More Signal Box Art

Here are some more. The following are my favorite, I took pictures of several angles.

Do you see the signature and date of the artist?

They sure spruce up the neighborhood.

Maybe Sarah H has planned Vivaldi?

Have a great day!

Steve

Tampa Signal Box Art

We have all seen those big gray boxes at the corner of signalized intersections. Inside the boxes are all the equipment that keeps the signals running (for good or bad).

Not only are the boxes pretty unattractive, they can attract grafitti that can be a real eye sore. In order to combat that, the City of Tampa in one neighborhood and downtown have Signal Box Art.

Here are some examples from picures I took about a week ago when I first discoved these outdoor treasures.

The ones that look more like posters are in downtown Tampa. The ones that look like original works of art, are original works of art, signed and dated by the painters. These are in the Westshore area of Tampa.

Hope you enjoy! I will post some more in a future Post, the Blog site limits the file size.

Steve

Steve's Weekly Weight Loss Update

Well another week, another pound or so. Still doesn't' look like I will make 200 by the wedding. A slower than desirable week because I ate more that I usually do. Remember the Greek Easter? What I didn't tell you was that I went back for seconds on the dessert which I am sure was pretty full of sugar. And then I didn't exercise more to make up for it.

Last night I "watched" Mary and Joel excercise to the "mother of all workouts." I don't suppose I can burn caleries by ozmosis?

Tonight is Joel's "man shower." Sounds like it is going to be mainly eating! I am hoping I am over the cold enough to were I can get back to running a little.

Anyway, is that enough excuses for today? If not, I can probably think of some more.

May you overcome your excuses with a no matter what attitude.

Steve

Signs of the Times

Today at lunch, I took a little walk. The weather was fine. The sidewalks and the Franklin Street mall were busy but not by any means crowded. You know me, its hard to just walk unless I have a destination in mind. And this time was no exception.

I was headed to the shoe repair shop to see if they could re-attach the sole of one of my shoes (not the ones I'm wearing today thankfully). After I asked the Middle Eastern shop keeper if he could fix the shoe, I commented that it is not good to be soul-less. I am not sure he caught my pun. First he said the shoe would be ready tomorrow. After I paid the $10, he said they would be ready in 2 weeks! I guess he did have a sense of humor, at least I think he did. We'll see tomorrow.

As I walked to the shoe repair store, a person ahead of me stopped at a used book store display. It was like it just drew her in, like a huge magnet. On they way back I saw a jewelry store that said "sale" on the window. So I went in to see if there were any "on sale" wedding bands. The one Mary got Joel on E-Bay did not pass Joel's muster. They had some rings for 60% off! A couple of them might have been just was Joel wants. Anyway, I'll pass the information on to Mary for her consideration.

So I guess the moral is, peolple are looking to save money and I am not sure if my sense of humor works for Middle Eastern shop keepers. But who really knows if my sense of humor works for anyone or if they laugh just to be polite because I get this "did you get it" look on my face!

May all your deals be good deals! - Steve

Are Blogs the New American Media?

Many times I have been disappointed with news coverage on TV or newspapers. Sometimes I was personally involved in the news event and hardly recognized what was being reported. On the other had I have had many e-mails forwarded to me with claims regarding events and persons. When I check into these, I find that they are often untrue or biased as well. I had a friend who was a news reporter. I asked him if he was able to report what he observed without bias or without modification of facts from his editor. He said he was, but last time I heard, he was no longer a news journalist. There are just too many barriers to reporting facts and truth.

That brings us to Blogs and other personal web sites. Blogs, at least the Blogs I am following, are chronicaling the every day lives, trials, dreams and hopes of real peole. They are generally unfiltered by others with different "agendas." They are unfettered with political correctness or ideology. They offer a window into the lives of those around us.

Some websites such as Face Book have potential, but can become tools for those with agendas to try to influence others for good or bad. Blogs seem to be the "grass roots" media of the 21st Century. Look for truth where you find it and hold onto it with all your strength.

Thanks for listening.

Steve

Ed Freeman

Hello, my grandpa Blanchard sent this to us...I thought it was a cool story. Hope you like it!

Ed Freeman

You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.. He's coming anyway.

And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses. And, he kept coming back.... 13 more times..... And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise, ID......May God rest his soul.....

I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a whole bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward beating the crap out of his "girlfriend."

Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman!

Shame on the American Media

2009 - The Year of Weight Loss

Yesterday we celebrated Greek Easter with some of Kathi's relatives in St. Pete Beach. They have a nice place on the Inner-Coastal Waterway. It was perfect weather. Except for Kathi's folks, neither Kathi or I had met any of these relatives, except Kathi had met Uncle John, the host. There were children to grand parents, it was a large gathering of maybe 40 people all together. As I got to know some of the people I learned that several of them had lost weight in 2009, a lot of weight. Two for sure had lost nearly 30 pounds a piece. Maybe people are always losing weight and I never noticed it before or 2009 really is the year of weight loss. Either way everyone seemed quite happy about the loss.

Greek Easter family celebrations are highlighted by continuous eating. We arrived at about 5:00 p.m. and left around 8:00 or so. We were eating the entire time. Which maybe explains why all the Greek relatives were tryng to lose weight!

Love, Steve