a long day.

Until next time,

Mark

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Drive by Shooting…

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The past few days have been pretty decent, weather wise. The kind of weather that lets you know that Winter is definitely over and that Spring is here. The kind of weather that instills happiness and a feeling of being alive and wanting to go spend some time outdoors. Amazing how seeing the Sun can change your mood and energize you to want to get out and do something. Anything. I enjoy photographing things. It is a challenge sometimes to find a new or creative way to capture an image. You don’t want all your snaps to have the same look or feel. At least I don’t. I will place restrictions on my photo shoots from time to time to force myself to break away from my usual way of doing things. I have gone shooting with only one fixed lens, usually a 50mm or 85mm lens, sometimes a 10.5mm. This makes me really think and explore various ways to go about getting a shot. I can’t zoom in or out, so I have to move closer or further away. You have to think about the whole process. You can’t just stand there with your zoom lens and stab at the shutter release.

I gave myself an assignment the other day. I had to remain inside my car and could only take pics outside the passenger side window. If I saw something on the drivers side, I was out of luck. Interesting how many great shots I had to pass up. I should mention that this type of exercise only works if you remain true to the initial concept and not allow yourself to cheat. It causes you to really plan ahead and visualize the end result. As I was driving around, I spied some geese hovering around the banks of a local lake. I pulled over, rolled down the passenger side window and started shooting. One goose in particular took notice and decided he didn’t want me around.

He would charge at my car every time I started shooting. I would stop and after a few seconds, he would waddle back to the rest of his friends. But as soon as I would start to shoot, he would give me that evil attack goose look and charge. This went on for several minutes before I drove on. His actions provided me a little comic relief and some laughter. It’s good to find humor in life and to have a laugh from time to time.

My family and I went to a different lake last weekend and we brought our cameras with us. It was a beautiful day. Sunny with a slight breeze. Many people were just doing things. Some were jogging. Some were playing soccer. Some just sat there enjoying the day. Several were boating or kayaking.

I enjoy people watching. Just observing how people do things and seeing their reactions. As I took a few minutes to look around, I saw a young girl standing on one of the docks at the lake. Her young face was lit up with excitement at being so close to the water. She looked very much like my own daughter at that age. It made me think how much I missed those days of her being a little rug rat. Seeing the looks of curiosity and discovery on her face. The truly content looks. The smiles and laughter. Nothing is more infectious than the laugh of a child. It causes all within earshot to stop, take notice and be drawn to laugh themselves. Anyway, this little girl’s dad showed up and was showing her how to throw rocks in the water and watch as they splashed. It made me a little sad knowing that those days are in the past for me.

Yesterday, I was driving around and went by an airfield for remote controlled (RC) airplanes. As luck would have it, there were two people flying their planes. I asked if it would be OK if I took some pictures. One of the two, a gentleman named Roland, thought for a few moments before saying, “Yeah…Just please don’t take any pictures of me.” It’s always a great idea to ask before you start taking pictures. Most individuals are very guarded when it comes to strangers snapping away. 99 times out of 100, everything is OK if you first approach them and let them know that you would like to photograph them. An introduction and a little communication go a long, long way in putting people at ease. Roland said that he had been flying RC planes for a few years. I spoke with him for quite a while. He was a bit standoffish when I first approached, but by the time I left, it was as if we were friends. He invited me to come back any time and let me know that every Thursday was a sort of Open House event for those interested in RC flying to come out, observe, ask questions and even get a chance to fly some of the club’s demo planes.


I had a good time talking with Roland and trying to get some decent pics of his plane. My father in law is really into airplaning and is just as passionate as Roland is about their hobby. I have a definite appreciation for what they do, I just don’t have anywhere near the level of excitement that they do. I get all charged up when it comes to photography and woodworking. I guess that we all have our vices.

Until next time,

Mark

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Sandhill Cranes & Sausage Patties

NOTE: Click on any image to view larger.

Every year, Sandhill Cranes migrate through Nebraska. As temps rise in the U.S., the cranes start their way back North and upwards to 800,000 of these spectacular creatures spend 3 to 4 weeks in and around Kearney and Grand Island. They hang out along the Platte River just eating and resting up before continuing their migration. I asked my two girls if they wanted to accompany me for a Western journey from the big “O” (Omaha for those stumped or puzzled) and spend a day or so drifting around I-80 between Kearney and Grand Island, in hopes of capturing a few pics of the cranes. They said OK and off we went.

