April 28, 2012 - Little Hoopster Sneakers

Very little attention to intimidation or 'coolness' is apparent in the basketball attire of these second grade girls.  Instead of the posturing and trash talking prevalent at older grades, these games are characterized by smiles, pig tails, pink and socks with apples on them.

April 21, 2012 - Topless at 56

The wire wheel and white walls of an immaculate 1956 Ford Thunderbird.  This, the second model year of this new "personal luxury car" was Ford's response to Chevrolette's Corvette and was strongly influenced by the recognized market for a new, small sports car.  Serviceman returning from Europe had been exposed to Triumphs, Jaguars and MGs and developed a taste for cars smaller than what the US automakers in Detroit typically produced.  The production Thunderbird wasn't a sports car, but was loaded with creature comforts, a V-8 and a plush ride.  The removable hardtop with circular portholes was a standard option allowing for topless driving on nice days.  In the first year over 15,600 cars were sold at around $3000 each.  A well maintained car can easily fetch 15 times that now.  The 1956 model had some small changes, including an increase in horsepower and an externally stored spare tire.  The eleventh generation Thunderbird ceased production in 2005.  The iconic name almost never was, as "Whizzer" was given very serious consideration.

April 7, 2012 - Finally.....Spring!

Daffodils bloom above the small boat harbor at Langley on Whidbey Island while the Saratoga Passage of Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains serve as a background.

April 7, 2012 - Empty Eggs

Garbage cans filled with colorful empty shells of plastic signal the end of another successful community Easter egg hunt.

April 2, 2012 - High(line) Art

Street art as viewed from the Highline, a lateral park built on a former elevated railroad spur, the West Side Line, on New York City's lower Manhattan.

April 2, 2012 - Third Time Is The Charm

The body of John Craig is interred next to Manhattan's Trinity Church, the third building on this site.  Also buried in this cemetary at Broadway and Wall St are Robert Fulton, the inventor of the first commercially successful steamboat, Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and Captain James Lawrence, famous for his last command "Don't give up the ship!".  This building was completed in 1846.  The first Trinity Church was consecrated in 1698, but burned down in a fire that destroyed hundreds of building in New York during the Revolutionary War.  The second Trinity Church was consecrated in 1790, but was torn down after being damaged the winter of 1838-1839.  The current Trinity Church was designed by Richard Upjohn and consecrated May 1, 1846.  The 281 foot spire was the tallest building in New York until 1890.

















The grave of John Craig lies at the cemetary adjacent to the Trinity Church in lower Manhattan