We took off around 4:30 on Friday and put in a solid 3 hours on I-80. Along the way, we were almost in what could have been a deadly accident, when a self involved idiot decided to come flying up behind me and get within what had to be mere inches off my back bumper. I held my position in my lane and waited for him to get over and pass me. He continued to stay glued to my bumper and it took everything I had in me to not slam on the brakes and let the chips fall as they may. But, I had the welfare of my girls as my main priority, and really didn’t want to see how quickly I could go from almost 80 mph to a complete stop. My new buddy continued his tailgating for a bit longer before finally getting over and going around. As he was passing me, he suddenly cut very sharply across the front passenger side of my car causing me to brake aggressively so as to not have the front of my car taken off. After cutting me off, he then slowed to around 40 mph. I pulled into the other lane and pulled up beside him, shrugged my shoulders to ask “What was that about?” and waited for a reply. To say I was a little angry would be a vast understatement. Had I not had my girls with me, I may have performed a P.I.T. maneuver and let things play out to whatever ending came about. I still get a bit wound up almost a week later.

I tried to calm down as rapidly as I could and focused on where I was going and why. Got into Kearney as the sun was going down and was able to get a few shots. Caught these two heading back to the Platte River from a corn field.


We decided to continue driving around until the light was bad or we didn’t see any more cranes, before heading to our hotel. Every corn field was inhabited by cranes and the silhouettes of cranes filled the sky as group after group called it an evening and flew to spend the night in the Platte.

Checked in to the hotel and ordered up a pizza before getting some shut eye. You may recall the title of this blog entry, if not, I titled it: Sandhill Cranes & Sausage Patties. I have mentioned the cranes and you may be wondering what cranes and sausages have to do with one another. Maybe you just simply don’t care. Continue reading if the suspense is killing you.

We all got up. Showered. Packed. And looked forward to getting some breakfast. The hotel had a very decent offering of hot and cold foods to choose from. I am trying to get back to my ideal fighting weight and drop a few lbs., so I rarely eat McDonald’s or similarly greasy foods for breakfast any longer. But, I spied the last 3 sausage patties in the warming tray and snagged them. I intended to share and actually did share one and ate 2 myself along with a fresh made waffle. Belly full, not stuffed. The sausage patties have another mention in my story coming up later. Loaded the car and headed out. Started heading East to Grand Island, and had to pull over when we saw this:

Hundreds and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes! They make a very interesting noise when they call to one another. I had never heard a noise like it before. I must admit that I thought they would make a very obnoxious sound, but was pleasantly surprised. Continued driving around and caught a few other half decent images:

Stopped in Gibbon, NE at the Rowe Sanctuary. Went inside and the volunteers were very friendly, which is no surprise as Midwesterners are the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. There were a large number of people in the bird sanctuary and we learned quite a bit about Sandhill Cranes! We went for about a quarter mile walk to check out one of the blinds on the bank of the Platte. All the cranes were off the river and in the fields eating. My daughter wanted to go back in the sanctuary and make an origami crane. As I stood there watching her, I suddenly felt very hot and sick to my stomach. I excused myself and went outside hoping the fresh, cool air would make me feel better. Helped a bit, but not much. I was going downhill fast and was surprised that getting a bit overheated made me feel so badly, so quickly.

That’s when I remembered the sausage patties I had for breakfast. I had forgotten them but they apparently were hard at work in my digestive system for a couple of hours. Drove around a bit more, but kept felling worse and worse. Finally stopped around Noon and we had some sandwiches we made. I should say that I tried to eat, but felt like all I wanted to do was throw up and go to sleep. We decided we should head towards home. Got going for a short while and pulled over at a wildlife facility and my girls went inside to see if they had any Pepto Bismol. They didn’t. There was a raptor show starting in a few minutes so I told them to go and enjoy the show and I would wait in the car. Continued getting sicker and broke into a cold sweat. I just wanted to vomit and was sure I would be fine. Tried to upchuck several time but no luck. Finally called my daughter and told her it was time to go.

Went to a truck stop and got some Pepto. An hour up the road, pulled over and made a vomitous deposit on the shoulder of I-80. Felt quite a bit better but it didn’t last. About an hour later, pulled over and repeated my earlier action. I just wanted to be home. Finally made it home, poured myself up the stairs and into bed. Drank some Gatorade and eventually ate a few saltine crackers. Was feeling that the worst was over. I was dead wrong. Staggered into the bathroom and blew some serious, serious chunks. I am still feeling the effects of those sausage patties. My suggestion to all is to bypass the sausage patties at the hotel breakfast bar at a certain hotel in Kearney, NE that is real close to the Holiday Inn. NOT the Holiday Inn. A hotel real close by.

I will be going back to see the cranes, though. I won’t, however, be consuming any sausage patties and going through the worst case of food poisoning I have ever experienced.

Until next time,

Mark

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